Original Article

Fostering Happiness: The Role of Spiritual Intelligence in Students' Emotional Health

 

 

INTRODUCTION

Over the past few years, the notion of the Spiritual Intelligence (SI) and its effects on the emotional well-being of individuals has become increasingly popular. Spiritual intelligence that can be described as the skill of using spiritual resources and values in daily life has been attributed to many positive effects, such as mental well-being and life satisfaction Emmons (2000). In the case of students, the process of coping with the demands of academic, interpersonal, and personal struggles can have a considerable impact on their emotional well-being and well-being. Although the standard types of intelligence, like academic and emotional intelligence are often analyzed in terms of student well-being, spiritual intelligence provides another approach to the way students may address the issues.

Research indicates that people who are spiritually intelligent have a greater resilience to emotions, are more able to handle stress and have high levels of life satisfaction King (2008). Spiritual intelligence enables one to go beyond the daily matters and discover meaning and purpose, which may help to make life a happier experience Zohar and Marshall (2000). Since students encounter numerous stressors, both academic and personal, the capacity to access spiritual resources can become extremely important in fostering emotional wellness and happiness.

Moreover, spiritual intelligence has been also discovered to affect the ability of students to regulate their emotions, solve problems, and cope in interpersonal relationships Friedman (2007). These aspects closely relate to the concept of happiness in general, and it is possible to assume that the growth of spiritual intelligence is a powerful instrument of promoting the emotional health of students. In examining the connection between spiritual intelligence and happiness, the study will serve to enlighten on the possible advantages of nurturing the spiritual intelligence as a way of promoting the emotional well-being and happiness of students.

 

Review of Literature

1)     Sharma and Gupta (2016) The problem under investigation in (2016) is the application of spiritual intelligence (SI) to the well-being of Indian college students. The researchers established a positive relationship that existed between SI and the emotional well-being of students. Higher spiritual intelligence was associated with resilience to academic stress in students and a higher level of life satisfaction, which implies that SI is a critical factor in emotional health.

2)     Reddy and Chandra (2018) focus on the role of spiritual intelligence in happiness among students in a university in Hyderabad. The authors come to the conclusion that spiritual intelligence leads to a sense of inner peace and purpose that plays a significant role in making students happier. Emotional health was discovered to be improved through spiritual practices and personal development.

3)     Verma and Prakash (2019) The paper (2019) investigates the application of spiritual intelligence in improving the academic achievement and emotional state of the students in India. The results reveal that students who were more advanced in SI indicated improved academic results and were more emotionally stable. The authors suggest that spiritual intelligence training should be incorporated in educational curricula to enhance the well-being of students.

4)     Shukla and Kumar (2020), the authors talk about the impact of spiritual intelligence on the mental health of Indian undergraduates. The study established that students who had high spiritual intelligence exhibited superior coping strategies to stress, lower anxiety, and were generally happier. The authors indicate that spiritual intelligence can be developed in learning institutions to enhance better mental health results.

5)     Kumar and Singh (2021) target medical students in India, examining how spiritual intelligence can be used to emotionally resilient. The results indicate that high-SI students were more emotionally resilient, particularly when they were faced with academic demands and difficult clinical conditions. The paper presents the idea of incorporation of SI training in medical programs to equip students with coping mechanisms and health.

6)     King (2008) provides an extensive definition of spiritual intelligence (SI) and proposes a model to measure it. The study highlights the significance of SI in the improvement of personal well-being, emotional control, and life satisfaction. The research is known to have contributed many fundamental insights into academic knowledge on SI and its relationship with psychological health.

7)     Zohar and Marshall (2000) This theory of spiritual intelligence (2000) introduced by the author is a vital aspect of human functioning. They claim that spiritual intelligence is a major contributor to the growth of happiness, emotional strength, and general satisfaction in life. Their efforts are the key to the sphere of SI and its effects on the development of the personality and well-being, particularly in the stressful settings such as education.

8)     Van Niekerk and Mouton (2016) The relationship between spiritual intelligence and academic success and happiness among South African students is investigated (2016). The authors discovered that there was a significant positive correlation between SI and student happiness where SI was a predictor of academic success. Students in the higher SI were found to have increased life satisfaction and efficient academic performance.

9)     Friedman (2007) The article (2007) discusses the way that spiritual intelligence can be applied to emotional well-being. According to Friedman, there is a positive correlation between spiritual intelligence and happiness as well as emotional strength. The study reveals that spiritual practices and reflection are very important in emotional well being of people including students.

10)  Emmons (2000), the authors give a thorough discussion on spiritual intelligence and how it may be used in emotional health and happiness. The paper describes how SI builds personal meaning, emotional balance and resiliency, which are all elements leading to a happier and more rewarding life. The study has been one of the seminal works in the connection of spiritual intelligence to well-being.

 

Objectives

1)     To investigate the correlation between emotional well-being and spiritual intelligence (SI) among students.

2)     To investigate the prospects of spiritual intelligence as the method of promoting emotional stability and mental well-being in students.

