Keywords

Emotional Quotient, Relationship, Social Adjustment, Student

Introduction

Educational management at the higher education is aimed at developing human resources to be complete in every aspect including Intelligence Quotient (IQ) and Emotional Quotient (EQ). Both IQ and EQshall be improved in parallel as they are key factors leading individuals to success at work and happiness in life (Department of Mental Health under Ministry of Public Health, 2007).

At present, people in the society have to encounter various problems. Besides, they unavoidably compete against each other either for better education or for better life. The university students are commonly considered as late adolescents or young adults. The period is a transforming moment when life rapidly changes in the physical, emotional, social and intellectual aspects. Some students face problems about social adjustment and emotional control. They sometimes create conflicts with others and the conflicts probably lead them to many serious problems such as physical assaults or suicide afterwards.

Adjustment is vital to human life. After getting into university, students have to adjust themselves to unfamiliar learning environments, curriculums, lecturers, activities and classmates. Students have to improve their time management skill and develop their personal responsibility. Some students have to deal with the issues about class attendance and note taking in lectures. Moreover, they have to participate in activities organized by either university or their seniors. Furthermore, they have to comply with university rules and regulations (Kaewmani, 2014; Hussain, Ahmad, Quddus, Rafiq, Pham & Popesko, 2021). These challenges force the students to quickly adjust themselves to the different circumstances. The difficulties they encounter during the adjustment may lead them to frustration, discouragement, tension, anxiety and even mental health problems that terribly affect their education and graduation (Trakulsarit, 2002; Hussain, Nguyen, Nguyen & Nguyen, 2021).

Mental health and emotional intelligence are closely related. They are key elements to psychological stability, appropriate personal adjustment as well as social wellbeing (Department of Mental Health, 2007; Hussain & Hassan, 2020). People who are emotionally intelligent are those who can live with others properly, be responsible for others and society, manage their own emotions and others’ emotions, be kind and empathic, be aware of their manners and behaviors, admit their mistakes and correct them, be motivated to say and do confidently and appropriately, and adjust themselves and make decision effectively (Wanichphiromphakdi & Chaninyutthawong, 1999; Hussain, Quddus, Pham, Rafiq &Pavelková, 2020).

The problems mentioned above stimulated researchers to study the influence of emotional quotient on social adjustment of undergraduates. The research findings would show the level of emotional intelligence and indicate how emotional quotient affects social adjustment of students. The results would be used as a helpful guideline for planning, preventing and solving the problems in order to assist students with adjustment and improve their mental health. Additionally, the results would be used as a beneficial direction to provide students with supportive instructional methods and environments so that they would be successful in life and graduate with quality in the future.

Objectives

1. To examine the emotional quotient of students in Rajamangala University of Technology Srivijaya

2. To examine the social adjustment of students in Rajamangala University of Technology Srivijaya

3. To investigate the relationship between emotional quotient and social adjustment of students in Rajamangala University of Technology Srivijaya

Expected Benefits

1. To realize the emotional quotient of students

2. To realize the social adjustment of students

3. To realize the relationship between emotional quotient and social adjustment of students

4. To encourage university in order to provide students with supportive activities to improve their emotional quotient so that they would live a happy life in the society

Concepts and Theories

Emotional Quotient

The Department of Mental Health under Ministry of Public Health (2001) referred to Emotional Intelligence (EI) or Emotional Quotient (EQ) as the ability to be aware of and understand emotions of oneself and others, the ability to realize causes of emotions and behaviors of oneself and others, the ability to express and behave appropriately in social interaction to maintain good relationship, and the ability to forgive oneself and others for dissatisfied behaviors. However, it takes time to develop the abilities and possess the skills to become proficient and prompt in actual practice. According to the Department of Mental Health, there are three key elements to emotional intelligence as follows.

1. Goodness refers to the ability to know oneself and one’s own potential in order to generate self-motivation and have strong determination to achieve life goals. It is also the ability to adaptable solve problems properly and systematically. In addition, it is the ability to express, argue, and behave appropriately to create and maintain healthy relationship with others.

2. Smartness refers to the ability to be aware of and regulate one’s own emotions and desires. It is also the ability to empathize with others and express empathy properly. Moreover, it is the ability to bear and share responsibility, to give and take, to forgive and to take public interests into account.

