In nation developments, one of the crucial aspects is quality of human resource. The others are economy, society, politics, industry and education. Those national development factors inevitably depend on various desired characteristics of the nation’s citizens. The nation’s citizens thus become one of the most important com-ponents of Thai society. Like all other societies, every sector of a society requires competent citizens. As previously stated, the competent citizens ought to be in good physical and mental health. They should be capable of thinking, performing jobs and solving problems. The most important is that they should be able to act as efficient man power for national advanced prosperity and stability. As for national permanent and sustainable growth, its human resources ought to be competent in moral, emotional, and adversity quotients. Good citizen-ship, as viewed by Soder (2003), concerns conducts both in intellectual skills (such as critical thinking) and participatory skills. In Thai settings, good citizenship is specially associated with participatory skills mainly in social norms as national traditions, morality, religious practice and having a peaceful and virtuous life. Living as a part of society, Thai people have their own duties to perform as outlined for good citizenship so as to sustain peace and order of Thai society based on moral, ethical and legal principles. Good citizenship can be viewed and judged as the most essential basis to raise the desirable social level for entering sustainable national development in terms of society, education, economy and political aspects. Every sector presently has more recognition on the essence of good citizenship especially in educational development. The educational purposes and goals emphasize on the establishment and reinforcement of Youth’s consciousness for being good citizenship in their future life enabling them to construct more social strength and firm basis of Thai society.  As earlier stated about the necessity and importance of good citizenship, the Basic Education Core Curriculum B.E. 2551 (A.D. 2008), illustrates the traceable establishment of Thai students to be global citizens in the core curriculum vision for the development goal anticipated by every learner as the national human power to achieve the goal as a balanced human of good physical health, knowledge, morality and having the consciousness of being Thai citizens and global citizens (Department of Curriculum and Instruction Development, 2008)

The educational management for establishment of being good people for the youth is the responsibility of educational institutions at different levels. Although, there has been attempt to drive youth development and support for being good, smart and happy people, the truth is that such attempt has failed.  The current condition of Thai society, specifically in the youth group, has not achieved the goals drawn in the educational curriculum of good citizenship in terms of actions following codes of conduct for the actual public society. The youth or students in educational institutions might be expected to have a morality as R.M. (1952) pointed out.  The morality that takes accepting the traditions and customs of the society, including accepting authority and emphasizing loyalty to the group, as more important than avoiding and preventing harm.  The factors might affect the youths’ or students actual practices irrelevant to the goals of educational curriculum from the changes of economic, political and social, scientific and technological growth.  As Pannitamai (2001) viewed that the situation of changes as previously stated might cause the modern youth group to change their behaviors in being less publicly aware.  The people in different societies seem to act with less awareness in living in public societies causing social problems, such as committing crimes in different ways, quarrelling in schools or neighborhoods, or doing harm to others.  It can be mentioned that those people with such problems neglect to live together under the moral and ethical guidelines that may affect the problems of happy living societies.  Decreasing practices for good values and traditional customs in society, since the current globalization has caused Thai society to be materialistic but less aware of morals and national good culture.    Except   for   the   previous    problems   stated, presently, most Thai families are in single family style that might make family members lack warmth in society. They tend to live on one’s own or self-dependence; therefore most children of those families have been left alone and they turn to spend most of their time with friends.  As they spend their lives with friends, they might do something wrong or bad intentionally or unintentionally.  Similarly, as Thai people have been living with struggle, they forget to be generous to people around them.  People who live for survival may seek incomes for their basic consumption needs.  They help each other less than it should be while they are living a happy life.  Moreover, less generous people could be more greedy because they earn their living by taking advantage of others.  They could be short of generosity and public unity without respecting the others’ rights and public advantages.  The stated problematic situation becomes more serious causing morals and mental decadence affecting the competitiveness, selfishness, taking advantages and holding self-advantage more than public well-being (Office of the National Economic and Social Development, 2011; Chinpong, 2010; Channual, 2008; Nipawong, 2002).

Previous researches conducted did not produce clear results about good citizens regarding moral, emotional and adversity quotients. Therefore, the researcher developed good citizenship indicators of Rachabhat Universities’ students in northeastern Thailand. The development of the good citizenship questionnaire was conducted in 3 different steps: 1) constructing the variables for good citizenship, 2) developing and improving the indicators of good citizenship and 3) examining and analyzing the indicators according to the research hypotheses and the data collected.  The quality assessment of the instruments was tried out with three sample groups: group one contained four students for assessing the multi-case studies in order to develop indicators of good citizenship, sample group two included 120 students for assessing Exploratory Factor Analysis phase, and sample group three consisted 800 students for the assessment of the second phase of the Confirmatory Factor Analysis. Finding of the research produced 8 indicators of good citizenship.