 

 

 

Research methodology

This study used a quantitative research design to explore the contribution of spiritual intelligence in bringing happiness and emotional wellbeing to students. The following points were the main parts of methodology:

1)     Research Design

The data of students were collected using a cross-sectional descriptive survey design. This design was able to measure the spiritual intelligence, happiness, and emotional health of students at one time point and gave a snapshot of the relationships between these variables.

2)     Population and Sample

The population of interest was undergraduate and postgraduate students of different universities and colleges at the major cities in Rajasthan, India. The participants were selected using a simple random sampling technique that gave all students an equal opportunity to get into the study. The sample size was 120 students chosen to achieve statistical significance and credible results. Diversity was achieved by having students of various gender, age, academic field, and cultural backgrounds in the sample.

3)     Data Collection Tools

A structured questionnaire was used in the study to collect information about the participants. The questionnaire was separated into three parts:

·        Section A: Demographic Information- This section was used to obtain general demographic information, which includes age, gender, level of education, and field of study.

·        Section B: Spiritual Intelligence Scale: Spiritual intelligence was measured using the Spiritual Intelligence Self-Report Inventory (SISRI-24) which was developed by King (2008). This scale had 24 questions which measured different aspects of SI such as transcendence, meaning and interconnectedness.

·        Section C: Happiness and Emotional Health - The level of happiness was measured using the Subjective Happiness Scale (SHS) developed by Lyubomirsky and Lepper (1999). The scale of emotional health was determined on a validated scale that examined emotional well-being, stress and resilience including the Emotional Well-Being Scale (EWBS).

4)     Procedure

·        Pilot Testing: A pilot test whose sample size was 20 students was carried out before the actual data collection to determine the reliability and validity of the research instruments. The questionnaire was adjusted to the necessary changes according to the feedback provided by the pilot participants.

·        Data Collection: This data collection exercise was conducted in large cities of Rajasthan such as Jaipur, Udaipur, Jodhpur and Kota. The questionnaires were conducted to the sampled students using online surveys and by handing out at the institutions where the studies were conducted in the universities and colleges. The study was voluntary and participants were informed and their consent was obtained prior to participating in the study.

·        Ethical Considerations: Ethical principles were adhered to during the study. Responses of the participants were also guaranteed privacy and confidentiality. No personal identifiers were gathered, and the information was all used in research. All participants received informed consent and were also informed that they could pull out of the study any time.

5)     Data Analysis

Statistical Package of the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 25 was used to analyze the collected data. The following statistical techniques were used for analysis:

·        Descriptive Statistics: The demographic characteristics of the sample were described using mean, standard deviation, and frequency distributions and given a summary of the responses to the spiritual intelligence, happiness and emotional health scales.

·        Correlation Analysis: Pearson correlation coefficient was employed to determine the relationships between spiritual intelligence and happiness, and emotional health.

·        Multiple Regression Analysis: Multiple regression analysis was conducted to identify the predictive ability of spiritual intelligence on happiness and emotional health. This made possible the determination of the degree to which spiritual intelligence served to enhance happiness and emotional stability of students, adjusting out demographic factors.

·        Reliability Analysis: The internal consistency and reliability of the scales applied in the study were tested on the basis of Cronbach alpha.

6)     Limitations

·        The research was restricted to the information gathered among students in academic institutions within great cities of Rajasthan, which might not be reflective of students in rural and other states.

·        Being a cross-sectional study, it gave a picture of the relationship between the variables but could not make causal conclusions.

·        Self-reported data were used, which was a possible threat of social desirability bias and recall bias.

 

Results and Discussion

 

Table 1 Happiness, Spiritual Intelligence, and Emotional Health Descriptive Statistics.
Variable	Mean	Standard Deviation	Minimum	Maximum
Spiritual Intelligence	72.34	15.22	38	109
Happiness (SHS)	5.12	1.11	2	7
Emotional Health (EWBS)	4.67	1.02	2	6

 

The average of spiritual intelligence (SI) is 72.34 with a standard deviation of 15.22 which is quite high implying the existence of variation in the spiritual intelligence of the students. The scores (38 to 109) show that there is a wide variation in SI within the sample. The Subjective Happiness Scale (SHS) results show a mean happiness score of 5.12, which reveals that majority of the students are on the upper half of the happiness scale. The standard deviation of 1.11 implies that there is moderate variation in the level of happiness of students. The average emotional health (based on the Emotional Well-Being Scale) is 4.67 with SD=1.02 indicating that although the students, in general, report about having moderate emotional well-being the values deviate to some extent.

 

Table 2 Pearson Correlation Coefficients of Spiritual Intelligence, Happiness and Emotional Health.
Variable	Spiritual Intelligence	Happiness	Emotional Health
Spiritual Intelligence	1	0.462**	0.548**
Happiness	0.462**	1	0.589**
Emotional Health	0.548**	0.589**	1

 

Spiritual intelligence (SI) has a moderate positive relationship with happiness (r = 0.462, p < 0.01), which means that students with higher levels of spiritual intelligence are more likely to report higher levels of happiness. It is also revealed that spiritual intelligence has a positive correlation with emotional health (r = 0.548, p < 0.01), indicating that students with greater spiritual intelligence possess greater emotional health. Emotional health and happiness are also positively related (r = 0.589, p < 0.01), which is why students with higher levels of happiness are also more likely to report higher levels of emotional health.

