Emotional Intelligence among Undergraduate Dental Students and Its Relationship with Academic and Clinical Performance

Introduction: Emotional intelligence (EI) plays a significant and vital role in the success of a healthcare professional. The current study was aimed at assessing the emotional intelligence and evaluating its association with academic and clinical performance comprehensively among the dental students. Materials and Methods: 215 undergraduate dental students were involved in this cross-sectional questionnaire-based study. A Sterrett's EI questionnaire was used in this study. Statistical analysis used: Independent samples't-test was performed to find out the differences in mean EI scores between female and male students. Pearson's correlation coefficient test was employed to determine the relationship between EI scores and the academic and clinical performance. Simple linear regression was calculated to predict the academic and clinical performance based on the EI scores. Results: There was no statistically significant difference noted in the mean overall EI scores between females (168.10 ± 16.127) and the males (171.20 ± 17.222) conditions; t (198) = -1.247, p = 0.214. Moderate positive correlation was observed between EI scores and academic performance (r = 0.393, p<0.01) and the EI scores and clinical performance (r = 0.392, p<0.01). A significant regression equation was found (F(1, 198) = 36.142, p < .000) with an R2 of 0.154 when calculate academic performance based on the EI scores. Conclusions: Dental students have exhibited moderate levels of emotional intelligence scores. No statistically significant difference noted in mean overall EI scores between female and male students. The results showed a significant moderate correlation between the EI scores and the academic and clinical performance.