Emotional Intelligence as a Predictor of Mental Resilience among Higher Education Students: A PLS-SEM Approach

Abstract

University students are increasingly suffering from academic stress as well as emotional and mental health issues therefore, the determinants that enhance the students' coping capability to adversity have become more important. Mental resilience is the capacity to cope with unanticipated change, adversity or challenge is a key driver for both academic and personal success. Emotional Intelligence (EI) which facilitates emotional awareness, emotion regulation and adaptive coping behaviour has gained a lot of attention. This study investigates the role of Emotional Intelligence dimensions on Mental Resilience of students at higher education level. Based on Wong and Law Emotional Intelligence Scale (WLEIS), emotional intelligence was theorized through four factors namely: Self-Emotion Appraisal, Others' Emotion Appraisal, Regulation of Emotions & Use of emotions. Mental resilience, by adapted items from the Connor–Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC). Data was collected which includes questionnaires (online and offline) from 254 students enrolled in higher educational institutions and analysed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM). Results indicated that Self-Emotion Appraisal (SEA), Regulation of Emotion (RE) and Use of Emotion (UE) had positive and significant effects on Mental Resilience, while Others' Emotion Appraisal (OEA) had non-significant effect. In terms of the Emotional Intelligence, Regulation of Emotion was the best predictor of resilience. The present study adds to the existing body of literature by investigating and providing empirical evidence for the role of emotional competencies in building student resilience as well as an underlying factor (emotional intelligence) that educational institutions can use to promote efforts focused on developing emotionally competent students.