Personality and emotional intelligence among health professions students: the roles of perceived group cohesion, perceived team emotional intelligence, and attitudes toward interprofessional education

Abstract Emotional intelligence (EI) is a cornerstone of effective teamwork in healthcare, yet the factors associated with it within interprofessional education (IPE) remain underexplored. This study constructs and validates a moderated chain mediation model to elucidate how personality traits, perceived group cohesion (GC), perceived team emotional intelligence (TEI), and individual EI interrelate across individual and team levels in IPE settings. It investigates how personality traits relate to team dynamics and how these dynamics, moderated by attitudes toward IPE (ATIPE), are linked to individual EI. A cross-sectional study was conducted in February 2025 with 344 health professions students (M age = 21.3 years; 187 females) from four universities in Hong Kong, mainland China, and the United Kingdom, representing seven disciplines (e.g., medicine, nursing, Chinese medicine). Participants completed a three-week IPE course in randomly assigned teams. Data on demographics, personality traits, GC, TEI, EI, and ATIPE were collected via validated questionnaires. Confirmatory factor analysis ensured measurement validity, while descriptive statistics, correlational analysis, and PROCESS Models 6 and 91 tested mediation and moderation models. Agreeableness and openness were significantly and indirectly associated with individual EI through GC and TEI ( B agreeableness−EI model = 0.021, 95% Bootstrap CI [0.005, 0.044]; B openness−EI model = 0.012, 95% Bootstrap CI [0.001, 0.029]). In addition, ATIPE significantly moderated the GC–TEI pathway and the corresponding serial indirect effects (agreeableness model: index of moderated mediation = -0.004, 95% Bootstrap CI [-0.012, -0.001]; openness model: index = -0.003, 95% Bootstrap CI [-0.007, -0.001]). This study unveils a novel framework demonstrating that agreeableness and openness are linked to individual EI through sequential mediation by GC and TEI. ATIPE significantly conditions this mechanism, with the positive GC–TEI association strongest at low levels of ATIPE and weaker, but still significant, at higher levels. By illuminating multilevel dynamics in IPE, our findings offer a blueprint for designing team-based interventions, such as team-building and emotional skills training, to support the emotional intelligence of healthcare professionals, enhancing collaborative practice and patient-centered care.