Mental health and its relationship with stress coping strategies and emotional intelligence in female students at pre-university level

Introduction: Considering the influence of stress on individuals Mental Health and the necessity of counteracting such pressures, the present study aimed at investigating the relationship of the stress coping strategies and emotional intelligence with mental health.Method: It was a descriptive study using exploring relationship between variables and 289 female students participating in University Entrance Exam preparation courses at the 4th educational district in Tehran were selected using cluster random sampling. They responded to three questionnaires: Confronting Stressful Conditions of Barker & Endler Questionnaire, Shut's Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire, and General Health Questionnaire of Goldberg & Miller. Pearson correlation, stepwise multiple regression, and analysis of variance were used for data analysis.Results: The use of problem-oriented coping style is more common in students with higher emotional intelligence. Furthermore, problem-oriented students enjoyed a better mental health than emotionally-oriented students. However, there was not a significant difference with regard to mental health between emotionally-oriented students and avoidance-oriented ones. Also, mental health was higher in students with higher emotional intelligence in comparison with students with lower emotional intelligence Conclusion It is necessary for the teenage students to learn how to counteract with educational, cognitive, and emotional stress.