Emotional Intelligence and Psychological Well-Being of Rural Poor School Students In Sabah, Malaysia


Balan Rathakrishnan(1*), Melissa Edora Sanu(2), Azizi Yahaya(3), Soon Singh Bikar Singh(4), Mohammad Rahim Kamaluddin(5)

(1) Scopus ID: 36081311700, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Malaysia
(2) Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Malaysia
(3) University Malaysia Sabah, Malaysia
(4) University Malaysia Sabah, Malaysia
(5) University Kebangsaan Malaysia, Malaysia
(*) Corresponding Author

Abstract


Mental health disorders are major causes of disability to those affected, their families and the wider society. Absence of mental illness, or ambitiously, the presence of psychological well-being is key to the optimal functioning of individuals, for them to lead fuller lives and essential for them to contribute actively to society. Some studies have explored the links between psychological well-being and emotional intelligence. However, no such study has focussed on rural, and more often than not, poor students. Our study looked at the effects of emotional intelligence on the psychological well-being of rural poor students in Sabah, Malaysia. It was a cross-sectional study of 430 students. We found that 73% and 90% of the rural students rated their emotional intelligence and psychological well-being as moderate respectively. Regression analysis showed that emotional intelligence could predict one’s psychological well-being. We suggest further research into the differences between school students and school dropouts, and between urban and rural poor students.


Keywords


emotional intelligence, psychological well-being, rural poor students

Full Text:

PDF

References


Balan Rathakrishnan, Nagashekhara Molugulu, Balakrishnan Parasuraman, & Kumaraswamy Narasappa. (2012). The Relationship of Stress, Alcoholism and Sexual Behavior with Mental Health among Secondary School Students: A Study in Sabah, Malaysia. European Journal of Social Sciences, 31(3), 376-383.

Cohen, L., Manion, L., & Morrison, K. (2001). Research methods in education (5th ed.). London: Routledge Falmer.

Indeks Belia Sabah, (2015), Institute Penyelidikan Pembangunan Belia Malaysia (IYRES).Malaysia

Department of Statistics. (2015). Yearly report 2015. 1 Jun 2018 https://www.dosm.gov.my/v1/uploads/files/4_Portal%20Content/1_About%20us/7AnnualReport/Laporan_Tahunan_2015_DOSM.pdf

Malaysia Statistic Department (2017). 15 November 2018. http://www.rurallink.gov.my/wcontent/uploads/2018/10/DATA-ASAS-KPLB-2018_SUKU-PERTAMA_opt.pdf

Mayer, J. D., & Salovey, P. (1993). The Intelligence of emotional intelligence. Intelligence, 17, 433-442.

Mayer, J. D., & Salovey, P. (1997). What is emotional intelligence? In P. Salovey & D. J. Sluyter (Eds), Emotional development and emotional intelligence: Educational Implication (pp. 3-34). New York: Harper Collins.

Mehmood, T., & Gulzar, S. (2014). Relationship between emotional Intelligence and psychological well-being among Pakistani adolescents. Asian Journal of Social Sciences & Humanities, 3(3), 178-185.

National Health and Morbidity Survey. (2015). 1 September 2018. http://www.iku.gov.my/index.php/research-eng/list-of-research-eng/iku-eng/nhms-eng/nhms-2015

National Health and Morbidity Survey. (2017). 1 September 2018. http://www.iku.gov.my/index.php/research-eng/list-of-research-eng/iku-eng/nhms-eng/nhms-2017

Raina, M. & Bakhshi, A. (2013). Emotional intelligence predicts eudaimonic well being. IOSR Journal of Humanities and Social Science, 11(3), 42-47.

Ramya, S. (2011). Relationship between emotional intelligence and psychologi-cal well being among young adult. International Journal of Indian Psychology. ISSN: 2348-5396.

Ryff, C. D. (1995). Psychological Well-Being in Adult Life. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 4(4), 99–104. https://doi.org/10.1111/ 1467-8721.ep10772395

Salovey, P. dan Mayer, J.D. (1990). Emotional Intelligence. Imagination, Cognition and Personality, 9, 185-211.

Samaie, M., & Sepahmansour, M. (2015). The relationship between dogmatism and emotional intelligence with psychological well-being. Internation-al Journal of Fundamental Psychology and Social Science, 5(1), 7-11, doi:10.14331/ijfpss.2015.330048

Seligman, M. E. P. (2011). Flourish. New York: Simon & Schuster.

Sunil, K., & Rooprai, K. Y. (2009). Role of emotional intelligence in managing stress and anxiety at workplace. ASBBS Annual Conference, 16(1).

Urquijo, I., Extremera, N., & Villa, A. (2015). Emotional Intelligence, life satisfaction and psychological well-being in graduates: the mediating effect of perceiving stress. Journal of Applied Research of Quality Life. doi 10.1007/s11482-015-9432-9.

WHO, (2017). 1 September 2018. https://www.who.int/news-room/factsheets/detail/depressionn

Zaiton Mohamad, Balan Rathakrishnan, Getrude C. Ah Sang, & Nazmi Loh. (2015). Relationship Anxiety, Emotional Intelligence and Self Appreciation Towards the loneliness of Rural Students in Higher Education Institutions. Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities, 10(2), 1-15.




DOI: https://doi.org/10.15575/psy.v6i1.4082

Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


web stats

View My Stats

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.