Exploring the Role of Bonding to God in Spiritual Intelligence, Resilience and Life Satisfaction among University Students in Malakand Division

Abstract

The study was primarily designed to determine the role of the bonding to God in spiritual intelligence, resilience, and life satisfaction. For this purpose, Scale for Spiritual Intelligence (Kumar & Mehta, 2011), Indigenous Resilience Scale (Naz et al., 2010), Satisfaction with Life Scale (Diener et al., 1985), and Bonding to God Scale (Saleem, 2004; Younas & Kamal, 2021) were administered for assessment and collecting data. These scales demonstrated good psychometric properties and were found reliable. A purposive sample of students (N=402) was selected which included equal number of male (n=201) and female (n=201), ranging between 18 and 32 with an average age 22 years, and education of intermediate level and above. These four scales were applied to collect the primary data. Then, two groups were determined based on the cutoff scores reported on bonding to God (BTG), thus, participants were categorized into low BTG and high BTG. The results and analysis revealed a statistically significant difference in spiritual intelligence, resilience, and life satisfaction between those individuals who scored high on bonding to God (BTG) scale as compared to those who scored low on the same scale. This study has implications for the counselors and psychotherapists to improve the psychological well-being of clients by incorporating faith and bonding to God in their approaches. The paper also identifies its limits and recommends possible areas for further investigation.