The Relationships of Sense of Coherence and Self-Compassion to Worry: the Mediating Role of Personal Intelligence

Past research has associated sense of coherence and self-compassion to worry, yet it remains unclear how they contribute to worry. One possible route is through personal intelligence. In a convenience sample of 370 Iranian medical students, the relations of personal intelligence to the above-mentioned variables have been examined, to see whether it mediates the relationships of sense of coherence and self-compassion to worry. As expected, worry was negatively correlated with sense of coherence, self-compassion, and personal intelligence. Personal intelligence mediated the relation between self-compassion and worry, but failed to mediate the relationship between sense of coherence and worry. It has been concluded that self-compassion serves as a buffering factor against worry and negative thoughts, through personal intelligence. Gender and age have been suggested to moderate the path from sense of coherence to worry.