The Relationship Between Resilience and the Emotional Intelligence of Nursing Students in the Accelerated Bachelor of Nursing Science -2.6-Year Program
Keywords:
resilience, emotional intelligence, nursing students, nursing educationAbstract
To become quality nursing graduates, students need to possess the ability to perceive emotions and resilience in facing difficulties. International research had demonstrated that resilience and emotional intelligence are important characteristics that enable effective performance. Although studies on each variable have been conducted in international contexts, there remains a knowledge gap regarding the relationship between these two variables in the context of Thai nursing students, particularly in the accelerated 2.6-year program, which has unique characteristics because students have prior work experience and must study in an intensive timeframe. This correlational research aimed to examine the mean scores of 1) resilience, 2) emotional intelligence, and 3) the relationship between these two variables among nursing students. The sample consisted of 150 third- and fourth- year students in a 2.6-year nursing program at a private university in Pathum Thani, Thailand who were selected through simple random sampling. Data collection was conducted between December 13, 2023 and November 30, 2024. The instruments were comprised of a general demographic questionnaire, a resilience assessment scale, and an emotional intelligence measurement tool from the Department of Mental Health, with reliability coefficients of 0.85 and 0.87, respectively. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and Pearson's correlation coefficients.
The results showed that the majority of participants were female with a mean age of 28.49 years and an average GPA of 3.11 (S.D. = 0.22). The mean score for personal protective factors was 80.74, indicating a high level. The overall mean emotional intelligence score was 178.17 (virtue dimension: 62.55, wisdom dimension: 60.63, happiness dimension: 54.99), which was at the normal level or above. A strong positive correlation was found between personal protective factors and emotional intelligence (r=0.78, p<.001), as well as correlations with each dimension of emotional intelligence (virtue: r=0.75, wisdom: r=0.69, happiness: r=0.73, p<.001). Based on these findings, the results can be utilized to develop curricula and extra-curricular activities to enhance personal protective factors and emotional intelligence among nursing students, thereby preparing them to become quality professional nurses.
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