الفهرس 
EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE (EI)
HISTORYOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
 |  | from | 245 |  |  |
| | | from | 245 | | |
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 acrosssectional 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 Conflict Mode Instrument (TKI). A pilot study was conducted on
about 10% of the sample, and the tools were finalized accordingly.
The fieldwork lasted from November 2012 to March 2013.
The main study findings were as follows.
Students’ age ranged from 18 to 27 years, with more
females (72.6%), and more university educated fathers
(32.0%) compared to mothers (19.4%), and 55.4% having
urban residence.
Most students were having computer skills (91.7%), using
internet (87.7%), and 78.5% of them previously carried out
research.
The results showed low levels of EI in all five domains,
especially the Interpersonal domain where only 2 (0.6%)
students had effective functioning.
Overall, only 6.8% of the students had total effective
function EI.
The accommodating was the most used among conflict
resolution strategies (51.7%), and the collaborating wasthe least used (5.8%). Students‟ EI had a significant association with higher level
of father education (p=0.002).
The use of the compromising conflict resolution strategy
was higher among older age students (p=0.03).
The use of compromising conflict resolution strategy was
higher among students in nuclear families (p=0.04).
The use of the collaborating conflict resolution strategy
was higher among unmarried students (p=0.049), with
general secondary education (p=0.02).
The use of the accommodating conflict resolution strategy
was higher among students with rural residence (p=0.01),
and whose fathers had secondary education (p= 0.047).
No significant associations could be revealed between
students‟ EI and their use of any of the conflict resolution
strategies.
Statistically significant weak to moderate negative
correlations were found among the scores of conflict
resolution domains with the highest between the
competing and accommodating strategies scores (r=-0.41).No statistically significant correlations were demonstrated
between EI and any of the conflict resolution strategies
scores.
Statistically significant weak positive correlations were
found between the frequency of internet use and the scores
of competing and collaborating strategies.
In conclusion, nursing students have low levels of
Emotional Intelligence (EI), only influenced by their father
education. Students mostly use the accommodating conflict
resolution strategy. The use of various strategies is related to
students’ age, family type, marital status, type of secondary
education, residence, father education, as well as the frequency
of internet use. The use of conflict resolution strategies is not
significantly related to students‟ EI.
Based of the study findings, there is an urgent need to
improve nursing students’ emotional intelligence through
inclusion nursing schools curricula, and training courses.
Training in selecting and applying the most appropriate conflict
resolution strategy is recommended, with emphasis on positive
strategies as the collaborating one. Further research is proposed
to assess the relations between conflict types and conflict strategies, and to evaluate the effect of training in EI and its
impact on the use of appropriate conflict resolution strategies.