Testing the incremental validity of Trait Emotional Intelligence: Evidence from an Italian sample of adolescents

Trait Emotional Intelligence and School Burnout Discriminate Between High and Low Alexithymic Profiles: A Study With Female Adolescents

Alexithymic traits, which entail finding it difficult to recognize and describe one's own emotions, are linked with poor trait emotional intelligence (TEI) and difficulties in identifying and managing stressors. There is evidence that alexithymia may have detrimental consequences for wellbeing and health, beginning in adolescence. In this cross-sectional study, we investigated the prevalence and incidence of alexithymia in teenage girls, testing the statistical power of TEI and student burnout to discriminate between high- and low-alexithymic subjects. A sample of 884 female high school students (mean age 16.2 years, age range 14-19) attending three Italian academic-track high schools (social sciences and humanities curriculum) completed self-report measures of alexithymia, school burnout, and TEI. Main descriptive statistics and correlational analysis preceded the discriminant analysis. The mean alexithymia scores suggest a high prevalence of alexithymia in female adolescents; as expected, this trait was negatively correlated with TEI and positively associated with school burnout. Participants with high vs. low alexithymia profiles were discriminated by a combination of TEI and burnout scores. High scores for the emotionality and self-control dimensions of TEI were strongly associated with membership of the low alexithymia group; high scores for the emotional exhaustion dimension of school burnout were indicative of membership of the high alexithymia group. These findings suggest crucial focuses for educational intervention: efforts to reduce the risk of emotional exhaustion and school burnout should especially concentrate on enhancing emotional awareness and self-control skills, both strongly associated with low levels of alexithymia.

Trait Emotional Intelligence and School Burnout: The Mediating Role of Resilience and Academic Anxiety in High School

The main aim of the current study was to investigate the role of trait emotional intelligence (TEI) in preventing students’ school burnout directly and indirectly via anxiety and academic resilience. The data were derived from a sample of 1235 high school students (962 females and 273 males), ranging in age between 13 and 17 years (mean = 15.46; stand deviation = 1.22). Structural equation modelling revealed a strong indirect effect of TEI on school burnout, mediated via anxiety and resilience. Overall, students with high TEI were less likely to experience school anxiety and more likely to exhibit resilience which, in turn, reduced school burnout risk. Findings are discussed with reference to the wider role of TEI in educational contexts and highlight the need and potential for scientifically driven interventions to enhance emotional adjustment at school and in life, more generally.

The Relationship Between Big Five and Self-Control in Boxers: A Mediating Model

Self-control seems to be the core element for achieving optimal competitive performance, and be of great importance to well-being and healthy development of humans. According to the literature, there exist some correlations between personality traits and self-control. The aim of this study was to shed some additional light on the relationship between the Big Five personality traits and self-control in boxers and investigate self-efficacy as a mediator between the two variables. Two hundred and ten boxers (age: M = 18.89, SD = 3.83; amount of boxing practice: M = 4.93 years, SD = 3.22; 76 males) of Chinese national athletes participated the study. Results showed a pronounced level of self-control. The higher the competitive level, the higher the level of self-control. There were significant correlations among the Big Five, self-control, and self-efficacy. Self-efficacy mediated the relationship between the Big Five personality traits and self-control.

The Assessment of Trait Emotional Intelligence: Psychometric Characteristics of the TEIQue-Full Form in a Large Italian Adult Sample

Trait Emotional Intelligence (or trait emotional self-efficacy) is a constellation of emotional perceptions assessed through questionnaires and rating scales (Petrides et al., 2007b). This paper examined the psychometric features of the Trait Emotional Questionnaire Full Form (TEIQue-FF; Petrides, 2009b) in the Italian context. Incremental validity in the prediction of depression and anxiety was also tested with respect to the Big Five. Participants were 1343 individuals balanced for gender (690 females and 653 males) whose mean age was 29.65 years (SD = 13.64, range 17-74 years). They completed a questionnaire battery containing the TEIQue and measures of the Big Five, depression, and anxiety (both trait and state). Results indicated that the performance of the TEIQue-FF in the Italian context was comparable to the original United Kingdom version as regards its reliability and factor structure. Moreover, the instrument showed incremental validity in the prediction of depression and state-trait anxiety after controlling for the Big Five.

Trait Emotional Intelligence as a Predictor of Adaptive Responses to Positive and Negative Affect During Adolescence

Introduction and aim : The examination of trait emotional intelligence as an important component of adolescent psychological adjustment and coping has received a great deal of attention. Trait emotional intelligence is expected to reduce the vulnerability to emotional problems by reducing mood deterioration in adverse situations. Most research to date has addressed the regulation of negative affective states, with less attention paid to the responses to positive affect. Thus, the aim of this research was to examine the cross-sectional and prospective associations between trait emotional intelligence dimensions (i.e., trait emotional attention, trait emotional clarity, and trait emotional repair), response styles to negative affect (i.e., depressive rumination and distraction) and response to positive affect (i.e., emotion-focused and self-focused positive rumination and dampening) in adolescence.

