Exploring the Association Between Creativity, Emotional Intelligence, and Spiritual Intelligence Among Medical Students

Abstract

Background: This study investigates the correlations between creativity, emotional intelligence, and spiritual intelligence (SI) in medical students and explores how demographic factors influence these traits. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted at Shiraz University of Medical Sciences among 234 medical interns (final-year students) in 2023. Data were collected via self-reported online questionnaires, including the Hildebrandt Spiritual Intelligence Questionnaire, the BarOn Emotional Quotient Inventory (EQ-i), and the Abedi Creativity Test (CT). Descriptive statistics, Spearman’s correlation, and other appropriate statistical tests were applied using SPSS version 26. Results: The median age of participants was 25 (2). Creativity, emotional intelligence, and SI had median scores of 76 (24), 134 (14), and 62 (19), respectively. Spiritual intelligence correlated positively with creativity (r = 0.398, P < 0.001), while no significant correlations were found between emotional intelligence and either SI (r = 0.104, P = 0.113) or creativity (r = -0.082, P = 0.209). Conclusions: This study demonstrated a significant positive correlation between SI and creativity in medical students. Moreover, we suggest that fostering SI can enhance creativity in medical students, improving problem-solving and innovation in medical practice.