A Bibliometric Analysis of Moral and Spiritual Intelligence Development in Adolescents: Research Trends and Themes
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.71238/jieccd.v1i01.196Abstract
Moral and spiritual intelligence are increasingly recognized as essential capacities for adolescents to navigate ethical dilemmas, build meaning, and develop healthy character, yet the research landscape on these constructs remains dispersed across psychology, education, religion, nursing, and technology ethics. This study maps research trends and themes on moral and spiritual intelligence development through a bibliometric analysis of 222 Scopus-indexed documents published between 1964 and 2026, analyzed using VOSviewer through keyword co-occurrence, co-authorship, and citation analyses. The results reveal seven thematic clusters centered on artificial intelligence and ethics, survey-based studies of moral intelligence, spiritual intelligence and leadership, morality and human thinking, religion and spirituality, psychological and emotional aspects, and consciousness and identity. Publication output has grown rapidly since 2020, with recent attention shifting toward empirical measurement, cross-sectional designs, young adults, and AI ethics. Research on adolescents specifically remains peripheral, as no adolescent-related keyword reaches the mapping threshold. Collaboration is limited, dominated by a single transnational team, while the United States, India, Indonesia, Iran, and the Russian Federation lead country contributions. This study highlights a clear gap in adolescent-focused research and offers a roadmap for developing moral and spiritual intelligence through family, school, and character education in the digital era.
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