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. 2023 Feb 9:68:1604383.
doi: 10.3389/ijph.2023.1604383. eCollection 2023.

Emotional Intelligence, Depression, Stress and Anxiety Amongst Undergraduate Dental Students During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Maryati Md Dasor  1 , Anis Aqilah Jafridin  1 , Aliatul Afiqah Azhar  1 , Alhusna Abang Abdullah Asma  2 , Prathap Chandar Manivannan  3 , Sobia Bilal  4 , Norashikin Yusof  1 , Budi Aslinie Md Sabri  1
Affiliations

Emotional Intelligence, Depression, Stress and Anxiety Amongst Undergraduate Dental Students During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Maryati Md Dasor et al. Int J Public Health. .

Abstract

Objectives: This study aimed to measure depression, anxiety and stress (DAS) among undergraduate dental students during the COVID-19 pandemic, identify key contributing factors of stress and explore the association of emotional intelligence to DAS. Methods: A multi-centre, cross-sectional study was conducted across four universities in Malaysia. The study administered a questionnaire consisting of the validated Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS), Dental Environment Stress (DES), Emotional Intelligence Scale (EI) and 10 statements assessing COVID-19 specific potential stressor factors. Results: Participants included 791 students across four universities. Abnormal levels of DAS were identified in 60.6%, 66.8% and 42.6% of the study participants, respectively. "Pressure of performance," "Faculty administration" and "Self-efficacy belief" were the highest rated stressors. On-time graduation was the main COVID-19 specific stressor factor. EI was negatively correlated with DAS scores (p < 0.001). Conclusion: The levels of DAS during COVID-19 pandemic in this population is high. However, participants with higher EI presented with lower DAS suggesting that EI may be a form of coping resource and should be enhanced in this population.

Keywords: COVID-19; anxiety; depression; emotional intelligence; stress.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they do not have any conflicts of interest.

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