3. Happiness refers to the ability to live happily with healthy self-confidence and self-esteem together with self-worth appreciation. It is also the ability to be satisfied withand optimistic about life and what one has, as well as have a sense of humor and peace of mind. Furthermore, it is the ability to know how to relieve stress, boost happiness and regain the inner calm.

Social Adjustment

Definitions of Social Adjustment are as Follows

Trakulsarit (2002) cited that social adjustment is regarded as the effort to adjust oneself to anxiety, frustration, stress, distress and any other unfavorable circumstances. People who can finely adjust themselves with the difficulties are those who have good mental health. Anxiety, frustration, stress, distress and dissatisfaction probably lead to declining mental health and even mental health problems including neurosis and psychosis disorders.

In other words, social adjustment is the effort to handle problematic situations and to adjust one’s own behaviors to the unpleasant environments until one can live without worry (Kasemnet & Thongphakdi, 2000). In conclusion, we, as human beings, have to constantly adapt ourselves to different conditions from birth to death. Those who can finely adjust themselves are those who live a happy life. In other words, failings in social adjustment may lead to depression, relationship problems, emotional problems and mental health problems.

Adjustment Theory

According to the Rogerian model (Mayor, 1976) individuals are center of surrounding experience which is constantly changing when they interact with others. Moreover, they evaluate those interactions to form their self-structure, self-concepts, characteristics, roles, and attitudes towards others and social circumstances. Thus, personal experience is the key factor affecting their personalities, and each individual is the one who knows oneself best. The adaptive individuals are those who have self-esteem, understand and respect others, have accurate perception of the surroundings, and develop their personality traits without conflict or distortion as well as have positive self-concept. On the other hand, the unadoptable ones are those who have inner conflicts between self-concept and new experience that may lead them to tension, anxiety, confusion, loss of identity and negative self-concept.

Motives of Adjustment

Trakulsarit (2002) referred to motives of adjustment as follows:

1. Adjustment is a practice of individuals for survival. Individuals undergo changes all the time from fertilization, being a fetus in mother’s womb, being born as a newborn baby until becoming an adult; therefore, the root cause of personal adjustment is the instinct for survival.

2. Adjustment is a key to happiness. Adjustment helps us clearly understand the unpleasant situations and come up with optimal solutions. It is a process to alleviate difficult circumstances by ourselves or together with support from others. After the problems are cleared up, we will be relaxed and completely at ease with the better condition.

Social Adjustment

Social adjustment refers to the ability of individuals to behave properly and be accepted by society. Social adjustment can be divided into four aspects (Phetprayun, 2011).

1. Physical adjustment is regarded as physical appearances including shapes, physical healthcare and personal hygiene that affect social adjustment of each individual.

2. Emotional adjustment is regarded as the ability to know one’s own emotions, to express and control the emotions properly, to have actual perception of oneself and be optimistic, to know one’s own strength and weakness, to have self-esteem, and to accept individual differences as well as to solve problems reasonably.

3. Social adjustment is regarded as the ability to respect rules and regulations of educational institutions, to offer cooperation with social activities, to work and develop friendly relationship with others, to make friends of the opposite sex and work with them, to have empathy and respect for rights of others, and to behave properly for any occasion, and to be responsible for

4. Intellectual adjustment is regarded as intellectual traits including learning behaviors, problem-solving techniques, sophistication, thoughtfulness and attentiveness as well as adaptability that affect social adjustment of each individual.

In conclusion, each individual has different motives of adjustment. They mostly adapt themselves to overcome difficulties, for example, discomfort, inner conflict, anxiety, pressure and tension for the purpose of fulfilling their fundamental needs or satisfying their insatiable desires Figure 1.

Research Methodology

The population used in the research was 2,515 sophomores of Rajamangala University of Technology Srivijaya (Registration Office of University of Technology Srivijaya, 2017). The research sample consisted of 335 students, selected by using the table for sample size determination of Krejcie and Morgan (Krejcie & Morgan, 1970) and the purposive sampling method.

The research instrument was a survey questionnaire comprising of three parts.

Part 1 required personal information of the respondents.

