Emotional intelligence, sense of coherence, engagement and coping: A cross-sectional study of university students' health

Abstract

It is important to consider university settings as sustainable environments that promote student well-being. Our aim in this study was to determine how the variables of engagement, emotional intelligence, sense of coherence, and coping influence the health of students at a Spanish university. This was a descriptive, cross-sectional study. The instruments of measures administered were: The General Health Questionnaire, Trait Meta-Mood Scale, UterchWork Engagement Scale, sense of coherence and brief coping scale to 463 students. The results showed that better-perceived health was associated with higher scores for dedication, vigor, clarity, repair, sense of coherence, active coping, positive reframing, and humor. Conversely, poorer perceived health was associated with higher scores for attention, instrumental support, self-distraction, venting, religion, denial, self-blaming, emotional support, and behavioral disengagement. In addition, the variables analyzed presented differences by sex. Our proposed predictive model of health and the associations between variables indicate the need to cultivate emotional skills, such as mood repair, a sense of coherence, and coping strategies, in order to promote student health. Facilitating students' acquisition of knowledge and resources by analyzing these and other variables can contribute to individual well-being and help university students to cope with present and future academic challenges.