Introduction:

Emotional intelligence is the ability to identify and deal with personal and other individuals' emotions and feelings. Although the role of emotions in student engagement has been studied, little is known about how emotional intelligence is related to engagement and other key learning outcomes in higher education.

Objetive:

To describe the levels of emotional intelligence of higher education students; to ascertain predictors of emotional intelligence in higher education students.

Methods:

Quantitative, cross-sectional, descriptive-correlational study. The sample was non-probability by convenience, consisting of 538 higher education students, mostly female (74.21%), with a mean age of 21.53±4.53 years.

Results:

The highest emotional intelligence scores correspond to the perception of own emotions (M=32.78±5.57) and the sociocognitive component of emotions (M=32.27±4.87). Students with a higher overall emotional intelligence score are those who study daily (p=.002). Control, social engagement, self-esteem, and happiness established a positive association (β=.21; p<.001; β=.14; p=.002; β=.13; p=.02; β=.18; p=.004, respectively) with emotional intelligence. Balance established a negative association (β=-.16; p<.001) with emotional intelligence.

Conclusion:

Control, social involvement, self-esteem, happiness, and balance are predictors of emotional intelligence. There is a need for the implementation of programs that promote the development of emotional intelligence.

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