Emotional intelligence and personality traits of university students in dentistry, medicine and pharmacy degrees

  1. Cristina Gómez Polo 1
  2. Javier Montero 1
  3. María Portillo Muñoz 1
  4. Maria Lobato Carreño 1
  5. Beatriz Pardal Peláez 1
  6. Álvaro Zubizarreta Macho 1
  7. Ana María Martín Casado 1
  1. 1 Universidad de Salamanca
    info

    Universidad de Salamanca

    Salamanca, España

    ROR https://ror.org/02f40zc51

Journal:
EJIHPE: European Journal of Investigation in Health, Psychology and Education

ISSN: 2174-8144 2254-9625

Year of publication: 2024

Volume: 14

Issue: 6

Pages: 1757-1768

Type: Article

DOI: 10.3390/EJIHPE14060116 DIALNET GOOGLE SCHOLAR lock_openDialnet editor

More publications in: EJIHPE: European Journal of Investigation in Health, Psychology and Education

Abstract

Background: This study aimed to characterize dentistry, medicine and pharmacy students in terms of emotional intelligence (EI) and personality traits (PTs). It also sought to identify whether differences existed according to gender and degree program and the relationship between them. Methods: Students enrolled in dentistry (115), medicine (85) and pharmacy (57) degree programs participated voluntarily in the research, including 59 men and 198 women. The following questionnaires were used: (1) the Trait Meta-Mood Scale (TMMS-24) to evaluate EI; (2) the NEO Five-Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI) to assess PT. The Qualtrics XM platform was used for data collection. Results: There were no statistically significant differences between three components of EI, either according to gender or degree program. The only difference in PTs was found in neuroticism, where women scored higher than men. There were statistically significant differences between students on different degree programs in openness to experience and responsibility. The five PTs correlated significantly with the three components of EI, except responsibility and emotional attention. The strongest associations were found between neuroticism and emotional repair (−0.439). Conclusions: High percentages of the student population were observed to have weaknesses in emotional clarity and emotional repair. Neuroticism is a personality trait that seems to occur more frequently in women.

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