Explaining the role and relationship between spiritual intelligence and hidden anxiety and test anxiety in students: Application of path analysis

Objective: Spiritual intelligence is manifested when a person spends his life in complete spirituality. Anxiety and test anxiety are among the most common psychological and emotional problems during student life that have a negative impact on students' mental health and academic performance. Therefore, this study was conducted to explain the role and relationship between spiritual intelligence and hidden anxiety and test anxiety. Methods: This analytical study was performed on 503 nursing and midwifery students of Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran (2018) using the available sampling method. King spiritual intelligence scale, Sarason's test anxiety scale, and Spielberger Anxiety Questionnaire were used to collect data. To analyze the data, statistical methods of path analysis and correlation coefficients were used. Results: The overall effect of test anxiety variable on spiritual intelligence variable is 0.1632 and the overall effect of hidden anxiety variable on spiritual intelligence variable is -0.07. Spiritual intelligence has a significant relationship with test anxiety, so that with increasing mental intelligence, test anxiety is decreased. While in the case of significant relationship between spiritual intelligence and hidden anxiety, with increasing spiritual intelligence, hidden anxiety is also increased. There was no significant relationship between hidden anxiety and test anxiety. The two variables of hidden anxiety and test anxiety have a very weak effect on spiritual intelligence. The effect of hidden anxiety is not significant at all, and the effect of test anxiety is very weak, although being significant. Conclusion: High spiritual intelligence indicates lower test anxiety, while it is inversely related to hidden anxiety. As a result, high spiritual intelligence does not indicate less hidden anxiety in individuals. So it cannot be said for sure that spiritual intelligence plays an important role in reducing anxiety.