The relationship between moral disengagement and spiritual well-being in the students of Tehran universities with the mediating role of positive and negative affects.

Spiritual well-being is the fundamental dimension of health that integrates the other dimensions (physical, emotional, social, spiritual, and intellectual) and is dynamically reflected in four domains of self, others, environment, and a superior being. The present study aimed to investigate the mediating role of positive and negative affects in the relationships of moral disengagement and spiritual well-being in university students in Tehran.

The statistical population of this descriptive correlational study comprised all students of universities in Tehran in the academic year 2020-2021. A sample of 301 students (199 females and 102 males) was selected via convenience sampling. The research instruments included the Spiritual Well Being Scale (SWBS), the Moral Disengagement Questionnaire, and the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS). Data were analyzed by the Pearson correlation method and path analysis.

There was a significant correlation between the components of moral disengagement, positive and negative affects, and the components of spiritual well-being (P<0.001). The findings revealed that the path between negative affects and spiritual well-being was significant and negative, and that between positive affects and spiritual well-being was significant and positive (P<0.001). The total path coefficient between moral disengagement and spiritual well-being was significant and negative, and the indirect path coefficient between moral disengagement and spiritual well-being was significant and negative (P<0.001). Positive and negative affects, therefore, significantly and negatively mediate the relationship between moral disengagement and spiritual well-being (P<0.001).

According to the results, spiritual well-being can thus be promoted through training to prevent moral disengagement both directly and as mediated by positive and negative affects.