The Relationships between Emotional Intelligence and Physical Activity Related to Gender among Undergraduates in the Colombo District

Authors

  • Tharindi Wijerathne Department of Psychology, Faculty of Health Sciences, Kaatsu International University (KIU), Battaramulla, 10120, Western Province, Sri Lanka
  • Dina Keumala Sari Department of Nutrition, Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Sumatera Utara, 20155, Medan, North Sumatra, Indonesia
  • Thanuja Liyanage Department of Sports Sciences and Physical Education, Faculty of Applied Sciences, Sabaragamuwa University, Belihuloya, 70140, Sri Lanka
  • Lakshika Liyanage Department of Social Sciences, Faculty of Management, Social Sciences and Humanities, General Sir John Kothalawala Defense University, Rathmalana, 10390, Sri Lanka

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.32734/sumej.v8i3.20595

Keywords:

emotion, emotional intelligence, psychological, physical activity, state university, youth

Abstract

Background: Emotions are dynamic aspects of human nature and serve as inspiration for behavior. Higher emotional intelligence (EI) is associated with greater resilience and lower levels of depression. Certain situations can increase physical activity (PA) among young people. This study examined gender differences in EI and PA among undergraduates at State Universities in Colombo District. Objective: To assess how emotional intelligence and physical activity differ between genders in this population. Methods: A descriptive, quantitative, correlational study was conducted with 397 undergraduates who completed the Wong and Low EI questionnaire and the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ). Data analysis was performed using the Mann-Whitney U test. Results: Participants were from State Universities in Colombo District, mainly exhibiting moderate to low PA levels. Males showed significantly higher EI than females (z = -3.829, p = .001), while there was no significant difference in PA between genders (z = -.938, p = .348). Conclusion: Males demonstrate higher EI than females, but physical activity levels do not significantly differ by gender. Most participants had low to moderate PA levels, which can inform strategies for preventing non-communicable diseases among youth.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

World Health Organization (WHO). Global strategy on diet, physical activity, and health: global recommendations on physical activity for health. 2020. Available from: https://www.who.int/dietphysicalactivity/physical_activity_intensity/en/.

Costa A, Faria L. Implicit theories of emotional intelligence and students' emotional and academic outcomes. Psychol Rep. 2023:332941231183327. https://doi.org/10.1177/00332941231183327.

Kulkarni PY, Velhal G. Emotional intelligence from a gender perspective during mid to late adolescence in an Indian context. Indian J Community Med. 2023;48:281–284. https://doi.org/10.4103/ijcm.ijcm_233_22.

Al-Oweidat I, Shosha GA, Baker TA, et al. The relationship between emotional intelligence and organizational commitment among nurses working in governmental hospitals in Jordan. BMC Nurs. 2023;22:195. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-023-01361-2.

Alabbasi AMA, Alabbasi FA, AlSaleh A, et al. Emotional intelligence weakly predicts academic success in medical programs: a multilevel meta-analysis and systematic review. BMC Med Educ. 2023;23:425. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-023-04417-8.

World Health Organization. Physical activity. 2020. Available from: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/physical-activity.

Warburton DER, Nicol CW, Bredin SSD. Health benefits of physical activity: the evidence. CMAJ. 2006;174(6):801–809. https://doi.org/10.1503/cmaj.051351.

Rebar AL, Stanton R, Geard D, Duncan MJ, Short C, Brown WJ. A meta-meta-analysis of the relationship between physical activity and mental health. Health Psychol Rev. 2015;9(3):324–340. https://doi.org/10.1080/17437199.2015.1011066.

Warburton DER, Bredin SSD. Health benefits of physical activity: a systematic review of current systematic reviews. Curr Opin Cardiol. 2017;32(5):541–556. https://doi.org/10.1097/HCO.0000000000000437.

Biddle SJH, Asare M. Physical activity and mental health in children and adolescents: a review of reviews. Br J Sports Med. 2011;45(11):886–895. https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2011-090185.

Sundblad GM, Saartok T, Engström LM, Renström P. Physical activity and sports---real health benefits: a review with insight into the public health of Sweden. Scand J Med Sci Sports. 2008;18(3):289–298. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0838.2008.00784.x.

Salovey, P., Mayer, JD. Emotional intelligence. Imagin Cogn Pers. 1990;9(3):185–211. https://doi.org/10.2190/DUGG-P24E-52WK-6CDG.

IPAQ Research Committee. Guidelines for data processing and analysis of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) - short and long forms. 2002. Available from: https://www.ipaq.ki.se/scoring.pdf.

Jiang Q, Luo W. Gender differences in physical activity among Chinese university students: a cross-sectional study. BMC Public Health. 2021;21:1717. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-021-11771-3.

Maden A, Sari I. Examining the relationship between demographic variables and physical activity levels of individuals in Turkey. J Sports Sci Med. 2023;22(1):43–51. https://doi.org/10.26773/smj.2023.01.007.

Ricardo LI, Wendt A. Gender differences in physical activity among adolescents in low- and middle-income countries: a global school-based student health survey analysis. J Glob Health. 2022;12:04048. https://doi.org/10.7189/jogh.12.04048.

Ahmad S, Bangash H, Khan SA. Emotional intelligence and gender differences. Sarhad J Agric. 2009;25(1):127–130. Available from: https://www.middleeastjournalofpositivepsychology.org/index.php/mejpp/article/download/121/130/699.

Ali A, Saleem N, Rahman N. Emotional intelligence of university students: gender-based comparison. Bull Educ Res. 2021;43(1):255–265. Available from: https://www.psychologyjournal.in/archives/2025/vol7issue1/PartA/7-1-6-767.pdf.

Fernández-Berrocal P, Cabello R, Castillo R. Gender differences in emotional intelligence: the mediating effect of age. Psicothema. 2012;20(1):77–89.

Wan Z. Gender differences in emotional intelligence among college students. J Psychol. 2012;146(1):61–78.

Pan MJ. Relationship between emotional intelligence and mental health among undergraduates. 2012. https://doi.org/10.16835/j.cnki.1000-9817.2012.01.017.

Davis S, Humphrey N. Emotional intelligence as a moderator of stressor--mental health relations in adolescence: evidence for specificity. Pers Individ Dif. 2012;52(1):100–105. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2011.09.006.

Downloads

Published

2025-09-01

How to Cite

1.
Wijerathne T, Keumala Sari D, Liyanage T, Liyanage L. The Relationships between Emotional Intelligence and Physical Activity Related to Gender among Undergraduates in the Colombo District. Sumat. Med. J. [Internet]. 2025Sep.1 [cited 2025Sep.6];8(3):162-8. Available from: https://talenta.usu.ac.id/smj/article/view/20595

Issue

Vol. 8 No. 3 (2025): Sumatera Medical Journal (SUMEJ)

Section

Research Article

License

Copyright (c) 2025 Sumatera Medical Journal

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

The Authors submitting a manuscript do so on the understanding that if accepted for publication, copyright of the article shall be assigned to Sumatera Medical Journal (SUMEJ) and Faculty of Medicine as well as TALENTA Publisher Universitas Sumatera Utara as publisher of the journal.

Copyright encompasses exclusive rights to reproduce and deliver the article in all form and media. The reproduction of any part of this journal, its storage in databases and its transmission by any form or media, will be allowed only with a written permission from Sumatera Medical Journal (SUMEJ).

The Copyright Transfer Form can be downloaded here.
The copyright form should be signed originally and sent to the Editorial Office in the form of original mail or scanned document.