EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE AND ACADEMIC STRESS IN NURSING STUDENTS

Abstract

Objective: To determine the relationship between emotional intelligence and academic stress among nursing students. Material and Method: Ex post facto, descriptive, cross-sectional study carried out in the Faculty of Nursing of a Peruvian University. A non-probabilistic sample of 30 students, who informedly consented to participate, was obtained from a population of 320 nursing students enrolled in the 7 th semester. Two instruments were used: one prepared by Bar-On, validated for Peru to measure emotional intelligence and the SISCO Inventory for Academic Stress. For psychometric measurements, Cronbach’s alpha, descriptive analysis in frequency distribution tables, central tendencies and dispersion measurements were used. To establish a relationship between emotional intelligence and academic stress, Chi-squared (X 2 ) test was used. The study was approved by the Ethics Committee of the Research Institute of the Faculty of Nursing. Results: The students showed a lack of Emotional intelligence in relation to the Intrapersonal and Adaptability dimensions. The Interpersonal intelligence and general mood are the most developed. The five dimensions of Emotional intelligence are related to stress episodes of students who have been affected by this situation. Conclusions: There is no significant relationship between emotional intelligence and frequency of academic stress among nursing students in the 7th semester. Nevertheless, it is necessary to work in order to improve the educational quality during the process of professional training and to consider the emotional component to develop a comprehensive teaching and learning process.