Duangjai Vatanasin
Burapha University, Thailand
Title: Predicting factors of social intelligence among nursing students
Biography
Biography: Duangjai Vatanasin
Abstract
Statement of the problem: Nursing students are responsible for coordinating with diverse populations in order to enhance good health for all people. Nursing students who have high social intelligence, which is the set of basic skills to understand social situations and the abilities to recognizing the thoughts and feelings of people, could build good relationships with others and also develop intervention providing good health.
Methodology & Theoretical Orientation: The purposes of this predictive correlational study were to investigate the social intelligence and its predicting factors among 450 undergraduate nursing students who were selected by stratified random sampling. Conceptual framework of the current study was derived from the Social intelligence theory (Goleman, 2006) and relevant literature. Seven research instruments used for data collection were the Information Form, Social Intelligence, Emotional Intelligence, Learning Style, Nursing Student Adaptation, Internet Addiction, and Family Connection Questionnaire. The data was analyzed using descriptive statistics, Pearson’s product moment correlation coefficient, and stepwise multiple regression analysis.
Findings: The study findings revealed that undergraduate nursing students had a high level of social intelligence ( X = 3.04, SD.= 0.258). Stepwise multiple regression analysis revealed that emotional intelligence, nursing student adaptation, and learning style together could explain 52.40 percent of the variance for Social intelligence (R2 = 0.524, F = 163.79; p <.001). The most significant predicting factor was emotional intelligence (β = 0.512, p < .001) followed by nursing student adaptation (β = 0.107, p <.001) and learning style (β = - 0.080, p <.001).
Conclusion & Significance: Results from this study have provided important baseline data on which to design the program to enhance nursing student’s emotional intelligence as well as their adaptation skills for decreasing their social intelligence.