The relationship between mental health and spiritual intelligence of parents of hospitalized premature neonates in the NICU

Abstract

Objective: To study the relationship between mental health and spiritual intelligence of parents of the premature neonates that are hospitalized in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).

Materials and methods: This descriptive, cross-sectional study included 152 fathers and mothers of premature neonates. A questionnaire was delivered containing demographic data and Goldberg’s Assessment of Mental Health. A score of 23 or higher suggested the presence of mental disorders and scores lower than 23 indicated mental health.

Results: There was a significant direct relationship between mothers’ mental health and spiritual intelligence; that is, mothers with high spiritual intelligence had a higher level of mental health (p = 0.020, r = 0.225). The linear regression analysis of the mothers’ mental health and spiritual intelligence was significant.

Conclusion: Mothers with higher spiritual intelligence had a higher level of mental health, while there was no significant direct correlation between spiritual intelligence and mental health of the fathers.