The relationship between spiritual intelligence with self‑efficacy in adolescents suffering type 1 diabetes

An important construct to consider within diabetes management and the changing landscape of diabetes therapies is self‑efficacy. Self‑efficacy research holds the potential to inform and assist the diabetes team as well as patients with type 1 diabetes.

In this descriptive‑correlation study, 200 adolescents with type 1 diabetes were enrolled. To measure spiritual intelligence, the 24‑question Spiritual Intelligence Self‑Report Inventory questionnaire and to measure self‑efficacy of diabetes, the Self‑efficacy Questionnaire (8 questions) were used. Data collection was conducted by simple sampling. Data were analyzed using Pearson analysis, mean, and standard deviation analysis tests.

Nearly 66% of the participants were female, the mean age of the samples was 17.10 ± 1.85 years, the mean duration of diabetes was 5.98 ± 3.79 years, and 62.5% had a history of diabetes in first‑degree relatives. Almost 42% of the participants were the first children of the family and 29.5% were studying at the university.The mean score of spiritual intelligence was 60.42 ± 12.9. The mean self‑efficacy score was 5.41 ± 1.87.The mean scores in the critical thinking, personal meaning production, transcendental awareness, conscious state expansion were 18.31 ± 4.33, 13.17 ± 3.36, 11.26 ± 3.36, 46.14 ± 1.04, 11.33 ± 1.04, and 11.89 ± 3.9, respectively. Cronbach’s alpha level on the level of spiritual intelligence and self‑efficacy was 0.903 and 0.082, respectively, at 95% confidence level. There was a significant relationship between spiritual intelligence and self‑efficacy (P = 0.026). There was no significant relationship between self‑efficacy with spiritual intelligence subscales.

This study showed that spiritual intelligence correlates with self‑efficacy and has a decisive role in improving the health of adolescents with diabetes.