The mediating effect of digital literacy and self-regulation on the relationship between emotional intelligence and academic stress among university students: a cross-sectional study.

Background: Academic stress is a prevalent issue affecting students' well-being and academic achievement in today's challenging educational environment. Furthermore, combining digital literacy and self-regulation enhances emotional intelligence, creating a holistic "digitally regulated emotional intelligence" strategy to reduce academic stress effectively. This study emphasizes the significance of developing these abilities in educational settings to prepare students for success in a complex and technology-driven world.

Aim: To assess emotional intelligence and academic stress among healthcare students and investigate the mediating role of students' digital literacy and self-regulation.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted to examine correlations and describe quantitative data. Data on two hundred forty students were collected from Fatima College of Health Sciences in the 2023-24 academic year. Pearson's correlation coefficient was applied to assess the associations between variables, and univariate linear regression was employed to investigate the connections between emotional intelligence and pertinent variables. The Hayes Process Model 4 macro was used to study how students' digital literacy and self-regulation mediate the relationship between emotional intelligence and academic stress.

Results: Emotional intelligence, digital literacy, and self-regulation were high. Furthermore, the academic stress level was moderate. The mediation analysis revealed that the direct effect of emotional intelligence on academic stress in the presence of the mediators was significant (t = 3.830, p < 0.001). Hence, digital literacy partially mediated the relationship between emotional intelligence and academic stress. On the other hand, self-regulation had no mediation effect on the relationship above.

Conclusion: The study noted significant connections between study attributes, mainly showing the substantial relationship between emotional intelligence and academic stress. Higher emotional intelligence did not consistently reduce stress levels for moderately stressed students, suggesting that other factors may influence their stress levels. Furthermore, digital literacy mediated between emotional intelligence and academic stress, implying that proficient use of online resources could help reduce stress in students with advanced digital skills. Finally, self-regulation did not act as a mediator in the relationship between emotional intelligence and academic stress.