en آموزش پزشکی Medical Education پژوهشي اصیل Orginal Research <span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="line-height:200%"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif"><b><span lang="FR" style="font-size:9.0pt"><span style="line-height:200%"><span new="" roman="" style="font-family:" times="">Background & Objective: </span></span></span></b><span lang="FR" style="font-size:9.0pt"><span style="line-height:200%"><span new="" roman="" style="font-family:" times="">Given the significance of caring in the nursing profession, it is essential to assess the caring behaviors of nursing students and the factors that may influence these behaviors. This study aimed to explore the relationship between emotional intelligence and critical thinking disposition, as well as their impact on the caring behaviors of a sample of Iranian nursing students.</span></span></span></span></span></span><br> <span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="line-height:200%"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif"><b><span lang="FR" style="font-size:9.0pt"><span style="line-height:200%"><span new="" roman="" style="font-family:" times="">Materials & Methods: </span></span></span></b><span lang="FR" style="font-size:9.0pt"><span style="line-height:200%"><span new="" roman="" style="font-family:" times="">This descriptive-correlational study was conducted on 203 nursing students. Participants were selected using a census method. The data were collected from </span></span></span><span style="font-size:9.0pt"><span style="line-height:200%"><span new="" roman="" style="font-family:" times="">from 17 February 2024 to 29 June 2024 </span></span></span><span lang="FR" style="font-size:9.0pt"><span style="line-height:200%"><span new="" roman="" style="font-family:" times="">using a demographic checklist, Watson and Lea&#39;s Caring Behaviors Questionnaire, Wang and Law&#39;s Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire, and Ricketts&#39;s Critical Thinking Disposition Questionnaire. Data were analyzed using an independent t-test, one-way ANOVA, Pearson&#39;s correlation coefficient, and multiple linear regression in SPSS-25.</span></span></span></span></span></span><br> <span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="line-height:200%"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif"><b><span lang="FR" style="font-size:9.0pt"><span style="line-height:200%"><span new="" roman="" style="font-family:" times="">Results: </span></span></span></b><span lang="FR" style="font-size:9.0pt"><span style="line-height:200%"><span new="" roman="" style="font-family:" times="">The present study showed a positive and significant correlation between caring behaviors and emotional intelligence (p < 0.001, r = 0.34), as well as critical thinking disposition (p < 0.001, r = 0.56). Multiple linear regression analysis showed that critical thinking disposition (&beta; = 0.49, p < 0.001) was the strongest predictor of caring behaviors, followed by academic year (&beta; = -0.14, p = 0.01) and emotional intelligence (&beta; = 0.14, p = 0.01). These variables accounted for 34% of the variance in caring behaviors. </span></span></span></span></span></span><br> <span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="line-height:200%"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif"><b><span lang="FR" style="font-size:9.0pt"><span style="line-height:200%"><span new="" roman="" style="font-family:" times="">Conclusion: </span></span></span></b><span lang="FR" style="font-size:9.0pt"><span style="line-height:200%"><span new="" roman="" style="font-family:" times="">The results of the study showed that increasing emotional intelligence and critical thinking disposition leads to improved caring behaviors while increasing the academic years leads to a decrease in caring behaviors. Therefore, nursing colleges and instructors should consider integrating critical thinking and emotional intelligence training into internships as potential intervention strategies to enhance students&#39; caring behaviors. In addition, the pressures associated with academic years must be effectively managed.</span></span></span><span lang="EN" style="font-size:9.0pt"><span style="line-height:200%"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"></span></span></span></span></span></span><br> <br> &nbsp; nursing care, emotional intelligence, critical thinking disposition, nursing students 49 58 http://edujournal.zums.ac.ir/browse.php?a_code=A-12-2737-1&slc_lang=en&sid=1 Fatemeh Aslani fatiaslani199898@gmail.com 5300319475328460036142 5300319475328460036142 No Department of Community Health Nursing, Student Research Committee, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran Behnaz Asadizaker b_asadi1993@yahoo.com 5300319475328460036143 5300319475328460036143 No Department of Nursing, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Tehran Islamic Azad University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Mehrnaz Ahmadi mer.ahmadi@gmail.com 5300319475328460036144 5300319475328460036144 Yes Department of Medical and Surgical Nursing, Nursing Care Research Center in Chronic Diseases, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran Mahin Gheibizadeh mgheibizadeh@gmail.com 5300319475328460036145 5300319475328460036145 No Department of Community Health Nursing, Nursing Care Research Center in Chronic Diseases, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran Mohammad mehdi Aslani Mohammadmehdi2maaslani@gmail.com 5300319475328460036146 5300319475328460036146 No Department of Nursing, Student Research Committee, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran