Emotional intelligence and its relation to hope among Sultan Qaboos University students in Oman

This descriptive study aims to examine the levels of emotional intelligence and hope and study the possibility of predicting hope through emotional intelligence. The study was conducted on 167 female students from SQU who were non-randomly selected. A measure of emotional intelligence and adults' measure of hope were applied after verifying their validity and reliability. The results indicated high levels of emotional intelligence and hope among the participants. Moreover, the results of the linear regression analysis showed that the dimensions of emotional intelligence were statistically significant predictors of hope. Particularly, 14% variance on pathways (as a dimension of hope) was explained by the emotional intelligence dimensions (with emotion cognitive scale as the only significant predictor). While 22% of variance on agency (as a dimension of hope) was explained by the dimensions of emotional intelligence (with emotion regulation being the only significant predictor). The study recommends conducting training programs to improve emotional intelligence and its components among university students, as well as to sensitize and guide psychologists, social workers and students through educational and therapeutic programs to the importance of hope, which is most closely related to other positive aspects.