Emotional Intelligence and its Effect on Pharmacists and Pharmacy Students with Autistic-like Traits.

Objective. To measure whether Emotional intelligence (EI) would minimize the negative association between autistic-like traits (ALT) and empathic behavior and enhance the positive association between ALT and psychological distress. Methods. Our sample population included 823 hospital pharmacists belonging to a district society, and 378 pharmacy students. Analyses were performed to examine relationships between scores on the Emotional Intelligence Scale (EQS), Autism-Spectrum Quotient (AQ), Jefferson Scale of Empathy (JSE), and General Health Questionnaire-12 (GHQ). Results. Complete answers were obtained from 373 pharmacists, and 341 students. EQS partially intervened the associations between AQ and JSE and between AQ and GHQ. Conclusion. EI partially intervened the relationships between ALT and empathy, and between ALT and mental health, both of which are necessary for optimal pharmaceutical practice.