Emotional and spiritual intelligence among Afghan students in Indian higher education: a cross-sectional study of gender differences and demographic correlates

This study examined emotional intelligence (EI) and spiritual intelligence (SI) among Afghan students enrolled in Indian higher education institutions, focusing on score distributions, gender-based differences, and associations between academic level and length of stay and EI and SI. A cross-sectional quantitative survey was conducted with a purposively identified target population of 282 full-time Afghan students enrolled in universities across Gujarat, Delhi, Maharashtra, and Karnataka. A total of 204 complete responses were obtained, yielding a 72.3% response rate. Participants completed the Schutte Self-Report Emotional Intelligence Test (SSEIT; α = .843; ω = .844) and the Spiritual Intelligence Self-Report Inventory-24 (SISRI-24; α = .836; ω = .837). Preliminary CFA supported acceptable factorial adequacy for both instruments in the present sample. Descriptive quartile-based classification was used solely for exploratory profiling, not for inferential testing. Multiple linear regression with 5,000-iteration bias-corrected accelerated bootstrapping was used to assess demographic correlates, while Mann–Whitney U tests examined gender differences. Nearly half of the respondents demonstrated moderate EI and SI levels. Academic level was positively associated with EI, B = 4.179, β = .191, p = .006, BCa 95% CI .951, 7.395, although the explained variance was small, R 2 = .041. Length of stay was not significantly associated with EI. Neither academic level nor length of stay was significantly associated with SI; F (2, 201) = 0.676, p = .510. Gender differences were not statistically significant for EI, U = 1636.00, z = − 1.671, p = .095, rrb = .21, or SI, U = 1850.00, z = − 0.869, p = .385, rrb = .11. The findings suggest a modest association between academic level and EI, but they do not support causal conclusions. SI did not vary significantly by the demographic variables examined. The non-significant gender findings should be interpreted cautiously because of the small female subsample. The results provide preliminary evidence on EI and SI among Afghan students in India while highlighting the need for culturally adapted measurement, gender-balanced sampling, and longitudinal research.