Abstract
Background: Workplace bullying is recognized as a serious problem in the nursing profession, which can have significant negative effects on nurses’ mental health and job performance. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between spiritual intelligence and religious orientation with interpersonal forgiveness among nurses who have been victims of bullying.
Methods: This descriptive-correlational study was conducted on a sample of 150 nurses working in hospitals in Tabriz. Data were collected using standardized questionnaires of spiritual intelligence, religious orientation, and interpersonal forgiveness, and analyzed using Pearson correlation and stepwise regression in SPSS-26.
Results: The results showed that there is a strong and significant relationship between “interpersonal forgiveness” and the overall score of spiritual intelligence (P<0.001, r=0.624). Also, there is a significant and positive correlation between “interpersonal forgiveness” and “understanding and connection with the source of existence,” “spiritual life with the inner core,” and “intrinsic religious orientation” (P<0.05). However, no significant relationship was found between interpersonal forgiveness and extrinsic religious orientation (P>0.05). Regression analysis indicated that the component of “spiritual life with the inner core” in the first step and “intrinsic religious orientation” in the second step could significantly predict interpersonal forgiveness. Thus, spiritual intelligence was a stronger predictor of forgiveness compared to religious orientation.
Conclusion: The findings suggest that fostering spiritual intelligence and strengthening intrinsic religious orientation can help nurses cope constructively with the psychological aftermath of bullying and develop forgiveness abilities. These results can serve as a basis for designing educational programs and organizational interventions to improve nurses’ work environments.