Emotional intelligence and related factors in medical sciences students of an Iranian university.
BACKGROUND
Emotional intelligence has evolved lot of interest in a variety of fields. The aim of this study was to determine the emotional intelligence and its related factors among junior medical sciences students.


METHODS
The research design was a descriptive - analytic analysis. Based on a census sampling method, the emotional intelligence of 322 junior medical sciences students was evaluated using the Bar-On Emotional Quotient Inventory. This study was done from 2008 to 2009 in the Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences.


RESULTS
The findings showed that 48.1% and 22.4% of students had effective functioning and enhanced skills in emotional intelligence, respectively, while 29.5% of them needed some interventions in order to enhance the emotional intelligence. The study revealed that the students required intervention in every composite of emotional intelligence. In addition, emotional intelligence was correlated with gender, psychiatric history of the student and his/her family, experience of stressful life events, interest in the field of study, grade of study, and marital status.


CONCLUSIONS
The results of the present study have shown that the students need some interventions to improve their emotional intelligence.
Department of Psychiatric Nursing, Member of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences Research Center, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran.
Hamideh Azimi
HA
Lolaty
Department of Psychiatry Member of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences Research Center, Sari, Iran.
Abdolhakim
A
Tirgari
Department of Psychiatric Nursing, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran.
Jabbar Heydari
JH
Fard
Emotional intelligence; Iran; mental health