Emotional Intelligence and Addictive Smartphone Uses among Nursing Students in Oman

Objective: To examine the relationship between emotional intelligence and smartphone addiction among nursing students in Oman. Method: A descriptive correlational design was used. A convenience sample of 275 undergraduate nursing students was recruited from Sultan Qaboos University and Omani nursing institute (Muscat) in Oman; the questionnaires consisted of the Brief emotional intelligence scale, smartphone addiction scale, the participants’ socio-demographic background, and academic background. Results: 275 undergraduate students participated in this study, the mean age of them was 20.3 years. The majority of the them were females (76.7%), single (96.4%), lived out of campus (58.5%), were not substance users (92.7%), and spent at least 1 to 3 hours daily with either their families or friends (45.1%) and (32.4%) respectively, The mean score of smartphone addiction among nursing students was 118. And the mean score for emotional intelligence was 34.66, a linear regression for these variables was calculated; however, it show no significant correlation [F (15.385)=0.919, p=0.359], with an R2. Conclusion: It is being revealed that the advent of technology has remarkably contributed to the development of human society altogether in all the facets of life, thus emotional intelligence is considered as a controlling factor in preventing the frequent checking of message notifications during the class time itself.