Efficacy of Surah Al-Rehman Listening Therapy on the Psychological Capital of Competitive Civil Service Candidates: A Quasi-Experimental Inquiry
The Central Superior Services (CSS) examination in Pakistan demands high cognitive concentration, sustained academic effort and significant adaptive ability to academic failures. Psychological Capital (PsyCap), a higher-order construct of self-efficacy, hope, resilience, and optimism, is an important internal resource for optimizing performance and resisting stress in high-stakes evaluations. This study aimed to investigate the effect of a structured Surah Al-Rehman listening intervention on the PsyCap dimensions of Muslim CSS candidates (N=50) who failed the written examination and had low baseline PsyCap scores. A 7-day spiritual protocol was applied to participants, who were assessed with the Psychological Capital Questionnaire (PCQ-24) before and after. A single-group pretest-posttest quasi-experimental design was used, with participants being assessed with the Psychological Capital Questionnaire (PCQ-24) before and after the seven-day spiritual protocol. Overall PsyCap was significantly higher at posttest (M=4.48, SD=0.39) than at pretest (M=3.34, SD=0.41), t (49) =14.80, p<.001, d=2.09, and significant increases were found in the four subscales of PsyCap: self-efficacy, hope, resilience, and optimism (ds=1.77-1.92; p<.001). The PCQ-24 showed high internal consistency (α=.89). The results of this study suggest that spiritually integrated interventions may be useful in high stress academic settings. Findings of the study are discussed in the cultural context of Pakistan.
