Pathways between self-concept and academic stress: the role of emotional intelligence and personality among university students

Emotional intelligence, self-concept, academic stress and personality have been associated with university students' academic performance. The aim of this paper was to study the relationship between self-concept and academic stress in Education students from different Universities in the region of Andalusia (Spain), analysing the mediational role of Emotional Intelligence and personality factors in this relationship. To this end, 1,022 Education students completed the following tests: A self-concept test (AF-5), an Emotional Intelligence test (WLEIS), a personality test (Big-Five 44), and an academic stress test (SISCO). The proposed model, which has good fit rates, shows that the individual's self-concept predicts some of the variance of academic stress by a full mediation of Emotional Intelligence and the personality factor called neuroticism. The practical implications of the study are discussed and explained.