Emotional intelligence, spiritual intelligence, depression and anxiety, and satisfaction with life among emerging adults in Israel and India: the impact of gender and individualism/collectivism.

Much research has focused on how emotional and spiritual intelligences promote well-being and help combat mental health issues. This comparative study, which was conducted in Israel and India with emerging adults enrolled in higher education, explored the relationship of emotional intelligence, spiritual intelligence, anxiety and depression, and satisfaction with life. The results in Israel showed a positive correlation of emotional intelligence with satisfaction with life, but in India, only spiritual intelligence correlated positively with satisfaction with life. In both groups, female participants scored higher on all variables than male participants. We offer initial explanations for these results.

Personal Well-being and Recovery in Peer Support Specialists Working at Psychiatric Hospitals.

Objectives: Personal well-being is a major part of recovery for the many people who experience mental illness. Peer support specialists are mental health professionals who have themselves experienced mental illness and use their recovery experiences to facilitate the healing of others. In this study, we explored how peer specialists view their subjective well-being in their work with others and how they perceive their profession. Methods: Seven peer specialists working in a psychiatric hospital participated in individual interviews. We asked them about their personal experiences, their subjective well-being, and their perceptions of the peer specialist profession. We analyzed the interviews thematically. Results: The peer specialists' responses emphasized the link between mental health recovery and subjective well-being. Our findings also indicated the importance of positive relationships and community belonging as fundamental to subjective well-being, and consequently, to recovery. Conclusions: The insights that peer support specialists have acquired and the tools they have mastered in their own recovery process highlight the valuable experience-based knowledge and skills they can provide to others. Future studies may investigate how the experience of their own well-being and recovery directly influences their work with others.

What Can Help Students Cope with COVID-19? The Contribution of Psychological Capital, Selfcompassion, and Spirituality to Subjective Well-being.

Objectives: In this research, we examined the academic and psychological coping of post-secondary students during the early stages of COVID-19. The main goal was to investigate correlations involving self- compassion, spirituality, psychological capital, and subjective well-being, and evaluate the mediating role of self-compassion and spirituality in the relationship between psychological capital and subjective well-being.Methods: We had 257 participants (ages 19-59) complete 5 questionnaires: demographic and academic information, Psychological Capital Questionnaire, Subjective Well-Being Index, Spiritual Intelligence Self- Assessment Inventory, and Self-Compassion Index. Results: We found a strong positive correlation between psychological capital, self-compassion, and subjective well-being. However, spirituality failed to show statistically significant correlations with self-compassion and subjective well-being, with only weak correlations with psychological capital. Self-compassion positively mediated the relationship between psychological capital and subjective well-being, but not spirituality. Conclusion: These findings indicate the role of positive psychological resources of post-secondary students in coping with a difficult situation like COVID-19.

Life satisfaction in emerging adults: The role of emotional and spiritual intelligences.

Objectives. The present research had two main objectives. The first was to examine the impact of emotional intelligence and aspects of spiritual intelligence on life satisfaction among emerging adults in high-income countries. The second objective was to study the interactions between the variables. Methods. First, we used predictive analysis to examine the impact of emotional and spiritual intelligences on life satisfaction beyond that accounted for by gender and by anxiety and depression. Second, we studied the interactions between the variables measured by means of decision-tree analysis. Results. Personal meaning production emerged as the primary determining factor of life satisfaction. In addition, the participants with both personal meaning production and emotional intelligence above a certain threshold had the highest average scores on life satisfaction. Conclusions. The results suggest that further research on emerging adults should investigate the critical issue of identity development, specifically regarding the impact of spiritual and emotional intelligence.

Exploring peer specialists' experiences with spirituality in their work: Recommendations for future directions.

OBJECTIVE: Spirituality is part of recovery for many people with lived experience of mental health issues, including those who become peer specialists and utilize their own recovery experiences to facilitate the recovery of others. This research explores how peer specialists view spirituality in their work with their peers and the factors that impact conversations in this area. METHOD: Eleven peer specialists participated in individual qualitative interviews. Inquiries were made about their own experiences of spirituality and how these were used to support others. Additional questions probed factors that facilitated or served as barriers to their ability to engage in such conversations. Data were subjected to thematic analysis. RESULTS: Peer specialists experienced well-being, hope, and self-acceptance through spirituality. Use of spirituality in peer support was influenced by their personal spiritual journey, specifically because they understood its value to recovery. Barriers to use included fear of rejection and lack of formal support. The number one facilitator was their personal experience, but they suggested the need for training and guidelines as important future facilitators. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: Results indicate that at least some peer specialists are thinking about the role of spirituality in their work but express some struggles with such activities. There appears a need for guidelines on how to use spirituality in peer support, better definitions of the competencies peer specialists need, and more attention to training and supervision in this area-possibly to maximize the benefit of the lived experience that many peer specialists bring to their work. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Cross-Cultural Comparison of How Mind-Body Practice Affects Emotional Intelligence, Cognitive Well-Being, and Mental Well-Being.

