Emotional Intelligence Scale for Male Nursing Students and Its Latent Regression on Gender and Background Variables

Predictors and influencing factors of emotional intelligence among nurses in the North East England, United Kingdom

BACKGROUND

Recognising that high levels of emotional intelligence (EI) are required for involvement in the nursing practice, this study was conducted to assess the traits of emotional intelligence, perception of emotional intelligence and factors associated with emotional intelligence among nursing teams in Northeast England.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

For this descriptive cross-sectional study, a concurrent mixed method was employed (qualitative and quantitative method) using a convenience sampling technique. Data were obtained from one hundred and ten (110) staff nurses practicing with the National Health Service via a validated semi-structured questionnaire and in-depth interview. Data collected through questionnaires (online- Google form link) were retrieved via Ms excel spreadsheet and then imported to Statistics Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 25 for analyses. Interviews recorded were transcribed word for word as Nvivo software (version 12) was utilised for thematic analysis and rapid analysis was also adopted to validate the responses.

RESULTS

Majority (77%) of the respondents were females, and about half (46%) have work experience between one to five years. The mean emotional intelligence trait score for each domain was self-awareness (20.20), self-regulation (38.15), self-motivation (20.54), empathy (18.78), and social skills (29.60), as 82% of the nurses had high emotional intelligence trait. There was a statistically significant relationship between empathy, and race of the respondents (P = 0.040). Also, from the qualitative data; cultural differences, personality traits, self-care, family support, and organisational structure are key predictors of emotional intelligence traits among nurses.

CONCLUSION

Enhancing emotional intelligence traits among nursing teams is significant, as it may serve as an intervention strategy to manage changes and still increase level of morale and productivity among nurses. Hence, creating a more supportive environment, encouragement from team leads or supervisors, and training on stress management strategies can help to reduce burnout, anxiety and stress in nurses.

Professional Identity Scale for Male Nursing Students Using the Rasch Model and Latent Regression on Gender and Background Variables

This study developed a professional identity (PI) scale and compared the scores of male and female nursing students. Few studies have focused on male nursing students to understand their PI vis-à-vis related background variables relative to female ones. We recruited 384 male nursing students in Taiwan to construct the PI scale based on the Rasch model with 12 items and 3 factors, namely cognitive, emotional, and behavioural identity. The PI scale showed a good model fit in confirmatory factor analysis, with factor loadings ranging from 0.56 to 0.73. Cronbach’s alpha coefficients ranged from 0.72 to 0.79 for the three subscales and 0.88 for the entire scale. The results of the multiple latent regression analyses showed that male nursing students had higher PI in the total scale and its three factors than did female ones. Having mothers with medical or nursing-related jobs may help promote the cognitive PI of male nursing students. Experiences of caring for family members can help promote PI among female nursing students but not among male ones. Future research should focus on decreasing loss in behavioural PI for both genders after graduation and on reinforcing the association between behavioural PI and interest in nursing among male nursing students.