Emotional Competence and Social Adjustment among College Students

Abstract

When students enter college, it is a crucial development phase that is characterized by academic, emotional and social issues. Emotional competence has a significant role inhelping students to deal with interpersonal relationship, deal with stress and adapt to new environments. The current research analysed the connection between social adjustment and emotion competence in college students. A correlational research design was used, which was quantitative in nature. Undergraduate students in the arts and science colleges were stratified and sampled by the use of a sample size of 400 students. The Emotional Competence Scale and the Social Adjustment Inventory were the means of data collection. Data analysis was done through descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation and regression analysis. The results showed that the students were moderately emotionally competent and socially adjusted. The relationship between emotional competence and social adjustment was found to have a significant positive correlation (r = 0.61, p < .01). Regression analysis showed that emotional competence is an important predictor of social adjustment, which accounts to 37 percent of the variability. The paper has discussed the significance of cultivating emotional competencies in colleges to promote the social inclusion of students and their overall happiness.