Methods: A 1-year follow-up study was conducted with a sample of 880 adolescents (52.4% girls) aged 14–17 years old (M = 14.74, SD = 0.68) who were enrolled in 18 high schools in Andalusia (Spain). Participants completed self-report measures of trait emotional intelligence, response to negative affect and response styles to positive affect. To analyse the data, hierarchical regression analyses and path analysis were performed.

Results: Our results showed that high trait emotional attention was cross-sectionally and longitudinally associated with more dampening of positive affect and more depressive rumination. Furthermore, high trait emotional repair was cross-sectionally and longitudinally related to more distraction to negative affect and more self-focused positive rumination. Some gender differences were also found; girls reported higher trait emotional attention, higher dampening, and higher depressive rumination. Furthermore, boys reported higher trait emotional repair, higher self-focused positive rumination and higher distraction to negative affect.

Conclusions and discussion: Our findings provide longitudinal evidence of the relationships between trait emotional intelligence and responses to both positive and negative affect during adolescence. Consequently, interventions designed to promote resilience during adolescence could target the development of more adaptive responses to both negative and positive affect within the framework of school-based emotional education programmes.

Brief report: Trait emotional intelligence, peer nominations, and scholastic achievement in adolescence

Current research on trait EI in adolescents suggests that the construct impacts on several important domains of youths' psychological functioning, including school adjustment and achievement. The purpose of this study is to explore the role of trait EI and of its subcomponents, on adolescent's academic achievement. Data were collected from 321 Italian adolescents (162 female; Mage = 15.5, SD = 1.86; aged 13-18 years) recruited from secondary schools. The effects of perceived and actual peer nominations, gender, personality dimensions, and non-verbal cognitive abilities were also controlled. Results highlight that trait EI as assessed by means of the TEIQue impacts Italian but not math's grades, while trait EI's factors predicted both academic subjects, with significant contributions of Self-Control and Sociability. Limitations and implications are discussed.

Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire–Adolescent Short Form: A Psychometric Investigation in Greek Context

This article aims to investigate the reliability and validity of the Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire–Adolescent Short Form (TEIQue-ASF) score in a sample of 440 Greek adolescents. The instrument’s score demonstrated good internal consistency and was significantly correlated with core self-evaluations as well with somatic complaints, self-report psychopathology, and personal strengths. It also explained a statistically significant increase in the prediction of outcome variables beyond core self-evaluations. It is concluded that the findings of the present study provide evidence that support the interpretation and use of the TEIQue-ASF score to assess the emotional self-perceptions of Greek adolescents.

Maintaining Life Satisfaction in Adolescence: Affective Mediators of the Influence of Perceived Emotional Intelligence on Overall Life Satisfaction Judgments in a Two-Year Longitudinal Study

Much attention has been paid to the psychological processes underlying the improvement in mood states and human well-being, particularly during adolescence. Theoretical and empirical research suggests that emotional skills may play a role in enhancing perceived well-being; however, the mechanisms involved in during adolescence are unclear. The purpose of this study was to extend understanding by investigating the potential mediators of the relationship between emotional intelligence (EI) and life satisfaction in a 2-years study. Participants were 269 high school students (145 girls and 124 boys) who completed the self-report perceived emotional intelligence (PEI) Scale, the Satisfaction with Life Scale, and the Positive Affect and Negative Affect Scale three times at 1-year intervals. The three-step longitudinal design corroborated earlier research indicating that positive and negative affect mediate the relationships between EI and life satisfaction. Students with high PEI tended to have more positive experiences and fewer negative experiences, which contributed to their greater life satisfaction. No sex differences were found in the multi-group analyses, suggesting that the causal relationships are similar in both sexes. These findings extend our understanding of the complex network of relationships involving PEI and life satisfaction in adolescence. Implications and limitations of the findings are discussed.

Self-Report Assessments of Emotional Competencies

This Special Issue of the Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment offers a critical appraisal of the validity, applied utility, and limitations of self-report assessments of emotional competencies. Using self-concept theory as an integrative theoretical framework, this introductory editorial highlights key methodological and validity issues raised in the contributing articles: (a) distinction between emotional competence self-perceptions and objectively measured abilities, (b) effects of response biases and respondents’ age on the psychometric properties of self-reports, (c) importance of adopting a multi-dimensional assessment strategy, and (d) various aspects of construct validity (conceptual definitions and paradigms, gender differences, relationships with basic personality, mechanisms and scope of prediction). The added value of conceptualizing emotional competence self-reports as self-concepts (as proposed in this article) is illustrated in the discussion of practical implications, outstanding questions, and directions for future research on the meaning and uses of these assessments.