Subjective happiness mediates the relationship between emotional intelligence and psychological distress among students : a path analysis

This study examined the direct and indirect influences of students’ emotional intelligence on their level of psychological distress through subjective happiness. A cross-sectional design was employed and a total of 260 undergraduate students were sampled from a public university in Ghana. The partic...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inGender & behaviour Vol. 16; no. 3; pp. 11885 - 11893
Main Authors Kugbey, Nuworza, Atefoe, Ethel Akpene, Nyarko, Kingsley, Anakwah, Nkansah
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Ile-Ife IFE Centre for Psychological Studies (ICPS) 01.12.2018
IFE Centre for Psychological Studies
Subjects
Anxiety
College students
Demography
Depression
Emotional Intelligence
Emotions
Happiness
Health education
Health promotion
Health status
Influence
Mental depression
Mental health
Path analysis
Personality
Psychiatric-mental health nursing
Psychological aspects
Psychological distress
Psychology
Questionnaires
Stress
Students
Subjective happiness
Teaching
Undergraduate students
University students
Ghana
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Summary:This study examined the direct and indirect influences of students’ emotional intelligence on their level of psychological distress through subjective happiness. A cross-sectional design was employed and a total of 260 undergraduate students were sampled from a public university in Ghana. The participants were administered questionnaires which measured emotional intelligence, subjective happiness, psychological distress (depression, anxiety and stress), and demographic characteristics. Findings showed that there was direct negative effect of emotional intelligence on overall psychological distress (b = -.184, t = -4.796, p < .001) and an indirect effect on psychological distress through subjective happiness (b = -.058, 95%CI = -.102 to -.014). Emotional intelligence had significant direct negative effects on depression, anxiety and stress. However, emotional intelligence had a significant indirect effect on only depression through subjective happiness. The findings underscore the need for teaching and promoting emotional intelligence among students to promote positive health and academic outcomes.
ISSN:1596-9231