Modeling Forgiveness Based on Moral Intelligence, Spiritual Intelligence, and Social Development with the Mediation of Guilt in University Students

Objective: The present study aimed to model forgiveness based on moral intelligence, spiritual intelligence, and social development with the mediation of guilt. Methodology: The statistical population of this descriptive-correlational study included all students of the Islamic Azad University, totaling 10,000 students enrolled in the 2022-2023 academic year. The sample size for this study was determined as 480 students (24*20). Data collection was conducted through library research and field studies. The instruments used for data collection included the Spiritual Intelligence Questionnaire by Abdollahzadeh (2008), the Moral Intelligence Questionnaire by Lennick and Kiel (2005), the Social Development Scale by Wyland (1953), the Heartland Forgiveness Scale (2005), and the Guilt Scale by Gockler and Jones (1988). The statistical tests employed in this study included confirmatory factor analysis, goodness-of-fit indices, path coefficients and significance testing, the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, Pearson correlation coefficient, and additional goodness-of-fit indices. Findings: The findings of the study indicated that there is a negative relationship between moral intelligence, spiritual intelligence, and social development with guilt. Additionally, a positive relationship was found between moral intelligence, spiritual intelligence, and social development with forgiveness. Moreover, a positive relationship was observed between guilt and forgiveness. Conclusion: The findings of this study indicate that moral intelligence, spiritual intelligence, and social development positively influence forgiveness, while guilt plays a mediating role in this relationship.