Quantitative Examination of Spiritual Intelligence as a Predictor of Emotional Resilience, Self-Efficacy, General Well-Being, and Academic Achievement Among College Students
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Authors
Corral, Raymond M
Issue Date
2026-03
Type
Dissertation
Language
en
Keywords
Spiritual Intelligence , Student well-being , Emotional Resilience , Educational Leadership & Learning Lifelong , Healthcare Innovation & Delivery , Student Success Science , Military Learners & Veteran Transition , Workforce Development Needs & Industry Alignment , NOBLE (National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives)
Alternative Title
Abstract
The problem addressed in this study was that college students remain psychologically and emotionally vulnerable to external events and circumstances that impede their academic achievement, efficacy, and general well-being. The purpose of this quantitative, descriptive, and correlational study was to describe the levels of spiritual intelligence among undergraduate college students and examine their associations with and contributions to variance in measures of emotional resilience, self-efficacy, general well-being, and academic achievement, measured as grade point average. A convenience sample of 138 undergraduate students between 18 and 25 years of age enrolled full-time in a four-year public or private nonprofit or for-profit university within the United States completed an online survey to collect data on all variables. The final path model demonstrated that students with higher levels on the spiritual intelligence subscale of personal meaning-making were better equipped to cope with academic and life challenges through improved emotional resilience, ultimately leading to better adjustment and general well-being in college. This sequential mechanism fuels resilience, which in turn boosts well-being—reflects the core assertions of spiritual intelligence theory and has been well supported by prior research. The fact that personal meaning-making, and no other spiritual intelligence subscales, demonstrated significant indirect effects through emotional resilience highlights the theory’s emphasis on the meaning-making dimension as the engine of psychological adaptation and flourishing. However, the final path model was not a good fit with the data and future research and more data are needed to establish its validity. The results establish a baseline of data regarding spiritual intelligence within a sample of undergraduate college students and reveal the potential for integrating spiritual intelligence and related constructs into educational practices and policies for holistic approaches to student development.