Effectiveness of Spiritual Intelligence Training on Stress (Problem-Oriented, Emotion-Oriented and Avoidance Coping) and Self-actualization of Mothers of Children with Special needs

Spiritual intelligence, as the foundation of individual beliefs, plays an essential role in various fields of human life. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of spiritual intelligence training on stress (problem-oriented, emotion-oriented and avoidance coping) and self-actualization of mothers of children with special needs.

The current research method was a semi-experimental type of pre-test and post-test with a control group and a follow-up phase. The statistical population of the study included all mothers with children with special needs in Hamedan city, whose children were students of normal schools in the academic year of 1400-1401, and from this group, 26 people were selected using the voluntary sampling method and randomly in the group. Intervention and control group were selected. The research tools included Endler and Parker's stress coping questionnaire (1990) and Soleimani et al.'s flourishing questionnaire (2014). The spiritual intelligence training intervention was carried out in 8 sessions of 60 minutes for the intervention group. Data were analyzed with SPSS version 25 statistical software and using multivariate analysis of covariance and analysis of variance with repeated measures.

The covariance results showed that spiritual intelligence training caused a significant increase in problem-oriented coping, positive emotions, relationships, meaning making and progress in the post-test compared to the pre-test in the intervention group (P < 0.001) and compared to the control group. It reduced emotion-oriented coping and avoidant coping, and this effect was also visible in the follow-up phase.

Considering the positive effects of spiritual intelligence training, it is possible to use the findings of these researches in formulating the content of group programs