The study tested cross-cultural differences between Israeli and Indian participants in the outcomes of mind-body practice (MBP) on emotional intelligence (EI), cognitive well-being, and mental well-being, as well as the predictive role of gender and MBP on cognitive and mental well-being. It drew on a sample of 699 Indian and Israeli participants (ages 18-65) from urban settings and used questionnaires to measure cognitive well-being, demographics, EI, and mental well-being. EI was assessed using the Self Report Emotional Intelligence (SREIT); cognitive well-being was assessed using the Personal Well-being Index; mental well-being was assessed using the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale (WEMWBS). The effect of demographic variables was tested using the two-sample T-test or the Chi-square test. The associations between EI, mental, and cognitive subscales were evaluated using the Pearson correlation coefficient and linear regression with stepwise selection. Results indicated MBP affected EI in both cultures, but Indian participants showed higher EI, and Israeli participants showed lower EI. Israelis also reported higher mental well-being. Future research should examine EI as ability (we examined it as a trait) thus contributing to a better understanding of the similarities and differences between trait and ability EI in different cultures. Future work should also probe gender differences.

Do Emotional Intelligence and Self-compassion Affect Disordered Eating Perceptions?

Background: Self-compassion (SC) allows people to cope with negative perceptions, and thus, may act as a buffer in people with disordered eating in terms of body image and eating behaviors. Higher emotional intelligence (EI) may play a similar role. However, few studies have explored their association. Objective: In this study, we tested a correlation model to determine how SC, EI, and subjective well-being (SWB) interact and affect disordered eating (DE) perceptions and which variables (SC, EI) predict SWB. Method: Overall, 156 participants completed a questionnaire assessing their levels of SC, EI, and SWB. Results: Participants who perceived themselves as having DE had significantly lower levels of SWB and SC but a significantly higher EI level. SWB was predicted by high scores in SC and low scores in EI. Conclusion: We propose a mediating model explaining the contribution of EI and SC to the SWB of those with DE perceptions.

Surprising Advantages of Low Self-Efficacy Revealed in a Sports Nutrition Education.

Objectives To determine the influence of educational sports nutrition programs on adolescent athlete's nutritional habits and on the general and academic self-efficacy of nutrition students who facilitated the program. MethodsAn intervention framework and a convergent mixed-methods approach were used for this study. A questionnaire to examine knowledge of sports nutrition and an eating diary were used for tracking results at 3 points in time; beginning, end of the program and 3 months follow up. Nutrition students completed questionnaires examining their general and academic self-efficacy at 4 points during the study. Participants included 49 athletes aged 13-15 (26 boys and 23 girls) and 30 nutrition students. ResultsSignificant improvements were found in knowledge and nutrition behavior of athletes and in the general and academic self-efficacy of the nutrition students. ConclusionParticipation in the intervention program led to improvements of the adolescent athletes' nutritional knowledge and behavior. Implementation of the program in the framework of an academic nutrition studies course improved the general and academic self-efficacy of the nutrition students. Use of the RRA approach transformed the students from passive learners to active teachers.

Physical Activity Intensity Among Adolescents and Association With Parent-Adolescent Relationship and Well-Being.

Participation in physical activity (PA) provides young people significant health benefits, including improved well-being. However, large percentages of children and adolescents do not meet the recommendations for PA. Given that PA patterns are established during childhood and adolescence, and evolve within the context of the family, the current study explores the relationship between perceived parent-adolescent relationships and adolescents' PA levels, body mass index (BMI), and subjective well-being. The study was conducted in Israel, and the sample included 233 participants (126 girls, 107 boys) aged 13 to 18 years. Participants self-reported the following measures: demographic information, BMI, the Godin-Shephard Leisure-Time Physical Activity Questionnaire, the Personal Well-Being Index, and parent-adolescent relationship. The data were analyzed using Pearson analyses, t tests, and regressions. A clear difference emerged in strenuous PA activity by sex [ t(223) = 2.1, p < .01]; the average strenuous PA was greater for boys ( M = 3.9, SD = 2.4) than for girls ( M = 1.8, SD = .2.4). Furthermore, different predictors of strenuous PA by sex were found: for boys, parent-adolescent relationship was a significant predictor; for girls, subjective well-being was a predictor. The findings can shed light on the need for different intervention programs for adolescent boys and girls to increase their involvement in PA.

Effect of the Parent-Adolescent Relationship on Adolescent Boys' Body Image and Subjective Well-Being.

Adolescent boys must cope with physical changes that hamper their ability to form a positive body image. Sociocultural messages influence the concepts of body image, personal appearance, and weight, encouraging men to develop lean and muscular bodies. The current study examined adolescent boys' body image and its relationship to their subjective well-being (SWB) and the effect of the parent-adolescent relationship on body image and SWB. Participating in the research were 107 adolescent boys in Israel, aged 13 to 18 years. Four questionnaires were utilized: demographic, body mass index, Body Investment Scale, and Personal Well-Being Index. The findings indicate a significant, medium positive correlation between SWB and body image. After controlling for the variable of parent-adolescent relationship, the correlation weakened, indicating that the parent-adolescent relationship has no effect on adolescent boys' SWB and body image. Body image was reported to be a predictor of SWB.