Besides, the early problems suggested that they could affect the people in societies to be incompetent in ‘being good people’, so those problems could cause the personal, family and public stress. The survey of the Department of Mental Health, Ministry of Public Health in 2008 revealed that up to 20 % of Thai people from overall population encountered mental health and social problems. Children and youths have had more mental health and social problems as well. (The Office of Education Council, Ministry of Education, 2010).  The children and youths who possess mental health problems exhibited different behaviors including, quarrelling, committing crimes, drug abuse and more violently solve the problems.  According to the statistical record of Child and Adolescent Mental Foundation, Rajanagarinda Institute, Ministry of Public Health, the tendency of numbers of children committing suicide at earlier ages and the quantity had increased.   Such reason suggested that some of them lacked happiness (Mthai.com, 2008).  Furthermore, one of youth’s problems was that today’s youth are established in competitiveness in everyday life aspect. They only developed in academic skills, causing lack of necessary life skills, such as adjustment, tolerance, strength and ability in encountering and overcoming problems that could be called adversity quotients. The stated final point might cause them of impatience towards doing menial jobs, being unable to solve problems and fight with real-life problems.  Therefore, it can be inferred that those children were rooted in a life of indigence. The better those children could learn, gain knowledge, or live in a family with high economic status, the less indigent life they could have.  Those children were unable to overcome life obstacles because of the unbalanced academic life-style that excludes problem solving abilities. As previous life-situation, it could be a risk opportunity for them to choose committing suicide (Sitthisamarn, 2009). Additionally, the analysis of business ethics by Pukkapun (2001) indicated that if someone who attempts to overcome the problems to reach the life goals without considering the correct context, having moral and ethical practices, it can produce incorrect guidelines, both in personal and working life.  Moral quotient person will be a good level to instill in the children and therefore they have three factors – 1) the moralistic teaching provide directly to children, 2) to convey the morality from adults to children and 3) love and discipline. Therefore, Moral Quotient has to be practiced when they are young. If morality and ethics have been cultivated since childhood, one can develop his basic Moral Quotient up one level (Kohlberg, 1981).  The people in societies should not only praise academically smart but also good people so that the societies will be balanced and happy. Every sector coping with the problems occurring among people should be aware of the original cause of those problems and how the people in societies can be good and happy.  As stated that good people judged as good citizenship (Staolz, 1997; Charoensettasilp and Virawat, 2001) imply that the major aspects as the moral quotient (MQ), emotional quotient (EQ) and adversity quotient (AQ) can be necessary and important for human resource development together with national development. If the human resources are established with the qualification of good citizenship having physical fitness, sound mind and emotion and intellectual well-being, those people may be considered good citizen and be able to construct a happy society for the nation.

The moral quotient (MQ) can be defined as the intelligent, ethical, and moral levels a person should possess indicating the cause of  good,  smart  and  happy people’s behaviors (Chaloeysub, 2008; Charoensethasilp, 2005; Wana-indrayuth, 2005). The moral quotient (MQ) can be a major component in developing children and youths to be good and smart being able to live in the society happily.  A person’s success could not depend only on the intelligent quotient (IQ) but also on the moral quotient (MQ) ( McClelland, Atkinson, Clark, 2012) and adversity quotient (AQ) that judged as the behavioral model of the adjustment into changing circumstances and rapid-happening uncertainty of no matter how big or how many problems and obstacles. Hence, the ability to confront and overcome obstacles can be an attribute of people affecting good citizenship of the community, society and the nation.  The result from testing of the ones who fulfill in different careers revealed that they contain abilities in confronting and overcome the difficulties to help them be successful in life (Collins, 2001). While the emotional quotient (EQ) can be considered as a person’s ability in realizing his own emotion and being able to manage and control himself appropriately, as well as the perception and under-standing others’ emotions (Bar-on, 2010)

Additionally, the previous research findings on the success in life or being smart indicated that the adversity quotient (AQ), intelligence quotient (IQ), and emotional quotient (EQ) were correlated to each other (Riewchaiapoom, 2010; Sophonwachirawong, 2009; Stoltz, 1997).  However, the research focused on being good people and happy in Thai settings were not found directly to indicate what characteristics for developing human resource to be good people are.  As for the factors affecting good citizenship, the research findings revealed that there are 6 variables influencing on good citizenship ranking from the most to least including the moral quotient (MQ), the motional quotient (EQ), the adversity quotient (AQ), family nature, intelligence quotient (IQ) and self-confidence (Sukkham, 2011; Paiboonthitipornchai, 2010; Saroj, 2008; Lertmongkolnaam, 2008; Sukyai, 2008; Boonyanuwast, 2006; Klinkulab, 2003; Maneesrikham and Chullasub, 1999; Masuk, 1998; Promfui, 1980). The stated studies revealed that the variables of ethic quotient, emotion quotient and adversity quotient were important and mainly affected to good citizenship.

