The effect of emotion regulation on empathic ability in Chinese nursing students: The parallel mediating role of emotional intelligence and self-consistency congruence

This study aims to explore the influence of emotion regulation on empathic ability among undergraduate nursing students, as well as the mediating role of emotional intelligence and self-consistency congruence. A cross-sectional study was employed to examine the relationship between the emotion regulation and empathic ability in Chinese nursing students. A total of 761 undergraduate nursing students were surveyed using the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (Chinese version), the Gross Emotion Regulation Questionnaire, Wang and Law's Emotional Intelligence Scale and the Self-Harmony Scale. There was a significant positive correlation between emotion regulation, empathic ability and self-harmony. Significant positive correlations were also found between emotion regulation, empathic ability and emotional intelligence. Mediation analysis revealed that self-harmony and emotional intelligence partially mediated the predictive relationship between emotion regulation and empathic ability, with self-harmony showing a more significant mediating effect. The findings suggest that emotion regulation among undergraduate nursing students indirectly influences their empathic ability through parallel mediating effects of self-harmony and emotional intelligence.