Effect of Emotional Intelligence and Critical Thinking Disposition on Resilience of the Student in Transition to Higher Education Phase

Resilience is of utmost importance for first-year undergraduate students to persist and flourish throughout the course of their studies. The researchers explored the comparative and simultaneous effect of two factors, i.e., emotional intelligence (EI) and critical thinking (CT) disposition in predicting the resilience of first-year undergraduate students. A total of 490 participants from the state of West Bengal (eastern part of India) filled out a self-report questionnaire comprising the Connor--Davidson Resilience Scale, a profile for emotional competency, and CT disposition assessment (EMI). Pearson correlation and multiple regression analysis reported that resilience was positively correlated with EI and CT disposition. Further, both EI and CT disposition had unique as well as shared contributions in explaining resilience and the outcome was in favor of EI being the stronger predictor. The study suggests that college authorities and counselors should undertake efficacious support initiatives to foster resilience in students.