Evaluating the association between emotional intelligence, perceived support, and academic performance among nursing graduate students: a descriptive-correlational study

Nursing graduate education in Pakistan is increasingly recognized as pivotal for producing competent clinical leaders, educators, and researchers. However, the rigorous academic and clinical demands place immense psychological pressure on students, potentially compromising their academic performance and overall well-being. While emotional intelligence and perceived support have been independently linked to academic success in international contexts, their collective influence on nursing students in Pakistan remains underexplored. This study employed a cross-sectional, descriptive-correlational design to evaluate the association between emotional intelligence, perceived institutional support, perceived supervisory support, and academic performance among nursing graduate students in Multan, Punjab, Pakistan. A sample of 180 nursing graduate students at two nursing institutions (Nishtar Medical College and Multan University of Science and Technology) in Multan was selected, using non-probability convenience sampling. Data were collected via validated self-administered questionnaires including the emotional intelligence scale, perceived institutional support scale, perceived supervisory support scale, and self-reported academic performance. All items were adapted for the Pakistani nursing education context. Descriptive statistics, Spearman’s rank-order correlation, and Mann-Whitney U tests were used for analysis, given the non-normal distribution of the study variables. The findings revealed that nursing graduate students demonstrated moderate levels of emotional intelligence (M = 3.73, SD = 0.43), perceived supervisory support (M = 3.79, SD = 0.67) and academic performance (M = 3.89, SD = 0.39), while perceived institutional support (M = 4.15, SD = 0.48), was at a high level. Spearman’s correlation analysis revealed statistically significant positive correlations among all study variables. Emotional intelligence demonstrated significant positive correlations with academic performance (rₛ = 0.515, p < 0.01), perceived institutional support (rₛ = 0.574, p < 0.01), and perceived supervisory support (rₛ = 0.426, p < 0.01). Perceived institutional support showed a significant positive correlation with academic performance (rₛ = 0.569, p < 0.01), while perceived supervisory support demonstrated a significant positive correlation with academic performance (rₛ = 0.514, p < 0.01). Perceived institutional support emerged as the strongest correlate of academic performance (rₛ² = 32.4%), followed by emotional intelligence (rₛ² = 26.5%) and perceived supervisory support (rₛ² = 26.4%). Graduate nursing students with higher emotional intelligence reported significantly greater perceived support and academic success compared to those with lower emotional intelligence graduate nursing students. This study establishes that emotional intelligence, perceived institutional support, and perceived supervisory support are significant contributors to the academic success of nursing graduate students in Multan, Pakistan. These findings underscore the need of integrating emotional intelligence development into nursing curricula and strengthening the emotionally supportive academic environments and developing supervisor training programs within the higher education landscape of Pakistan. Such interventions are essential for fostering academic resilience, improving learning outcomes and capable of navigating the complex demands of Pakistan’s evolving healthcare landscape.