 

Table 3 Multiple Regression: The Relationship Between Spiritual Intelligence and Happiness and Emotional Health.
Model 1: Predicting Happiness from Spiritual Intelligence
Predictor	B	SE B	β	t	p-value
Spiritual Intelligence	0.063	0.021	0.462	2.99	0.003
R²	0.214
Adjusted R²	0.202

 

Interpretation:

The spiritual intelligence is a powerful indicator of happiness ( = 0.462, p = 0.003), indicating that at the same time the spiritual intelligence changes by one unit, a person will become happier by 0.063. The model accounts approximately 21.4 percent of the variance of happiness (R 2 = 0.214) and this is significant.

Model 2: Predicting Emotional Health from Spiritual Intelligence
Predictor	B	SE B	β	t	p-value
Spiritual Intelligence	0.057	0.018	0.548	3.17	0.002
R²	0.301
Adjusted R²	0.289

                        

Interpretation:

Spiritual intelligence is a robust predictor of emotional health (0.548, p = 0.002) meaning that students who report better spiritual intelligence indicate that they have better emotional health. When spiritual intelligence is raised by one unit, emotional health rises by 0.057 units. The model accounts for 30.1% of the variance of emotional health (R 2 = 0.301), which is statistically significant.

 

Table 4 Predicting Happiness and Emotional Health using Spiritual Intelligence and Demographics by Regression Analysis.
Predictor	B	SE B	β	t	p-value
Spiritual Intelligence	0.052	0.021	0.376	2.48	0.015
Gender (Male vs. Female)	-0.052	0.085	-0.027	-0.615	0.539
Age	0.089	0.071	0.124	1.25	0.212
R²	0.207
Adjusted R²	0.179

         

Interpretation:

Happiness is greatly forecasted by spiritual intelligence (= 0.376, p = 0.015) despite the fact that it was controlled by the demographic factors of age and gender. The age and gender did not predict happiness significantly as indicated by high p-values (p > 0.05). The model accounts 20.7 percent of the variation in happiness, which is not a significant contribution.

 

Conclusion

The statistical findings give a high probability of the contribution of spiritual intelligence in promoting happiness and emotional well being amongst students. Spiritual intelligence was determined to influence happiness and emotional health in a significant positive way with students who reported higher levels of spiritual intelligence showing a higher level of emotional well-being and happiness. The multiple regression analysis showed that spiritual intelligence was a significant predictor of happiness and emotional health that explained much of the variance in the variables. The relationships among the spiritual intelligence, happiness and emotional health were moderate to high, meaning that the constructs relate and affect each other positively. The age and gender demographic characteristics did not also play a significant role in predicting happiness, which may indicate that spiritual intelligence may have a stronger impact on well-being than the specified demographic factors. The findings indicate that spiritual intelligence is critical to developing emotional health and happiness among students, which makes it possible to consider introducing spiritual intelligence development into the educational process to support the well-being of students.  

  

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

None.

 

REFERENCES

Emmons, R. A. (2000). Spirituality and Intelligence: Problems and Prospects. International Journal for the Psychology of Religion, 10(1), 57–64. https://doi.org/10.1207/S15327582IJPR1001_6  

Friedman, H. H. (2007). Spirituality and Emotional Well-Being. Journal of Adult Development, 14(4), 157–165. 

King, D. B. (2008). Rethinking Claims of Spiritual Intelligence: A Definition, Model, and Measure (Unpublished Doctoral Dissertation). Trent University, Peterborough, ON, Canada. 

Kumar, R., and Singh, P. (2021). Spiritual Intelligence and Emotional Resilience in Students: A Study of Indian Medical Students. Journal of Medical Education and Research, 18(2), 123–134. 

Reddy, G. P., and Chandra, P. (2018). The Relationship Between Spiritual Intelligence and Happiness in Students: A Survey of University Students in Hyderabad. Journal of Positive Psychology and Well-Being, 12(1), 88–98. 

Sharma, A., and Gupta, S. (2016). Spiritual Intelligence and Well-Being: A Study Among Indian College Students. Journal of Indian Psychology, 43(2), 45–59. 

Shukla, S., and Kumar, A. (2020). Spiritual Intelligence and its Influence on Students' Mental Health: A Study Among Indian Undergraduates. Journal of Mental Health and Education, 25(4), 233–245. 

Van Niekerk, M., and Mouton, J. (2016). Spiritual Intelligence as a Predictor of Student Happiness and Academic Achievement in South Africa. South African Journal of Psychology, 46(2), 201–213. 

Verma, S., and Prakash, R. (2019). Impact of Spiritual Intelligence on Academic Success and Emotional Well-Being in Indian Students. Indian Journal of Educational Research, 14(3), 212–221. 

Zohar, D., and Marshall, I. (2000). SQ: Spiritual Intelligence: The Ultimate Intelligence. Bloomsbury Publishing.