Emotional Intelligence and Its Role in Maintaining Academic-Personal Life Balance Among Nursing Students at Taif University.

Abstract

Introduction: Emotional intelligence (EI) has become one of the key aspects of nursing education since it facilitates the process of emotional control, stress management, resilience, and well-being among students. Nursing students are usually exposed to academic, clinical, and personal pressures, which may influence their readiness to balance positive academic and personal lives. Methods: A quantitative descriptive-correlational cross-sectional design was utilized for this study. A total of 209 undergraduate nursing students from the College of Nursing at Taif University were included in this study and selected through convenience sampling. An online questionnaire was used to collect data that included demographic characteristics, an adapted 10-item version of the Schutte Self-Report Emotional intelligence test and an adapted 9-item version of the School-Life conflict scale. Reliability testing reflected high internal consistency, with Cronbach’s alpha of 0.902 and 0.861 for emotional intelligence and academic–personal life balance, respectively. Results: The findings identified that the emotional intelligence of nursing students was high (mean = 3.51, SD = 0.85), while their academic–personal life balance was moderate (mean = 3.40, SD = 0.82), reflecting that students experienced some challenges in balancing academic and personal and social responsibilities. In contrast, academic–personal life balance differed significantly according to GPA (p = 0.039). Furthermore, a moderate positive relationship was identified between emotional intelligence and academic–personal life balance (r = 0.559, p = 0.001). Regression analysis showed that emotional intelligence explained 30.9% of the variance in academic–personal life balance, implying that students with higher EI are better able to handle academic pressure while still maintaining emotional and personal well-being. Discussion/Conclusion: The research concluded that emotional intelligence is a meaningful positive indicator of academic-personal life balance in nursing students. The results suggest the necessity of considering the development of emotional intelligence through educational programs, stress management strategies, and counseling support.