February 2007 ■ Journal of Dental Education 197 Critical Issues in Dental Education Emotional Intelligence and Perceived Stress in Dental Undergraduates: A Multinational Survey Allan Pau, B.D.S., M.B.A., M.Sc., Ph.D.; Michael L. Rowland, M.A., Ph.D.; Sudeshni Naidoo, B.D.S., L.D.S.R.C.S. (Eng), M.D.P.H., D.D.P.H.R.C.S. (Eng), M.Ch.D., Ph.D.; Rahimah AbdulKadir, D.D.S., M.S.D., M.P.H., Dr.P.H.; Elisavet Makrynika, Dip.Ds. (Athens); Ruxandra Moraru, B.D.S., M.S.C.; Boyen Huang, D.D.S., M.H.A., Ph.D.; Ray Croucher, B.Sc., M.A., Ph.D. Abstract: This multinational survey investigated the relationship between emotional intelligence (EI) and perceived stress (PS) in seven countries. First-year dental undergraduates attending a dental school in England, Greece, Romania, South Africa, Australia, and the United States and three schools in Malaysia were invited to complete a set of questionnaires on age, gender, academic background, satisfaction with career choice, EI, and PS. Of 860 questionnaires distributed, 596 were fully completed—a response rate of 69.3 percent. Mean EI score was 123.8 (95 percent CI 122.7-124.9), and mean PS score was 19.1 (95 percent CI 18.6- 19.7). Significant differences in EI and PS scores were detected between different countries. Females (p<0.05), younger students (p<0.001), those without a previous higher education qualification (p<0.001), and those not satisfied with their decision to study dentistry (p<0.001) were more likely to report PS when compared to their counterparts. A significant inverse relationship (coef- ficient=-0.29, p=0.001) between EI and PS was detected. Independent significant predictors of PS identified were gender (ß=0.22, t=5.71, p=0.001), previous higher education qualification (ß=-0.14, t=-2.42, p=0.010), satisfaction with decision to study dentist- ry (ß=-0.20, t=-5.11, p=0.001), and EI (ß=-0.24, t=-6.09, p=0.001), with the latter being relatively the most important predictor. In conclusion, the inverse relationship between EI and PS has been confirmed in this heterogeneous sample representing diverse sociocultural and academic contexts of dental undergraduates. Dr. Pau is Senior Lecturer in Dental Public Health, Centre for Adult Oral Health, Institute of Dentistry, Barts and The London (QMUL), London, United Kingdom; Dr. Rowland is Assistant Professor, Section of Primary Care, The Ohio State University College of Dentistry, United States; Dr. Naidoo is Professor and Chief Specialist, Department of Community Dentistry, Faculty of Dentistry, University of the Western Cape, Cape Town, South Africa; Dr. Rahimah is Dean of Dental Faculty and Professor of Community Dentistry, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Malaya, Malaysia; Dr. Makrynika is an M.Sc. student at the Centre for Adult Oral Health, Institute of Dentistry, Barts and The London (QMUL), United Kingdom; Dr. Moraru is Lecturer, Depart- ment of Oral Health and Behavioural Sciences, University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Carol Davila Bucharest, Romania; Dr. Huang is Senior Lecturer and Unit Coordinator of Paediatric Dentistry, School of Dentistry, University of Western Australia, Australia; and Dr. Croucher is Professor of Community Oral Health, Centre for Adult Oral Health, Institute of Dentistry, Barts and The London (QMUL), London, Unitd Kingdom. Direct correspondence and requests for reprints to Dr. Allan Pau, Centre for Adult Oral Health, Institute of Dentistry, Barts and The London (QMUL), Turner Street, London E1 2AD, United Kingdom; 0044(0)2073777632 phone; 0044(0)2073777064 fax; a.k.pau@qmul.ac.uk. Key words: emotional intelligence, perceived stress, dental students, dental education Submitted for publication 8/7/06; accepted 10/11/06 S tress has been defined as the strain that ac- companies a demand perceived to be either challenging (positive) or threatening (negative) and, depending on its appraisal, may be either adap- tive or debilitating. 1 Stress can act as a creative force that increases drive and energy, but once it reaches a certain degree, the results can be negative. 2 In the working lives of dentists, stress has been reported to be considerable, 3 and there has been increasing interest in stress management programs for dentists. 4 Whether the experience of stress in dental students leads to stress in working dentists is not known. There is, however, some evidence linking stress in medical students and future risk for depression. A recent systematic review of psychological distress in medical students concluded that perceptions of stress are correlated with depression, anxiety, somatic symptoms, and health problems and are predictive