Association between Emotional Intelligence and Perceived Stress in Undergraduate Dental Students

BACKGROUND: This study investigated the association of emotional intelligence (EI) and other factors with perceived stress (PS) in undergraduate dental students. METHODS: A total of 234 undergraduate dental students at the School of Dental Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), in the academic year of 2009/2010, participated in this cross-sectional study. Self-administered questionnaires, the Assessing Emotions Scale and the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10), were used to evaluate EI and PS, respectively. RESULTS: -0.156, 95% CI: -0.207, -0.104). PSS-10 scores were significantly higher for students who were in the clinical years rather than the preclinical years. CONCLUSIONS: This study of USM undergraduate dental students shows that a low EI, female sex, and being in the clinical years were significant predictors of PS.