83 Perceived Emotional Intelligence and Ways of Coping among Students Mukti Shah and Nutankumar S. Thingujam University of Pune, Pune The present study was aimed at studying coping in relation to emotional intelligence. The sample comprised of 197 students, between the age of 18 and 25 years. Participants completed self-reported measures of emotional intelligence and ways of coping. It was found that appraisal of emotions in the self was positively correlated with plan-full problem solving and positive reappraisal coping styles. Appraisal of emotions in others was positively correlated with plan-full problem solving and positive reappraisal. Emotional regulation of the self was positively correlated with planfull problem solving, confronting coping, self-controlling, positive reappraisal and with distancing, but negatively correlated with escape avoidance. No gender differences were found in perceived emotional intelligence and ways of coping except for self-control, where males reported higher than females. Keywords: Perceived Emotional Intelligence; Coping; Students. Late adolescence is a critical transitional period in which individuals face a number of social changes, and relationship and achievement related stressors (e.g., Compas, Hinden, & Gerhardt, 1995). The dynamic relationship between the person and environment in stress perception and reaction is especially magnified in college students, so the problems and situations encountered by students may differ from those faced by their nonstudent peers (Hirsch & Ellis, 1996). The environment in which students live is quite different. While jobs outside of the university setting involve their own sources of stress, such as evaluation by superiors and striving for goals, the continuous evaluation that students are subjected to, such as weekly tests and papers, is one which is not often seen by non-students (Wright, 1964). The pressure to earn good grades and to earn a degree is very high (Hirsch & Ellis, 1996). Earning high grades is not the only source of stress for students. Other potential sources of stress include excessive homework, unclear assignments, and uncomfortable classrooms (Kohn & Frazer, 1986). In addition to academic requirements, relations with faculty members and time pressures may also be sources of stress (Sgan-Cohen & Lowental, 1988). Relationships with family and friends, eating and sleeping habits, and loneliness may affect some students adversely (Wright, 1967). We believe that that many of these sources of stress are also applicable in the urban Indian context. Coping and Emotional Intelligence Lazarus’s coping model defined coping as “constantly changing cognitive, behavioral, (and emotional) efforts to manage particular external and/or internal demands that are appraised as taxing or exceeding the resources of a person” (cf., Lazarus & Folkman, 1984). Emotional intelligence involves the ability to perceive accurately, © Journal of the Indian Academy of Applied Psychology, January 2008, Vol. 34, No.1, 83-91.