Predictors and correlations of emotional intelligence among medical students at King Abdulaziz University,Jeddah

Objectives: to determine the predictors of emotional intelligence (ei),and its relationship with academic performance,leadership capacity,self-efficacy and the perceived stress between medical students at king abdulaziz university,jeddah,saudi arabia. methods: a cross-sectional study was done among 540 students selected through a multi-stage stratified random sampling method during 2015/2016. a standardized,confidential data collection sheet was used. it included schutte self-report emotional intelligence (ssrei) scale,authentic leadership questionnaire,general self-efficacy scale and the short version of perceived stress scale (pss-4). both descriptive and inferential statistics were done,and a multiple linear regression model was constructed. results: the predictors of high ei were gender (female),increasing age,and being non-smoker. ei was positively associated with better academic performance,leadership capacity and selfefficacy. it was negatively correlated to perceived-stress. conclusion: female gender,age,non-smoking were the predictors of high ei. conduction of holistic training programs on ei,leadership and self-efficacy are recommended. more smoking control programs and stress management courses are required. © 2017,professional medical publications. all rights reserved.