Emotional Intelligence and Empathy and Their Associations with Socio-Demographic Characteristics among Nursing Undergraduates at General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University, Sri Lanka

Background: Emotional intelligence and empathy are essential competencies for nursing professionals in ensuring quality of patient care. However, limited research has explored their relationship among nursing undergraduates in Sri Lanka. This study was conducted to assess emotional intelligence, empathy, their correlation, and their associations with socio-demographic characteristics among nursing undergraduates in General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University, Sri Lanka.  
Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among all nursing undergraduates enrolled on the BSc Nursing Degree Programme (n=224) at General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University, Sri Lanka: 197 nursing undergraduates responded. Emotional intelligence and empathy were measured using the locally validated Schutte Self-Report Emotional Intelligence Test (SSEIT) (Min-Max score: 33–165) and the Toronto Empathy Questionnaire (TEQ) (possible score range: 0–64), respectively. Data were analysed using SPSS version 25, and non-parametric tests (Mann–Whitney U, Kruskal–Wallis, and Spearman’s correlation) were applied.  
Results: The mean (±SD) age of the participants was 22.95 (± 2.80) years. The mean emotional intelligence score was 126.72 ± 22.35, while the mean empathy score was 42.83 ± 7.38. Emotional intelligence differed significantly according to year of study (p = 0.042), interest in nursing (p = 0.031), satisfaction with undergraduate life (p = 0.001), and reason for selecting nursing (p = 0.009). Empathy showed significant differences by gender (p = 0.003), year of study (p < 0.001), interest in nursing (p = 0.025), satisfaction with undergraduate life (p = 0.006), and reason for selecting nursing (p = 0.004). Emotional intelligence showed a moderate positive correlation with the empathy (r = 0.602, p < 0.001).  
Conclusions: Nursing undergraduates demonstrated favourable levels of emotional intelligence and empathy, with a significant positive correlation between the two constructs. Strengthening emotional competencies within undergraduate nursing education may contribute to the development of empathetic and emotionally competent healthcare professionals.