Exploring Relationship between Spiritual Intelligence and Emotional Intelligence in Students in Abadan School of Medical Sciences

Introduction and purpose: Spiritual intelligence is obtained from a set of spiritual abilities and interests, personality traits, special cognitive abilities, and neurological processes. Emotional intelligence is a revolutionary development in understanding the relationship between intellection and emotion. This study was carried out to investigate the relationship between emotional intelligence and spiritual intelligence in undergraduate nursing students of Abadan School of Medical Sciences. This descriptive correlational study was conducted on a total of 125 subjects. The sampling technique was simple random sampling. The data were collected utilizing the Bar-On emotional intelligence and King spiritual intelligence questionnaires. The validity and reliability of both questionnaires were approved. Eventually, the data were analyzed using Pearson correlation coefficient and regression tests by SPSS 16. There was a positive and significant relationship between emotional intelligence and spiritual intelligence among students (P<0/05). Moreover, there was a significant correlation between interpersonal scales, adaptation, and temperament with spiritual intelligence (P<0/05). However, there was no meaningful relation between intrapersonal scales and stress management with spiritual intelligence (P>0/05). It should be noted that all the components of emotional intelligence were able to predict spiritual intelligence. Through the enhancement of emotional intelligence in students, spiritual intelligence can be strengthened and improve the spiritual atmosphere and positive attitudes of students. Therefore, the educational staff of Abadan School of Medical Sciences can help students with providing necessary trainings regarding the increase of spiritual and emotional intelligence.