The relationship between emotional intelligence, internet addiction, and psychological well-being among university nursing students.

backgroundInternet addiction (IA) is a behavioral condition characterized by impaired impulse control. Although it does not involve substances, it shares features with other behavioral addictions such as pathological gambling. This study aimed to examine the relationships among emotional intelligence (EI), internet addiction, and psychological well-being (PWB) among university nursing students.

methodsA descriptive correlational research design was employed with a stratified sample of 335 students from the Faculty of Nursing at Assiut University. Ethical approval was obtained from the Faculty's Ethics Committee (IRB number: 1120250980). Data were collected using a demographic questionnaire, the Trait Meta-Mood Scale, the Internet Addiction Test, and Ryff's Psychological Well-Being Scale.

resultsStudents with higher EI scores demonstrated higher mean ranks of IA (mean rank = 173.24) as well as higher mean ranks of PWB (mean rank = 183.81). Correlation analyses revealed weak but statistically significant associations among the three variables (r ≈ 0.15-0.29). Specifically, EI was positively correlated with both PWB and IA, while IA was negatively correlated with PWB.

conclusionNursing students demonstrated relatively high EI, moderate levels of IA, and moderate to high well-being range based on the scale cutoffs. Although the associations between EI, IA, and PWB were statistically significant, the effect sizes were small, limiting their practical significance. The negative relationship between IA and PWB is consistent with prior literature, underscoring the potential adverse effects of excessive internet use on students' mental health. While integrating EI training into nursing education may be beneficial, the findings should be interpreted cautiously due to the weak correlations observed. CLINICAL TRIAL NUMBER: Not applicable.