Part 2 was a questionnaire of four-rating scale that consisted of 52 questions about emotional intelligence covering the three key elements – goodness, smartness and happiness. The four ratings were as follows:

“AbsolutelyTrue” meaning respondent usually show the certain traits

“Probably True” meaning respondent often show the certain traits

“Hardly True”meaning respondent occasionally show the certain traits 

“Not True” meaning respondent never show the certain traits.

The score interpretation of emotional quotient of respondents was as follows:

Less than 139 scores interpreted as below the normal level

Between 139 to 179 scores interpreted as at the normal level

More than 179 scores interpreted as above the normal level 

Part 3 was a questionnaire of five-rating scale that consisted 50 questions about social adjustment that covered the four aspects of social adjustment based on the concept of Akkhaniwat (2007) including physical, emotional, social and intellectual aspects. The five ratings were very good, good, moderate, poor and very poor.

The score interpretation of social adjustment of respondents was as follows: 

Average score of 4.51-5.00 interpreted as very good social adjustment

Average score of 3.51-4.50 interpreted as good social adjustment

Average score of 2.51-3.50 interpreted as moderate social adjustment

Average score of 1.51-2.50 interpreted as poor social adjustment

Average score of 1.00-1.50 interpreted as very poor social adjustment

Data Collection

Researchers called for cooperation in completing the three-part questionnaire and informed respondents of the requirements. Researchers collected and examine the questionnaires. Only information from the complete questionnaires would be used in data analysis.

Statistics used in Data Analysis

Researcher used percentage in the analysis of personal information. Mean and standard deviation were used in the analysis of emotional quotient, and the Pearson correlation coefficient was used in the analysis of social adjustment.

Results

Emotional Quotient of Students

The research findings showed that the emotional quotient of students in the overall picture was at the normal level. When considering each aspect, the emotional quotient of students in the goodness aspect was above the normal level; meanwhile, their emotional quotients in the smartness and happiness aspects were at normal levels. In addition, the emotional quotients of students the nine minor aspects were at normal levels. (Table 1)

Table 1 Emotional Quotient of Students
Elements toEmotional Intelligence	Mean()	StandardDeviation(S.D.)	Interpretation
Goodness	62.34	6.56	above the normal level
Emotional self-regulation	20.07	2.21	at normal level
Empathy	20.53	2.58	at normal level
Responsibility	21.72	3.35	at normal level
Smartness	58.80	6.14	at normal level
Self-motivation	20.25	2.68	at normal level
Decision-making and problem-solving skills	19.97	2.54	at normal level
Relationship skills	18.58	2.71	at normal level
Happiness	50.99	6.32	at normal level
Self-esteem	13.19	1.80	at normal level
Life satisfaction	19.14	3.39	at normal level
Serenity	18.65	2.50	at normal level
EQ in the Overall Picture	172.19	16.20	at normal level

Social Adjustment of Students

The social adjustments of students in the overall picture and in all aspects were at moderate level. The average social adjustments of the four aspects were at 2.78. When considering each aspect, the social adjustment in the physical, emotional, social and intellectual aspects were all at moderate level at the average of 2.64, 2.87, 2.71,and 2.86, respectively. (Table 2)

Table 2 Social Adjustment of Students
Four Aspectsof Social Adjustment	Mean()	Standard Deviation(S.D.)	Interpretation
Physical aspect	2.64	0.43	moderate
Emotional aspect	2.87	0.44	moderate
Social aspect	2.71	0.41	moderate
Intellectual aspect	2.86	0.39	moderate
Social Adjustmentin the Overall Picture	2.78	0.33	moderate

Relationship between Emotional Quotient and Social Adjustment of Students

The data analysis showed that the emotional quotient of students positively related to their social adjustment with the statistical significance at the level of 0.01. The correlation coefficient (r) values ranging from 0.177 to 0.584 indicated moderate correlation (Hinkle, 1998). The research findings showed that the emotional quotients in the smartness aspect highly correlated with social adjustment in the social aspect with r value of 0.584. The following ones were the relationship between the emotional quotients in the happiness aspect and social adjustment in the social aspect with r valueof.558, and the relationship between the emotional quotients in the smartness aspect and social adjustment in the emotional aspect with r value of 0.537. (Table 3)

