The influence of emotional intelligence on academic stress among medical students in Neyshabur, Iran

Elham Charoghchian Khorasani; Mohammad Ardameh; Seyedeh Belin Tavakoly Sany; Hadi Tehrani; Vahid Ghavami; Mahdi Gholian-Aval

doi:10.1186/s12888-023-05344-0

The influence of emotional intelligence on academic stress among medical students in Neyshabur, Iran

BMC Psychiatry. 2023 Nov 16;23(1):848. doi: 10.1186/s12888-023-05344-0.

Authors

Elham Charoghchian Khorasani¹, Mohammad Ardameh², Seyedeh Belin Tavakoly Sany^{1

3}, Hadi Tehrani⁴, Vahid Ghavami⁵, Mahdi Gholian-Aval⁶

Affiliations

¹ Social Determinants of Health Research Center, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.
² Department of Health Education and Health Promotion, School of Health, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.
³ Department of Health, Safety and Environment, Faculty of Health, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.
⁴ Department of Health Education and Health Promotion, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.
⁵ Department of Biostatistics, School of Health, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.
⁶ Department of Health Education and Health Promotion, School of Health, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran. gholianam@mums.ac.ir.

Abstract

Background: Although, several novel strategies related to coping with stress dominate the possible vicissitudes that may occur, academic stress and its mental and physical outcomes remain a serious public concern among college students. Available data on how/where intervention-based novel strategies and emotional intelligence skills can influence students' ability to deal with stress and crisis situations is still unclear. This study aims to investigate the effectiveness of an educational intervention based on emotional intelligence on the level of academic stress components among Iranian medical students.

Methods: This research has been done in two descriptive and quasi-experimental sections in the academic year 2018-2019. To determine the effect of emotional intelligence components on stress levels, this descriptive study was performed on 200 students. Then, a quasi-experimental study was then conducted to determine the impact of an emotional intelligence component-based educational intervention on academic stress-coping skills. Data were collected through a personal information questionnaire, Bradbury and Graves's emotional intelligence questionnaire, and Gadzella's academic stress questionnaire.

Results: Most of the participants were female (72.3%) married (72%), non-native (62.1%), and second or third academic years (78.5%). The mean number of academic years of employment was 9.5. The mean age of students were 23 ± 3.5 years old. Intervention based on emotional intelligence significantly (p < 0.05) improved students' emotional intelligence skills and decreased their academic stress and reactions to stressors in the intervention group.

Conclusion: It appears that emotional intelligence training is a feasible and highly acceptable way to develop coping skills with academic stress; therefore, such training is essential to be considered as part of university education to improve students' education quality and their skills to study without academic stress.

Keywords: Academic stress; Emotional intelligence; Health education; Health promotion; Mental health; Students.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adaptation, Psychological
Adult
Emotional Intelligence
Female
Humans
Iran
Male
Students, Medical* / psychology
Students, Nursing* / psychology
Young Adult