Interpersonal competences of students, their interpersonal relations, and emotional intelligence.

Abstract

Background: Some of the most important interpersonal competences are: effectiveness in dealing with specific interpersonal challenges and the ability to undertake appropriate actions in a given situation; the range of interpersonal challenges with which one can effectively deal; and satisfaction derived from one's interpersonal contacts and relations, and from one's social standing. One's time at university is one of the most influential educational stages in one's life and is a time of accumulation of changes related to a variety of dimensions of life. At university, young people, often away from their parents, learn how to be independent, make new friends, and make decisions related to their personal and professional lives.

Participants and procedure: The participants in the study were 173 (92 women and 81 men) psychology students of three universities in Poland who volunteered to complete three questionnaires: the Interpersonal Competence Questionnaire, the Interpersonal Adjective Scales, and the Popular Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire.

Results: The results showed a positive correlation between the students' interpersonal competence and emotional intelligence. The research has confirmed the value of the applied methods and the significance of social competences in the development of positive interpersonal relations and the ability to adapt to a new environment.

Conclusions: The study confirmed that the interpersonal relations of initiating relationships, negative assertion, self-disclosure, providing emotional support, and conflict resolution positively correlate with the interpersonal relations directed towards cooperation, support, taking initiative, and mutual understanding and that they are also positively interdependent with emotional intelligence of the studied group. One can hope that the confirmed correlations of the students' interpersonal competences and the kinds of interpersonal connections they establish and emotional intelligence will encourage their social development and future professional activity.