The cross-cultural adaptation of the Schutte Self-Report Emotional Intelligence Test (SSEIT) for use among nursing students in a Defence University, Sri Lanka

Abstract

The ability to recognize, control, and evaluate emotions is defined as emotional intelligence (EI). EI is a vital part of ward management and patient care in nursing practice. When EI is assessed and instilled in nursing students regularly, it paves the way for a long-term career. Schutte Self-Report Emotional Intelligence Test (SSEIT) has been identified as a useful tool for assessing emotional intelligence in nursing students. The goal of this study was to translate and adapt the 33-item SSEIT to use in Sinhala. The developer granted permission to translate the SSEIT into Sinhala. The cross-cultural adaptation was completed in five stages: (I) initial translation, (II) translation synthesis, (III) back translation, (IV) Expert Committee Delphi review, and (V) pre-final version testing. The translated version's content and consensual validity were assessed using a two-round Delphi process with five experts. Items rated 0-3 range by 70% of the raters were removed or reworded. The process was repeated for the reworded items, and those with 70% or higher ratings in categories 4-6 and/or 7-9 were kept. Following that, the Content Validity Index (CVI) was evaluated using I-CVI, Universal Agreement (S-CVI/UA), and Average CVI (SCVI/ Ave). Finalized SSEIT was administered to 197 nursing undergraduates from Kotelawala Defence University in Sri Lanka. In the Sinhala version of the SSEIT, the maximum CVI of each individual item (I-CVI=1.0) and the maximum overall CVI (S-CVI/UA = 1.0; S-CVI/Ave = 1.0) were also displayed. Cronbach's alpha was 0.963 which indicates a very high internal consistency The Sinhalese version of the SSEIT is a robust and reliable tool that has been culturally adapted to test EI in nursing students.