Emotional intelligence as a factor in strengthening the students' mental health during the covid-19 pandemic.

Conclusions: The presented results of the research and experiment prove that EI, in particular its four identified components, can be an effective factor not only in maintaining university students' MH during the COVID-19 pandemic, but also in their adaptation to other adverse conditions. A comparison of the results of our research with similar sociological research shows the similarity of problems and changes in the students' MH all over the world during the pandemic. The materials tested during the development of prognostic tools and training methods are publicly available on the Internet, so they can be taken into account for the organization of such research and training activities. At the same time, we insist that the pandemic should not only intensify the study of changes in MH, but also stimulate the search for effective means to strengthen it. Sir Winston Churchill's eloquent appeal "Never let a good crisis go to waste" should be a guideline in solving this problem.