Table 3 The Values of Correlation Coefficient (R) Between Emotional Quotient of Students and Their Social Adjustment
Aspectsof Social Adjustment	Elements of Emotional Intelligence
	Goodness	Smartness	Happiness
physical aspect	0.172**	0.352**	0.265**
emotional aspect	0.405**	0.537**	0.497**
social aspect	0.466*	0.584**	0.558**
intellectual aspect	0.167**.	0.382**	0.346**
**: p<0.01

Discussion

Emotional Quotient of Students

The emotional quotient of students in the overall picture was at the normal level. When considering each aspect, the emotional quotient of students in the goodness aspect was above the normal level; meanwhile, their emotional quotients in the smartness and happiness aspects were at normal levels. According to the research findings, the students mostly had ability to regulate their emotions, had empathy and responsibility as we can see that their emotional quotient in the goodness aspect was above the normal level. The emotional quotient in the goodness aspect indicated that the students were able to live happily and harmoniously in the society, to have accurate perception of the surroundings, and to express their emotions properly. In addition, the university set up an expectation to encourage satisfactory characteristics so that they would be graduated with goodness, smartness and happiness. The finding was in consistent with the study of Buason (2010) on factors affecting emotional quotient of undergraduates in Naresuan University, revealing that the undergraduates in Naresuan University had emotional quotient in the overall picture and in each aspect at the high level.

Social Adjustment of Students

The social adjustments of the students in the overall picture were at moderate level. When considering each aspect, the social adjustments of the students in the physical, emotional, social and intellectual aspects were all at moderate level. The research findings indicated that the students were able to adjust themselves to different social aspects. As for the physical aspect, they were able to take care of their personal health and hygiene. As for the emotional aspect, they were able to manage their emotions and express the emotions properly. As for the social aspect, they were able to behave properly and respect social rules. As for the intellectual aspect, they were able to think and analyze systematically as well as work diligently with determination. The finding was in accordance with the study of Kaewmani (2014) on emotional quotient and adjustment of nursing students in Boromarajonani College of Nursing Yala. The study found that the adjustment of the nursing students in the overall picture was at moderate level. The unavoidable competition and struggle could certainly affect mental health and social adjustment; therefore, a good adjustment would allow students to live a happy life. The result was also in line with the study of Akkhaniwat (2007) on emotional quotient and social adjustment of students in Suan Dusit Rajabhat University. The study said that the social adjustments of the students were at moderate level. Furthermore, it was in accordance with the study of Wangvanithchaphan (2010) on factors affecting social adjustment of students in Faculty of Technical Education (five-year program). The study found that the social adjustments of the students in the overall picture were also at moderate level.

Relationship between Emotional Quotient and Social Adjustment of Students

The emotional quotient of students positively related to their social adjustment with the statistical significance at the level of 0.01. The result indicated that the emotional quotient is really important to individuals since it encourages individuals to adjust themselves to any circumstances. People with emotional stability are those who work lively and enthusiastically. In other words, people with unstable emotions would be angry, annoyed or irritated easier than those with stable emotions. The result was in accordance with the study of Kaewmani (2014) on emotional quotient and adjustment of nursing students in Boromarajonani College of Nursing Yala. The study showed that the emotional quotient of the nursing students positively related to their adjustments in the overall picture with the statistical significance at the level of 0.05. Besides, the finding was in line with the study of Akkhaniwat (2007) on emotional quotient and social adjustment of students in Suan Dusit Rajabhat University, indicating that the emotional quotient of students positively related to their social adjustments. Moreover, it was in accordance with the study of Bunla-iad (2011) on self-adjustment of freshmen in Faculty of Science, Burapha University. The study concluded that self-adjustment of the freshmen required emotional quotient because it allowed freshmen to understand and manage their own emotions.

Conclusion

According to the research results, the emotional quotient of students positively related to their social adjustment with the statistical significance at the level of 0.01. This could be explained that the sophomores were determined and ready to learn new things, to make new friends and to take part in different activities with others. Social engagement allowed them to understand feelings of others, develop interpersonal relationships, and interact with people from different backgrounds. The students had to regulate their emotions, express and behave properly, be reasonable, listen to other people’s opinion so that they could adjust themselves appropriately and live with others harmoniously.

The research results encouraged the university to support and assist students to properly adjust themselves in all aspects. Besides, the results were used as a useful guideline to provide students with supportive instructional methods and student development activities to directly and indirectly improve their emotional quotient so that they would live in university and in society happily and successfully.

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