Spirituality and psychological capital as predictors of psychological well-being in adults in Ecuador and Peru

BackgroundSeveral studies have indicated a positive association between positive psychological resources–such as spirituality and psychological capital–and psychological well-being. However, the specific nature of these relationships remains poorly understood.ObjectiveThe purpose of this study was t...

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Main Authors: Víctor Manuel López-Guerra, Dolores Lucia Quinde, Sandra Guevara-Mora, Karina Ocampo-Vásquez, Wilson Guillermo Siguenza-Campoverde, Cristina Díaz de la Cruz, Segundo Francisco Vivanco-Rios, Susan Cristy Rodríguez-Balcázar, José Melanio Ramírez-Alva
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2025-08-01
Series:Frontiers in Psychology
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Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1620382/full
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Summary:BackgroundSeveral studies have indicated a positive association between positive psychological resources–such as spirituality and psychological capital–and psychological well-being. However, the specific nature of these relationships remains poorly understood.ObjectiveThe purpose of this study was to examine, through a model of structural equations, the influence of spirituality and psychological capital on psychological well-being, as well as to explore the relationship between these two predictor variables.MethodThe sample consisted of 1,044 adults living in Ecuador and Peru, aged between 18 and 71 years (M = 24; SD = 7.77), of whom 64.8% were women. The Ryff Psychological Well-being Scale (Ryff, 1989), the Parsian and Dunning Spirituality Scale (Parsian and Dunning, 2009), and a psychological capital questionnaire were used.ResultsStructural analyses showed a good fit of the proposed model according to the main goodness-of-fit indices. Psychological capital emerged as the most robust predictor of psychological well-being, explaining 13% of its variance, followed by spirituality. Likewise, a positive association was also evident between spirituality and psychological capital. Overall, the findings suggest that higher levels of these positive resources are related to greater psychological well-being.ConclusionThe results provide relevant empirical evidence on the promoting role of positive internal resources in psychological well-being, especially in Latin American contexts. The theoretical and practical implications are discussed, the study’s limitations are acknowledged, and future research is proposed.
ISSN:1664-1078