The correlation between emotional intelligence and self‐esteem in patients with intestinal stoma: A descriptive‐correlational study

AIM: Patients with intestinal stoma would experience some periods of psychological disorders such as self‐esteem disturbances. Self‐esteem is one of the most important factors affecting the patient's mental health. It is suggested that factors such as emotional intelligence could be related to self‐esteem. This study seeks to determine the correlation between emotional intelligence and self‐esteem in patients with an ostomy. DESIGN: This was a descriptive‐correlational study. METHODS: This study was conducted on 155 patients with intestinal stoma referring to the selected hospitals affiliated to Iran University of Medical Sciences and Iranian Ostomy Association in 2018. The patients were selected using convenience sampling method. The study tools included demographic characteristics form, Rosenberg self‐esteem scale and Schutte emotional intelligence questionnaire. Data analysis was performed in SPSS v.16 using descriptive and inferential statistics, including variance analysis and independent t test. RESULTS: Participants included 79 women and 76 men with the most frequency of age between 50–70 years old. 52.26% of the cases had cancer and 45.81% of the cases had inflammatory bowel disease and other related diseases. Pearson correlation coefficient results showed a positive and significant correlation between total emotional intelligence and self‐esteem (r = .56) (p = <.001).