The relationship between social intelligence, moral courage, and resilience in nurses: a cross-sectional correlational study

Abstract

This cross-sectional correlational study was conducted with 479 nurses working at educational and medical centers affiliated with Tabriz University of Medical Sciences in 2022–2023 to examine the relationships among social intelligence, moral courage, and resilience. Participants were selected using a multistage sampling method. Data were collected using validated Persian versions of the TSIS Social Intelligence Scale, Sekerka’s Moral Courage Scale, and the CD-RISC Resilience Scale, with Cronbach’s alpha coefficients of 0.75, 0.85, and 0.94, respectively. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 19. The findings showed that nurses had moderate social intelligence scores (94.98 ± 14.55) and relatively high moral courage (78.99 ± 17.98), while their resilience level was moderate to high (65.77 ± 15.56). A positive and statistically significant relationship was found between resilience and both social intelligence and moral courage (P < 0.001). Given the importance of resilience in stressful nursing environments and the positive influence of social intelligence and moral courage on resilience, educational interventions focusing on these characteristics may help improve nurses’ resilience