Emotional Intelligence as a Protective Resource Against Academic Stress and Burnout: A Cross-Sectional Study of University Students in Haryana and Rajasthan
Abstract
Background: Academic stress and burnout are increasingly recognised as threats to university students’ learning, engagement, and psychological well-being. Emotional intelligence may operate as a personal resource by improving emotion recognition, regulation, coping, and help seeking, yet multi-institution evidence from northern India remains limited. Objective: This study examined the associations of self-reported emotional intelligence with academic stress and academic burnout and assessed whether emotional intelligence explained additional variance beyond demographic and academic characteristics. Methods: An analytical cross-sectional survey was conducted with 760 undergraduate and postgraduate students aged 18–29 years from public and private higher-education institutions in Haryana and Rajasthan. Emotional intelligence was assessed using the Wong and Law Emotional Intelligence Scale, academic stress using the Perception of Academic Stress Scale, and burnout using the Maslach Burnout Inventory–Student Survey. Correlations, hierarchical regressions with robust standard errors, and demographic comparisons were performed. Results: Emotional intelligence was inversely correlated with academic stress (r = −.414), exhaustion (r = −.386), and cynicism (r = −.268), and positively correlated with academic efficacy (r = .489; all p < .001). After adjustment for age, gender, state, institution type, study level, residence, financial strain, academic performance, and questionnaire language, emotional intelligence predicted lower academic stress (β = −.409, 95% CI [−.470, −.348]) and lower burnout (β = −.507, 95% CI [−.565, −.450]). It added 16.6% and 25.6% explained variance to the stress and burnout models, respectively. Women reported slightly higher stress and burnout, and hostel residents reported slightly higher stress. Conclusion: Emotional intelligence was a substantial correlate of lower academic stress and burnout, especially sustained academic depletion. Student-level emotional-skills programmes should be combined with workload reform, financial support, clear assessment practices, and accessible counselling.
How to Cite
Kuldeep Singh , Preeti, "Emotional Intelligence as a Protective Resource Against Academic Stress and Burnout: A Cross-Sectional Study of University Students in Haryana and Rajasthan", Vol. 3, Issue 5, 28-08-2025, pp. 90-104.
