Emotional intelligence among nursing students: Findings from a cross-sectional study

Area of Science:

• Nursing Education
• Psychology
• Healthcare Professions

Background:

• Emotional intelligence (EI) is crucial in nursing, impacting patient care and professional relationships.
• Studies indicate nursing students possess higher EI than other disciplines, with levels increasing with age and tending to be higher in women.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare EI levels between nursing students with and without prior caring experience.
• To investigate the influence of gender on EI scores in nursing students.
• To assess if nursing students demonstrate higher EI than engineering students.

Main Methods:

• Cross-sectional descriptive study design.
• Inclusion of 113 nursing and 104 engineering students at the start of their first year.
• Utilized Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire (TEIQue) and Schutte Self Report Emotional Intelligence Test (SSEIT) for EI measurement.

Main Results:

• Nursing students scored significantly higher in EI than engineering students on both TEIQue and SSEIT measures (p < 0.001).
• While female nursing students showed slightly higher EI scores, the difference was not statistically significant compared to male students.
• No significant difference in EI was found between nursing students with and without previous caring experience.

Conclusions:

• Nursing students possess higher emotional intelligence compared to engineering students.
• Gender and previous caring experience were not found to be significant factors influencing EI in this cohort of nursing students.