Introduction.
In the last 20 years there has been a growing interest in the scientific community regarding the impact of spirituality, and later, spiritual intelligence (SI) on quality of life (QoL) and life satisfaction (LS). Still, the research on SI is characterized by a high level of heterogeneity which impedes generalizability.
Purpose.
The present study aims to review, synthesize and integrate the findings on the relationship between SI, QoL and LS by population studied, culture and model employed in order to identify potential underlying mechanisms.
Methods
The study follows Toronto and Remington's (2020) guidelines for developing an integrative review with The JBI Manual for Evidence Synthesis and the PRISMA 2020 checklist as secondary resources. The research protocol includes: Preparation, Search, Screening and Critical Appraisal, Quality Assessment, Extraction, Synthesis and Reporting.
The following databases were searched for primary sources: PubMed, Web of Science Core Collections, ScienceDirect, NUS Library, PROSPERO, Sage Journals, Scopus, SpringerLink, Wiley, OSF Repository and ProQuest using a interface-specific query.
A thematic analysis of the entities extracted and sources was performed with the application of the constant comparison method for data synthesis.
Results.
Four main themes arose in the relationship between SI, QoL and LS: identity and self perception, behaviour, relationship with others and life perception, closely following King's (2008) conceptualization of SI. Along with the themes, several influencing factors of the modelling of this relationship were observed: culture, cultural change, age, gender, life experience and context, with divergent results across studies.
Conclusion.
SI influences people's perception towards themselves and others, encouraging positive behaviors and the use of spiritual resources in stressful situations, accentuating the sense of connection with others, while maintaining a meaningful, holistic life perspective.
Addressing SI in the therapeutic practice could facilitate the creation of meaning and purpose in life, while allowing the client to develop more self-oriented coping strategies and strengthen the sense of connectedness.