According to the background causes and significance stated, this research aimed to investigate the influences of moral quotient (MQ), emotional quotient (EQ), and adversity quotient (AQ) on good citizenship of the students in the campuses of Rajabhat University in Northeastern Region of Thailand.  The findings from information analysis could be usefully implemented for related educational institutions and the guardians might derive guidelines for the promotion and development of their children to have desirable characteristics of good citizenship for their communities and the country in the future.

The objective

The objective of this study was to investigate the influences of moral quotient, emotional quotient and adversity quotient on good citizenship of Rajabhat University students in the Northeast Region of Thailand.

Samples

The research sample was 1,087 students studying in 8 campuses of Rajabhat University in the Northeast region of Thailand. The sample was selected from each campus of Rajabhat University in the Northeast of Thailand by using the multi-stage sampling technique, included 1,087 undergraduate students from 8 Rajabhat Universities in the Northeastern of Thailand. The details of the samples are illustrated in Tables 1 and 2.

Instruments

The instruments used in this study are as follows, 1) The  moral quotient questionnaire (Wana-indrayuth, 2005): The questionnaire consisted of 60 items, rated using a 4-point Likert scale, ranging from 4-very true of me,3-fairly true, 2-true sometimes and 1-not true. The questionnaire assessed 6 components of moral quotient:  focus on future and self-control, beliefs in self-power, mental health, attitude, achievement motivation and moral reasoning.

2) The adversity questionnaire: This questionnaire was created based on Stoltz’s (1997) concept of adversity quotient. The questionnaire consisted of 28 items assessing the aspects of the controlling problems, finding out the cause and owner of problems, evaluation of problem effect, and coping with problem continuation.

3) Good citizenship questionnaire (Siphai and Sri-Saard, 2015): This was a 40- items questionnaire assessing the aspects of good citizenship including, self-conduct in the society, thinking process skill, living together morality, loving the nation, religion and high royal king characteristics, living in adequacy, public mind and good values. Participants were asked to rate their agreement with the statements in the questionnaire using a 4-point Likert scale ranging from 1= none of the students’ characteristics, 2= not often of students’ characteristics, 3= more often of the students’ characteristics, 4= always of the students’ characteristics

4) The emotional quotient questionnaire (Department of mental Health, Ministry of Public Health, 2000)This was a 52- item, 4-point Likert   scale  assessing   three   components   of   the  EQ,  namely goodness, smartness and happiness. The psychometric properties of the four instruments used in this research were adequate. Content validity was proved by 5 experts in the areas. The analysis of item objective congruence (IOC) revealed the values between .80 – 1.00; Cronbach Alpha ranged from .911 -.955 and; the discrimi-native values (r_xy) were between .201 -.795. The psychometric properties of each questionnaire are shown in Table 3.

Data collection and data analysis

Data were collected from 1,087 sample students. Data were analyzed using software for descriptive statistics (percentage, mean and standard deviation), and Mplus program version 7.2 (Multhen and Multhen, 2012) for structural equation model (SEM).

The result of SEM analysis showed that the hypothesized model fit well with the empirical data (chi-square=167.784, df = 119,  p-value  =  0.0022,   CFI = 0.996,  TLI  = 0.992,  RMSEA = 0.019, SRMR =  0.022,  chi-square/df =  1.409)

When considering the valid influence size on good citizenship, it was found that the Adversity Quotient (AQ) had the most influence at the .01 level of statistical significance, following by the Moral Quotient (MQ) at the .01 level of statistical significance too.

