The Influence of Emotional Intelligence on Nursing Students' Conflict Management Styles

Abstract

Conflict is inevitable at work, and this is particularly true in the nursing profession due to stress, workload and the work in a multidisciplinary group. Although often considered as a negative, harmful phenomenon, it may have positive impact if managed in a positive, constructive fashion. Emotional Intelligence (EI) is one of the determinants of conflict. Emotionally intelligent people can handle conflict in a tactful and sensible way. Despite the increasing understanding of the role of EI in managing conflict, little research has been done on the relationship between EI competencies of registered nurses and their conflict-handling skills. The aim of this work was to study the influence of EI on nursing students' conflict management styles. It was carried out at the Faculty of Nursing at Ain-Shams University using across-sectional analytical design. All first (162) and fourth (163) year students were included in the sample. The data collection tool consisted of a self-administered questionnaire for personal data with two standardized scales to measure EI (BarOn Emotional Quotient Inventory - Short [BarOn EQ-i: S]) and Thomas-Kilmann