Emotional Intelligence of medical students and its association with their Psychological health

Introduction: Emotional intelligence (EI) involves perception, expression and management of intrapersonal and interpersonal emotions. The potential role of EI in emotional health and professional success amongst various healthcare personnel has been reported recently. This study was conducted to evaluate psychological health and EI of newly admitted medical undergraduate students, explore association between the two and to determine their socio-demographic correlates.

 

Methods: It was a cross-sectional, self-reported, questionnaire-based study conducted on 224 undergraduate medical students who had completed their first week in the medical college. Psychological health was assessed by Depression Anxiety Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21) and EI was measured by Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire-short form (TEIQue-sf).

 

Results: The prevalence of symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress amongst participants was 49.55%, 71.43% and 33.93% respectively. Significant negative correlation (p<0.001) of DASS-21 with global trait EI and its subscale scores was found. Females, metropolitan residents and participants who self-chose medical career scored significantly higher on global EI as compared to their counterparts. Females scored higher in wellbeing and emotionality subscale as compared to males. High sociability score was seen in day-scholars, metropolitan residents and students who self-chose medical career.

 

Conclusions: Results indicate a high prevalence of psychological morbidity amongst newly admitted medical undergraduate students. Moreover, the strong negative association seen between EI and psychological health indicates that high EI contributes towards better self-perception of psychological wellbeing. Furthermore, EI is also influenced by both personal and environmental factors.