Mental Health as a Catalyst for Social Intelligence: A Psychosocial Perspective

Abstract

This study explores the relationship between mental health and social intelligence among higher secondary school students in Mizoram, India, a region characterized by strong communal values and emerging psychosocial challenges. A cross-sectional correlational research design was employed with a stratified random sample of 450 students across multiple districts. Descriptive statistics and linear regression analyses were employed to evaluate the predictive relationship. Findings revealed that while students exhibited above average level of social intelligence, their mental health scores fell within the average range. However, regression analysis indicated that mental health did not significantly predict social intelligence outcomes (R² = 0.002, p = 0.304). The results are interpreted in light of Mizoram’s unique socio-cultural milieu, where collective support systems such as the young Mizo association and church-based community networks may elevate baseline social intelligence, reducing variability and its observable predictive power. Nonetheless, broader stressors especially economic precarity and youth unemployment appear to exert greater influence on mental health outcomes. This study highlights the necessity of adopting a multidimensional framework for mental health interventions in culturally distinct settings. It contributes to the under-researched field of psychosocial development in Northeast India and calls for future research that integrates both individual and structural determinants of psychological well-being.