For the total influence, the effect size of the Adversity Quotient (AQ) on good citizenship was .756 (p < .01), while the effect of Moral Quotient (MQ) was .241 (p < .01)

The result of SEM revealed that the hypothetical models was best fit with the data resulting the chi-square values of 53.787, R² =0.382. The second model was best fit with the data revealing the chi-square values of 190.630, R² =0.334. The third model was best fit with the data  indicating the chi-square  values  of  R² =0.559. The Moral Quotient (MQ) and Adversity Quotient(AQ) revealed the positive values and directly affected to good citizenship, but Emotional Quotient(EQ) implied negative values and directly affected to good citizenship. The details for the indirect effect included the Adversity Quotient (AQ) with the positive values, indirectly affected to the path of the Moral Quotient (MQ) with the path coefficient = 0.043. The Emotional Quotient (EQ) had positive values, indirectly affected the path of the Moral Quotient (MQ) with the path coefficient = 0.154  and the positive values, indirectly affected to the path of the Adversity Quotient(AQ) with the path coefficient = 0.412, and the positive values, indirectly affected to the path of the Moral Quotient (MQ), the path of the Adversity Quotient (AQ), and finally, the MQ & AQ had the path coefficient = 0.025.   The indices of goodness of fit for the research hypothetical models are shown in Table 4 and Figure 1.

In terms of the influences of the moral, emotional and adversity quotients on good citizenship, this study found that the major aspect of the adversity quotient directly affected most to good citizenship of the students. This might be due to the fact that most students had the capability to confront and overcome obstacles and could respond to the challenges and difficulties in life. They reacted with strong enthusiasm to pursue their set goals and continue towards excellence in job performance with the determined commitment throughout their life (Kotchapakdee, 2001). Problems and obstacles could be the core factors as well as the important factors enabling humans  to  cancel or continue to do activities. If a person

knows what they want and how they could put the effort to overcome the obstacles or difficulties to obtain what he needs, and realizes the satisfaction that they will be responded and can achieve the needs, they can set his goals, and if some obstacles or difficulties occur, they will prepare themself to encounter and try to overcome those challenges (Boonrapadecha, 1985). Additionally, the adversity quotient can be a behavioral pattern to help self-adjust to the rapid-changing circumstances and uncertainties, no matter how hard the problems or difficulties may be. Therefore, the adversity quotient can be considered as the personal characteristics affecting to the aspect of good citizenship in communities, societies and nations. The stated findings can be related to the research conducted by Boonyanuwat (2006), which studied on the factors related to the good citizenship attributes of the students in Grade 9- secondary level in the Educational Service Area Office of Pattalung Province. The study findings showed that family nurture, moral reasoning, self-confidence, anxiety and self-control capability were correlated to the good citizenship attributes at the .01 level of statistical significance. Similarly, the mentioned findings were related to the research findings conducted by Sungkhamaan (2005) that studied the selected variables related to the adversity quotient capability among the students in class level 4 in Nongkhai Province revealing that there was the positive relationship with the adversity quotient capability at statistical significance.

Moreover, in terms of the moral quotient, it directly influences good citizenship of the students in the second rank at the .01 level of statistical significance. The stated finding might be the reason that the moral quotient can be the main element for the development of the children or youth to be good people, smart and able to live in societies happily. The moral quotient is judged as the opinion level in morals or morals level in a person’s mind in order to establish social prosperity. In this case, the social members should know to select for practices with the awareness of right or wrong things based on the rules and benchmarks of social behaviors. The members of society will judge what to conduct either in the right or wrong practices focused on the criterion the societies raise (Kolhberg cited in Hunnakhin, 1980; Chomcheoun, 1992; Chinpong, 2009). The present research findings can be considered to be correlated to Kohlberg’s concept (Somboon et al., 1983, pp. 33-36) stating that the adolescents from 16 years of age and above could behave correctly depended on the rights, values and opinions  of  them  and following to the benchmarks, rules and orders under the approval and co-agreement of those societies. Besides, the people should persist in legal ways, but emphasize on the possibility in changing laws when considering in the advantageous reasons for societies. Therefore, in case of the students who behave in the moral quotient, it can also affect to the students’ good citizenship. The reason from the findings can be related to Sukkham’s study (2011), on acting as the family function, moral quotient and good citizenship of the 4th year students in Kasetsart University, Bang Khen Campus, and its findings revealed that the moral quotient was positively related to good citizenship at the .001 level of statistical significance.  

But for the variable of the negative influence on good citizenship of the students in the campuses of Rajabhat University in the Northeastern, it illustrated the emotion quotient at the .05 level of statistical significance. For the finding stated, it might be because the emotional quotient can be the person’s ability to realize in feeling, thinking, and different emotional states occurring on his own and others (Mayer and Salovey, 1990, cited by Tongparb, 2003, p. 10); however, that person should be able to control his own emotion so as to indicate his own thinking and acting reasonably. When looking into For the emotion quotient, it negatively influences the good citizenship of the students in the campuses of Rajabhat University students at the .05 level of statistical significance. But when considering the indirect effects through the adversity and the moral quotients, the emotional quotient became inversely positive to good citizenship. For overall influences, it revealed that all three variables of the adversity, moral and emotion quotients affected to the good citizenship the students in the campuses of Rajabhat University students in the Northeast of Thailand at the same .01 level of statistical significance. For this case, variable of moral and adversity quotients might be the mediator variables for the students’ good citizenship, because statistical mediator variables as the path relating A to C can mediate the third variable (B) could be the variables indicating the influences between independent variables and dependent variables through other variables. Actually, as McClelland et al. (1953) stated, a person’s success could not solely only depend on the intelligence quotient, but also depend on the moral, adversity and emotion quotients as Baron and Kenny (1968) strongly supported. 

