Emotional Intelligence and Personality Traits of University Students in Dentistry, Medicine and Pharmacy Degrees

Abstract

Background: This study aimed to characterize dentistry, medicine and pharmacy students in terms of emotional intelligence (EI) and personality traits (PTs). It also sought to identify whether differences existed according to gender and degree program and the relationship between them. Methods: Students enrolled in dentistry (115), medicine (85) and pharmacy (57) degree programs participated voluntarily in the research, including 59 men and 198 women. The following questionnaires were used: (1) the Trait Meta-Mood Scale (TMMS-24) to evaluate EI; (2) the NEO Five-Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI) to assess PT. The Qualtrics XM platform was used for data collection. Results: There were no statistically significant differences between three components of EI, either according to gender or degree program. The only difference in PTs was found in neuroticism, where women scored higher than men. There were statistically significant differences between students on different degree programs in openness to experience and responsibility. The five PTs correlated significantly with the three components of EI, except responsibility and emotional attention. The strongest associations were found between neuroticism and emotional repair (−0.439). Conclusions: High percentages of the student population were observed to have weaknesses in emotional clarity and emotional repair. Neuroticism is a personality trait that seems to occur more frequently in women.

Keywords

• emotional intelligence
• personality traits
• university students
• dentistry
• medicine