Emotional intelligence, resilience, and perceived stress: Insights from rural healthcare professionals in India

This study examined the statistical associations among Emotional Intelligence (EI), Resilience (RS), and Perceived Stress (PSS) among 286 healthcare professionals. Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) using SmartPLS 4 was employed to assess the proposed model, which demonstrated satisfactory fit (SRMR = 0.057) and explained 64.8% of the variance in PSS ( R 2 = 0.648). Results indicated a very strong positive association between EI and RS (β = 0.990, p < 0.001). RS was negatively associated with PSS (β = −0.563, p < 0.001), and EI also showed a significant direct negative association with PSS (β = −0.426, p = 0.002). Mediation analysis revealed a significant indirect association between EI and PSS through RS (β = −0.557, p < 0.001). Overall, the findings suggest that EI and RS function as closely related psychological resources associated with lower perceived stress among healthcare professionals working in demanding rural settings.