Moreover, because of the past research associated with the success in life or being an intelligent person, it indicates that the relationships among the adversity (AQ), the intelligence (IQ) and the emotional quotients (EQ) which were related to each other (Stoltz, 1997; Sophonwachirawong, 2009; Riewchaiyaphoom, 2010). This may be because the changing conditions of societies under globalization caused by the influences of technological progress, while the morality and ethics of the people in societies could reverse into another direction likely affecting the problems of people living together in societies. That can be considered that the morals, good culture and good values became deteriorated, and the original traditions were also neglected. Thus, spending current lives appeared necessary to be skilful and able to do other things in different aspects pursuing the moral, emotion and adversity quotients. As Bar-On, (1992, cited in Punnitamai, 2001, p. 11) stated that self-capability in the emotion and social aspects could cause successful living.

In the stated point, if a person acts his innate behaviors, he will do his behavior intention. This means that the tendency or readiness of a person to act out his innate behaviors to be related to his own feelings based on the social criterion towards those situations, the people group with interrelationship and important people. The acceptance and support for the stated behaviors should be promoted to do.

If a person has previously experienced those aspects and emphasizes on the social criterion in terms of a person depending on that person in his self-confidence and complying, contradiction or accordance, they could make up more accordance into the social criterion in what he is doing, so the belief in the social criterion can be an important variable in predicting the behaviors better (Ajzen and Fishbein, 1980, cited by Klinsuwon, 1995). From the preceding discussion stated, it correlated with Stoltz’s (1997) guidelines indicating that the adversity could imply the tolerance, attempt and adversity capability for fighting the obstacles or difficulties. It could also predict that who could overcome or lose the obstacles or difficulties, and it could predict that who could achieve his work more with appropriate competency, and who could lose his task in a short time. Especially, if a person follows the moral, ethical and value principles as the accepted social principles or benchmarks, that can be determined that a person has moral quotient, he will behave well and realize responsibility, honesty and ethics.

Therefore, if people conduct with high-leveled intelligence and emotion quotients, but low moral quotient, they may conduct with the intelligence quotient in the wrong way. As the earlier mentioned discussion, the moral quotient based on establishing goodness or doing in the right ways can be adopted to teach the children, correlated to various religious principles that teach people to be called as good people. The children with moral quotient can be viewed that they are generous, empathic to the others, and when growing up, they could easily adjust themselves to the others living in the same circumstances. The children with moral quotient can be judged that they will do something in the rights, know what and how they should or should not do. For the reasons stated, teaching them to behave like those effectively, someone who is responsible for teaching them should use appropriate words or speeches together with exemplified  acting  (Dek-D.com, 2012).  Eventually, the discussion above can imply that a person with emotion quotient can be able to overcome encountered obstacles or difficulties, and a person with moral quotient can be good citizenship in the society they spends their own life.

1. Stakeholders involving in the development of students’ good citizenship should not only promote the emotional quotient, but they should also develop other essential parallel-variables, such as the moral quotient and adversity quotient in order to encourage them to be desirable attribution necessary for being good citizens of the society and nation in the future.

2. There should be the study on the influences of the intelligence quotient, moral quotient, emotion quotient and adversity capability toward the students’ good citizenship in order to obtain the responses underlying the development that if the students are highly intelligent together with the stated quotients, whether and how there will be the effect on the students’ good citizenship or not.

3. This investigation aimed to study the direct and indirect influences of the factors affecting to the students’ good citizenship. There should also be the study directing influence or the co-interaction of the moral quotient, emotion quotient or adversity quotient so that it could be the information for taking to develop the students’ good citizenship apparently. 

4. In the study on the influence of the factors affecting to the students’ good citizenship, the investigator should comparatively study in terms of the structural laid-management and functions of different variables. In that study characteristic is useful for the causal study in the present and future with more correctness and nature of variables that causes the details to implement diversely and covering the involved persons in various sectors.

This work was funded by Thailand Research Fund, with budget No.TRG5780240, and Chaiyaphum Rajabhat University.

The author has not declared any conflicts of interest.