Gender and clinical practices relationship between emotional intelligence and coping stress strategies of Nursing Students University in Spain

Introduction: Emotional Intelligence is a powerful resource for nursing students, which may be related to their ability to cope with stressful situations. The objective was to compare emotional intelligence levels with stress-coping strategies and their relationship with nursing students’ gender and clinical practices. Methods: It was carried out a descriptive, and cross-sectional study. 248 students completed the stress-coping instrument (A-CEA), the Emotional Intelligence test (TMMS-24) and an ad hoc sociodemographic questionnaire. Results: The first results show that Emotional Intelligence is related to the search for effective stress-coping strategies. Gender differences are limited and are mainly observed in Emotional Attention, with higher scores in women. The academic year has a greater influence on emotional intelligence and coping strategies, with third-year students showing higher skills, possibly due to their greater experience. Conclusions: Emotional Intelligence is related to finding effective stress-coping strategies. Specific training in socio-emotional competencies and clinical practices after such training can increase emotional intelligence and stress coping levels.