The Relationship between Spiritual Intelligence and Perceived Stress During Pregnancy in Women

Extended Abstract

Background

Pregnancy is one of the most sensitive periods in a woman's life. Since the growth of the fetus is affected by the hormonal changes of the mother and the physical and mental conditions of the mother affect the growth of the fetus, the physical and mental health of the pregnant mother is of particular importance. One of the factors affecting the health and growth of the fetus is the mother's stress, which can impact the child's IQ. Thus, it can be stated that mental health during pregnancy influences the physical and mental development of the fetus during pregnancy and after birth. Given the negative effects of stress during pregnancy on the health of the mother and fetus and the need to manage it, especially in mothers experiencing their first pregnancy, and considering the importance of spirituality and spiritual intelligence in controlling and reducing stress, this study aimed to investigate the relationship between spiritual intelligence and perceived stress during pregnancy in pregnant women who referred to Alzahra Medical Education Center in Tabriz.

Methods

This study was descriptive and correlational. The statistical population of the current study consisted of pregnant women living in Tabriz city or the surrounding cities of Tabriz who referred to Alzahra Medical Education Center in Tabriz in 2022 at a time point of 6 months. According to the previous study conducted by Cheharazi et al. and using G-Power 3.1.9.7 software, the sample size was determined as 190 participants. For this purpose, the researcher went to the aforementioned medical center and selected 190 eligible pregnant women using convenience sampling method. The criteria for participating in the study included being at least 18 years old, not having a physical illness, not taking psychiatric drugs, having sufficient literacy to complete the questionnaires, and being willing to participate in the research. In order to collect information, in addition to the demographic information questionnaire, two other questionnaires were used. The first one was a spiritual intelligence questionnaire designed by Abdullahzadeh et al. (2007) and consisted of 29 items. The items of this questionnaire were answered on a five-point Likert scale ranging from disagree 1 to somewhat disagree 2, unsure 3, somewhat agree 4, and agree 5. The second one was a perceived stress questionnaire developed by Cohen et al. (1983) and contained 14 items on a five-point Likert scale ranging from none 0 to low 1, moderate 2, high 3, and very high 4. The data obtained from the study were reported using descriptive statistical methods (mean±standard deviation and frequency-percentage). In order to investigate the difference between the mean of the dimension of understanding and connection with the source of existence and demographic variables (place of residence, history of diabetes, history of blood pressure, abortion, education, and pregnancy), an independent t-test was run. For the dimension of spiritual life with reliance on the inner core, the total score of spiritual intelligence, and demographic variables, an analysis of variance (ANOVA) was run. To investigate the difference between the average perceived stress in the negative and positive dimensions and the total stress score, another independent t-test was run. Furthermore, in order to investigate the correlation between the dimensions of spiritual intelligence and perceived stress, Pearson's correlation coefficient was used. It is worth noting that for the statistical analysis of the data, SPSS software (version 19) was used. In this study, any p- value less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant.

Results

In this study, 190 pregnant women who were referred to Alzahra Hospital in 2022 were investigated. The mean (standard deviation) age and marriage age of the participants were 31.20 (7.89) and 21.54 (6.5) years, respectively. Among these individuals, 50.8% (96 people) lived in Tabriz, and 49.2% (93 people) lived in suburban towns. In terms of education, the highest and lowest frequencies were related to high school education (39.2%) and a master's or doctorate degree (0.7%). Among the participants, 38.9% (72 people) had their first pregnancy, 33% (61 people) had their second pregnancy, and 28.1% (52 people) had their third or more pregnancies. The mean (standard deviation) of the total score of spiritual intelligence in the dimension of understanding and connection with the source of existence and in the dimension of spiritual life with reliance on the inner core for the participants was 44.57 (10.95), 26.64 (7.78), and 17.93 (4.62), respectively. It can be observed that the difference in the mean score of spiritual intelligence based on the results of the independent t-test in the dimension of understanding and connection with the source of existence according to the history of abortion (P=0.047) and based on the results of the ANOVA in the dimension of spiritual life with reliance on the inner core based on the level of education (P=0.033) was statistically significant, while the total score of spiritual intelligence in none of the demographic variables was statistically significant.

The mean (standard deviation) of the total score of perceived stress and in the dimensions of negative and positive perceived stress for the participants were 27.93 (7.77), 13.73 (5.84), and 14.19 (4.29), respectively. Conversely, the independent t-test results showed a significant difference in the mean score of perceived stress in the negative dimension concerning the history of abortion (P=0.022). However, the mean score for the positive dimension of perceived stress and the total score of perceived stress did not show significance across any demographic characteristics. The correlation coefficients between understanding connection with the source of existence (from the subscales of spiritual intelligence) and the positive and negative dimensions of perceived stress (from the subscales of perceived stress) were 0.154 (P=0.04) and 0.224 (P<0.001), respectively, indicating statistical significance. Additionally, the correlation coefficients between the score of spiritual life with reliance on the inner core (from the subscale of spiritual intelligence) and the negative and positive perceived stress (from the subscales of perceived stress) were 0.234 (P<0.001) and 0.075 (P=0.31), respectively. This suggests that the relationship between spiritual life with reliance on the inner core and negative perceived stress was significant, while statistical significance was not reached with positive perceived stress.

Conclusion

The results of the study showed a significant difference in the mean score of spiritual intelligence in the dimension of understanding and connection with the source of existence based on the abortion history of pregnant mothers. Additionally, there was a variance in the mean score of spiritual life with reliance on the inner core concerning the level of education. The study also revealed that the mean score of perceived stress in the negative dimension varied based on the history of abortion. A statistically significant relationship was found between understanding the connection with the source of existence (from the subscale of spiritual intelligence) and perceived negative and positive stress (from the subscales of perceived stress), as well as between the score of spiritual life with reliance on the inner core (from the subscale of spiritual intelligence). A significant correlation was reported with negative perceived stress. Given the significance of pregnancy and its associated challenges, it is essential to conduct studies to explore the impact of spiritual intelligence on enhancing mental health. The physiology of pregnant women can assist mothers in enhancing their overall ability to cope with daily life, challenges and stress by fostering positive character traits such as patience, hope, and changes in beliefs and worldview.