Cultural Flexibility: Emotional Intelligence and College Students’ Adaptation to Diversity

Establishing a harmonious relationship within a community of diverse culture requires understanding of both our own emotions and that of others. This research explores how emotional intelligence (EI) influence college students’ ability to adapt to diverse cultures at Mindanao State University in Marawi City. From a total population of 14,855, this research randomly selected 375 students, and found a positive correlation between emotional intelligence and adaptability. Notably, students with higher emotional intelligence adopts better to diverse cultural environments. Interestingly, neither emotional intelligence nor adaptability were significantly influence by age and gender. However, ethnicity affected both emotional intelligence and adaptability while religion influenced emotional intelligence only. With these findings, the importance of incorporating emotional intelligence training and cultural awareness into university programs cannot be ignored in enhancing students’ capacity for adaptation. It is important to note that nurturing emotionally intelligent and culturally adaptable individuals is essential for success in a richly diverse society.