EXPLORING THE MEDIATING ROLE OF EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE IN THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL-BEING AND ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AMONG PAKISTANI UNIVERSITY STUDENTS

Abstract

The present study examined emotional intelligence as a potential mediating factor between psychological well-being and academic achievement in university students in Pakistan. Using a quantitative correlational research design, data were obtained from undergraduate students (n = 350) from three prominent universities in Punjab, Pakistan, using stratified random sampling. The key variables were assessed using Ryff’s Psychological Well-Being Scale, the Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire-Short Form, and students’ cumulative grade point averages.  Various statistical techniques, including Pearson correlations, Baron and Kenny’s mediation analysis, Sobel test, and hierarchical regression, were performed in SPSS. Psychological well-being, emotional intelligence, and academic achievement all positively correlating was a notable finding. Emotional intelligence was also seen to partially mediate the relation between psychological well-being and academic achievement. Students with more psychological well-being were also more emotionally intelligent and, as a result, performed better academically. This makes a unique contribution to the understanding of the psychological dimensions of academic achievement within the higher education context of Pakistan. Moreover, it underlines the importance of including emotional intelligence within psychosocial approaches to education. The results can inform targeted interventions to promote emotional intelligence as a means to enhance student psychological well-being and academic achievement, which can include emotional intelligence training programs and will be of great use to educational psychologists, university administrators, and policymakers.