Predicting moral intelligence based on parenting styles and six HEXACO personality traits

The present study aimed to predict moral intelligence based on parenting styles and six HEXACO personality traits. 

The sample size of this descriptive-correlational study included 300 students of Bu-Ali Sina University, Hamadan, Iran in the 2018-2019 academic year. They were selected through the multistage cluster random sampling method. They fulfilled Moral Intelligence Scale, HEXACO Personality Traits Scale, and Parenting Styles Scale. We analyzed the data using analysis of variance, stepwise regression, and SPSS-25. 

The results showed that the relationship between decisive parenting style (r= 0.486), honesty-humility (r= 0.407), extroversion (r= 0.379), agreement (r= 0.321), conscientiousness (r= 0.444), and openness to experience (r= 0.344) with moral intelligence was positive and significant, and the relationship of authoritarian parenting style (r= -0.249) with moral intelligence was negative and significant. The relationship between emotionality (r= -0.004), permissive parenting style (r= -0.054), and moral intelligence was insignificant. The results showed that decisive parenting style, conscientiousness, extroversion, honesty-humility, openness to experience, and agreeableness were the predictors of moral intelligence among university students, respectively, and these variables were able to predict 45.4% of the variance of moral intelligence (R= 0.67, R2= 0.45). 

Based on the results, factors such as decisive parenting style and personality traits (honesty-humility, extroversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, and openness to experience) play an important role in predicting moral intelligence.