Spirituality and mental health, the role of spiritual intelligence index in predicting religiosity and life satisfaction: A cross-sectional study

The spirituality is a complex index with multiple dimensions. Spirituality and religion are an important source for achieving a sense of meaning and purpose of life. Previous studies have shown that some structures of religiosity are associated with the severity of the symptoms of mental disorders. On the other hand, this structure can be associated with spiritual intelligence and life satisfaction. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of spiritual intelligence index in predicting religiosity and life satisfaction.

In a cross-sectional study, in the form of a research based on a correlation design, from October 2017 to May 2018, among the students of Azad University, North Tehran Branch, 237 students were estimated based on Cochran’s formula and were selected based on cluster sampling method and after confirming the necessary criteria, they entered into the study process. Three questionnaires of spiritual intelligence, religiosity and life satisfaction were completed by the participants at one time. Data were analyzed by Pearson correlation and regression tests using SPSS 21.

The results indicated that there was a significant relationship between spiritual intelligence and the four dimensions of religiosity (all Pchr('39')s= 0.01). Moreover, a significant relationship was observed between four dimensions of spiritual intelligence and life satisfaction (all Pchr('39')s= 0.01). In addition, spiritual intelligence predicted 0.212% of the variance of religiosity and 0.042% of the variance of life satisfaction. These two indicators explained 0.255% of the changes in spiritual intelligence.

The findings of the present study suggest the role of spiritual intelligence in predicting religiosity and life satisfaction in students. These results can be correlated to clinical implications in the development of preventive and therapeutic interventions.