A 10-year longitudinal study of dental students' emotional intelligence and the impact of COVID-19

Purpose/objectives: Emotional intelligence (EI) supports the clinical and social competencies of a practicing dentist. Reuven Bar-On's EI model is an array of inter-related emotional and social competencies, skills, and behaviors, which consist of five key domains: Self-Perception, Self-Expression, Interpersonal, Decision Making, and Stress Management, and associated with the domains are 15 emotional quotient (EQ) subskills. This study measured the impact of COVID-19 on dental students' EI by comparing measures pre-COVID-19 and during COVID-19 matriculation.

Methods: This retrospective longitudinal study measured EI with the EQ-i 2.0 for higher education. Dental students completed an EQ-i 2.0 assessment (Attempt) at the beginning of matriculation, at the mid-point, and prior to graduation. Ten groups were included, of which the first three completed matriculation prior to the pandemic and the remaining seven matriculated during timeframes intersecting at different times during the pandemic. A paired t-test dependent sample of means (p ≤ 0.05) compared EQ scores for each attempt for all groups. The study compared means for three EQ attempts with the t-test independent sample of means (p ≤ 0.05) for cohorts matriculating pre-COVID-19 and during COVID-19.

Results: The pre-COVID-19 groups showed significant increases in EQ with each subsequent attempt. COVID-19-impacted groups demonstrated significant increase in Stress Tolerance and significant decreases, most notably in the domains of Interpersonal and Self-Perception, and subscales of Optimism and Happiness.

Conclusion(s): COVID-19-related stressors impacted dental students' EI as multiple EI areas declined significantly. Dental educators should minimize organizational stressors and support EI during years 2 and 3 of matriculation.