Abstract
Background
Adolescents are sensitive to emotions and susceptible to psychiatric morbidity and disturbing behaviors including suicidality. Emotional intelligence is strongly correlated with resilience, which is considered a strong moderator for mental well-being. The study aimed to determine the level of emotional intelligence, resilience, depression and anxiety in Sudanese adolescents and the correlation between these factors.
Methods
In this cross-sectional study, 392 adolescents from four high schools completed a self-administered questionnaire consisting of the 30-item trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire- short form (TEQ-SF), Brief Resilience Scale-6 (BRS-6) and Patient Health Questionnaire-4 (PHQ-4).
Results
The emotional intelligence score was moderate to high (mean 131.53 ± 22.16). While resilience levels were low to normal (mean 3.20 ± 0.51). Students had mild to moderate degrees of anxiety, and depression at 89%, and 78% respectively. There was a positive association between emotional intelligence and resilience (r = .272, p < .0005). Emotional intelligence had no direct significant relationship with anxiety and depression, but resilience was positively correlated with anxiety (r = .105). Anxiety had a strong positive correlation with depression (r = 0.540) and a significant negative association with academic performance (r= -0.102). A significant contributor to the prediction of the resilience levels was the parents’ status (p-value = 0.011) with an unstandardized beta coefficient of 0.368.
Conclusion
The study revealed the prevalence of anxiety and depression among Sudanese adolescents and by boosting the students’ mental health their academic performance will improve.