College students with high abilities in liberal arts disciplines: Examining the effect of spirituality in bolstering self-regulated learning, affect balance, peer relationships, and well-being

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article reports a study on the impact of online spiritual lessons in improving self-regulation, emotion regulation, affect balance, peer relations, and well-being of high-ability college students of liberal arts disciplines. Compared to an online workshop on affect management, the online spiritual lessons were effective. Moderate effects were observed on the cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression facets of emotion regulation andautonomy, environmental mastery, personal growth, positive relations, purpose in life, and self-acceptance subscales of well-being. Fairly high effects were observed on peer relations, self-regulation, affect balance, and general/overall well-being outcomes. Gender, economic class, study subject, primary caregivers, living arrangements, attending extra lessons/having club memberships for advanced studies, and intervention compliance were significant predictors of intervention impact. Latent class analyses revealed eight classes/subgroups of participants reporting maximum posttest (T2) gains: male students, middle class, students of mathematics, literature, philosophy, who were attending extra lessons/having club memberships for advanced studies, who attended above threshold (51–90 or > 56%) online spiritual lessons, and who did above threshold homework lessons. Male students and those with high intervention compliance reported gains on all outcomes. Online spiritual lessons can be incorporated into socio-emotional leaning for high-ability collegians.