Emotional Intelligence and its Relationship to Leadership, Depression, Anxiety and Stress among Pharmacy Students, Makkah, Saudi Arabia
Rahaf Nabeel Alaaddin
Department of Community Medicine, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Nahla Khamis Ibrahim *
Department of Community Medicine, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. and Department of Epidemiology, High Institute of Public Health, Alexandria University, Alexandria, Egypt.
Mai Kadi
Department of Community Medicine, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Background: Emotional Intelligence (EI) is the capability of an individual to recognize his own and others’ emotions. The current study was conducted to describe the EI and its relation to leadership, stress, anxiety, and depression among pharmacy students at Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah, Saudi Arabia.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among pharmacy students enrolled in the Faculty of Pharmacy at Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah, during the educational year 2018/2019. A standardized data collection sheet was used. It inquired about personal and socio-demographic data, habits, general life satisfaction, and the academic stress. It contained also the Schutte Self-Report Emotional Intelligence (SSREI) scale, Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS), and the authentic leadership questionnaires. Descriptive, inferential statistics and multiple linear regression analyses were conducted.
Results: A total of 400 pharmacy students enrolled in the study. Their mean age was 21.61± 1.45 years. The total EI score (mean ± SD) was 118.42± 14.60. The predictors of the overall EI score were students' high leadership score (>48), general life satisfaction, and physical activity. EI was positively correlated with the authentic leadership scale and negatively correlated to DASS.
Conclusion: Pharmacy students at UQU have above average EI score. Higher EI was positively associated with better leadership capacity and higher EI was negatively associated with depression, anxiety, and stress levels. Physical activity is an important EI predictor.
Keywords: Emotional intelligence, pharmacy education, stress, anxiety, depression, leadership.