Emotional Intelligence and Perceived Stress among Young Adults during COVID-19

The study intends to explore the relationship of emotional intelligence and perceived stress among young adults during covid-19. Through online survey two questionnaires were distributed to group of young adults aged between 18 and 25 years (N=65 females and N=60 males). A total of 125 samples were selected from various colleges and working sectors of Kerala for the study. Quantitative approach was used along with Cross-sectional descriptive research design was adopted and the sampling technique was purposive. Emotional Intelligence Self-Administered Tool (Sterrett, 2000) was used to assess the emotional intelligence among young adults and Perceived Stress Scale (Cohen et al., 1994) was used to determine the perceived stress levels among young adults. Pearson Correlation and Independent sample t-test was incorporated to reach the findings. According to Pearson Correlation the results indicated a significant negative low correlation between emotional intelligence and perceived stress levels. Independent sample t-test was computed on gender and results were found to be rejecting the null hypothesis, females were found to be higher in perceived stress than males and it was found that emotional intelligence has no significant difference based on gender, therefore the hypothesis was accepted. Hence there is a need to take measures by the authorities to reduce the stress among female adult population.