The Association of Self-Assessed Emotional Intelligence with Academic Achievement and General Health among Students of Medical Sciences

INTRODUCTION & AIM: Emotional intelligence is one of the most important leading factors influencing different aspects of human life. It leads individuals to percept their feelings for appropriate decision making and fields for future accomplishments. The aim of this study was to Investigation of the associations of self-assessed EI with academic achievement and general health among medical students.

MATERIALS & METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 426 students of Zahedan University of Medical Sciences from October 2014 to May 2015. Random sampling method was used. Sibria Shring standard emotional intelligence questionnaire and Goldberg's standard general health questionnaire (GHQ-28) were used for data collecting. Data analysis was through descriptive statistics (mean, standard deviation) and inferential statistics (t-test, ANOVA and Pearson correlation coefficient) by SPSS v.21. The tests significant level was considered 0.05.

FINDINGS: The average total score of emotional intelligence in males (102.23±1.67) was better in comparison with females (98.54±2.23). There was not any significant difference in total mean scores of students of different fields of Study (P=0.211). According to ANOVA test, it has not observed any significant difference between scores of emotional intelligence scales of students from different domains of study. The results of Pearson correlation test confirmed a positive significant correlation between emotional intelligence, academic achievement and general health.

CONCLUSION: According to the results of this study that has shown a significant relationship between emotional intelligence, general health and academic achievement, it is needed to hold some workshops and classes for emotional intelligence improvement.