The Relationship between Emotional Intelligence and Psycho-Spiritual Well-being among Nuns in Umuoji Monastery, Anambra State, Nigeria

Emotional intelligence serves as a critical bridge between cloistered nuns’ spiritual callings and their emotional lives. The main focus of this study was to establish the relationship between emotional intelligence and psycho-spiritual well-being among nuns in the Umuoji Monastery, Nigeria. Grounded in Daniel Goleman’s Emotional Intelligence Theory and Egunjobi’s Psycho-Spiritual Theory, the study utilized a correlational research design. A census approach was adopted, engaging the entire target population of 101 resident nuns. Quantitative data were gathered via Google Forms using the Modified Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire (MEIQ) and the Psycho-Spiritual Well-being Scale (P-SWBS). Quantitative analysis was performed using descriptive statistics and Pearson’s correlation coefficient via SPSS version 27. The findings revealed moderately high emotional intelligence scores and consistently high psycho-spiritual well-being among the participants. Notably, a moderately strong positive correlation was established between emotional intelligence and psycho-spiritual well-being, indicating that the development of one directly enhances the other. The study concludes that deliberately nurturing emotional competencies, such as empathy and compassion, fosters holistic psycho-spiritual growth. Based on these findings, it is recommended that monastic leadership integrate emotional intelligence training into formation programs, while superiors provide institutional support through psychological workshops and community-building activities to balance spiritual inwardness with relational well-being, thereby offering ongoing psychological support and sustaining the nun’s holistic well-being.

Emotional intelligence, psycho-spiritual well-being, cloistered nuns, monastic formation, Umuoji Monastery.

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