Emotional Intelligence of Undergraduate Athletes: The Role of Sports Experience

Is culture the key? Emotional intelligence, autonomous motivation and physical activity of student-athletes from China and Russia

Emotional intelligence is considered as an important factor impacting on sports motivation of students-athletes. Meanwhile the role of culture in the development of emotional intelligence is still insufficiently studied in sports psychology. The purpose of the study included comparing the indicators of emotional intelligence of student-athletes in China and Russia, identifying the relationship between emotional intelligence, sports motivation and physical activity, as well as studying the prognostic effect of emotional intelligence on autonomous motivation. The research was done among 474 student- athletes. In Chinese students sample (N = 281), the 163 men and 118 women. In the Russian student sample (N = 193), there were 64 men and 129 women. The following research methods were used: emotional intelligence scale, the sport motivation scale-6, the international physical activity questionnaire. The results of the study have showed that the level of emotional intelligence of Chinese student-athletes is higher than that of Russian students-athletes. Positive correlations between emotional intelligence, autonomous motivation and physical activity were found in both samples. At the same time, the correlation coefficient in the Russian sample was lower. A predictive relationship between emotional intelligence and autonomous motivation has been established; meanwhile the self-assessment of emotions and emotion regulation make the greatest contribution to autonomous motivation in the Chinese sample, while in the Russian sample there is only the use of emotions. Considering the cultural context can contribute to the preparation effective programs for the development of emotional intelligence and autonomous motivation for physical activity.

Direct and Indirect Effects of Youth Sports Participation on Emotional Intelligence, Self-Esteem, and Life Satisfaction

The present study investigated the mediating effects of emotional intelligence and self-esteem between youth sports participation and life satisfaction, as well as the comparative effects of different types of sports involvement (team, individual, and non-participation) on these selected variables. A sample of 1053 Portuguese adolescents (612 girls and 441 boys), aged between 12 and 18 years (M = 14.40; SD = 1.55), completed the following self-report measures: the Wong and Law Emotional Intelligence Scale, the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, and the Satisfaction with Life Scale. The structural equation modeling results indicated a complete mediating role of two emotional intelligence dimensions (use of emotion and self-emotional appraisal) and self-esteem in the relationship between sports participation and adolescents' life satisfaction. Team sport participants reported higher emotional intelligence and self-esteem scores than their non-sport participant counterparts who revealed lower levels of emotion use than their individual sport participant peers. These findings provide novel insights into the potential emotional and psychological mechanisms underlying the association between youth sports participation and life satisfaction.

Psychometric Properties of the Spanish Version of the Work Group Emotional Intelligence Profile Short Version (WEIP-S) in a Sample of Spanish Federated Coaches

Emotional intelligence has been a topic of great interest to researchers in many different areas as it is associated with mental, psychosomatic, and physical health. In the sports context, it is a significant variable that can play an important role in improving the team's performance. Although there are numerous tools to assess emotional intelligence, few of them have been validated explicitly in a sports sample, and even fewer have had coaches as a target population. Therefore, this study aimed to validate the Spanish version of the work group emotional intelligence profile short version (WEIP-S) in a sample of Spanish federated coaches. The results confirm that this instrument presents good psychometric properties to measure the emotional intelligence of sports coaches. The original four-factor model (awareness of one's own emotions, management of one's own emotions, awareness of others' emotions, and management of others' emotions) shows good reliability and convergent validity for all four factors except for the management of one's own emotions. These findings suggest that it is possible to measure the emotional intelligence of coaches and offer the opportunity to continue investigating the relevance of constructing specific scales to measure this construct in the sports context.

The development of the Chinese version of the Sports Emotional Intelligence Scale

Objective

To revise and test the Chinese version of the Sports Emotional Intelligence Scale (SEIS) in sports situations.

Materials and methods

After pretesting 112 college students, 832 college students were formally tested, and item analysis, validity test, internal consistency reliability analysis, and calibration validity and equivalence test of the Chinese version of the SEIS were performed. The Chinese version of the SEIS had 14 items with four dimensions (evaluation of others’ emotions, self-emotional management, emotion use, and social skills), with a cumulative variance contribution of 57.812 percent; the four-factor measurement model fit well (χ2/df = 3.743, NFI = 0.917, GFI = 0.945, AFGI = 0.913, CFI = 0.926, and RMSEA = 0.062). The internal consistency coefficients (Cronbach’s α) of the Chinese version of the SEIS ranged from 0.824 to 0. 905, and the split-half reliability ranged from 0.807 to 0.891; the correlations between the total SEIS score and its dimensional scores and the calibration variables were significantly correlated (p < 0.05), ranging from 0.255 to 0.603. The gender measure equivalence test was valid, and the mean difference of potential variables across gender groups was not significant in the potential mean analysis.

Conclusion

The Chinese version of the SEIS has good reliability and validity, and it is appropriate for assessing emotional intelligence in sports situations.

Linking Emotional Intelligence, Physical Activity and Aggression among Undergraduates

Several indicators are strongly related to health and well-being in university students, such as emotional intelligence and physical activity. At the same time, some qualities threaten it and are incompatible with students’ adaptation to society in general, such as aggressive behaviours. The aim of this research is to analyse the relationship established between emotional intelligence using TMMS-24, physical activity, using IPAQ, and aggression behaviours in university students. For this purpose, a descriptive, cross-sectional and non-experimental study was developed with 932 undergraduates (M = 20.55; SD = 3.673). The findings highlight how emotional intelligence and physical activity practice decrease violent behaviour in university students. In addition, men tend to have more aggressive behaviours than women as well as the relation between physical activity and emotional intelligence is stronger in all its dimensions. Results highlight the importance of including emotional intelligence programs in order to enable undergraduate well-being.

The Role of Gender in Association between Emotional Intelligence and Self-Control among University Student-Athletes

The purpose of this study was to reveal the peculiarities of undergraduate studies university student-athletes’ emotional intelligence and self-control indicators, and the role of gender as a predictor in the association between emotional intelligence and self-control. The study included students regularly involved in training at least three times a week. The sample consisted of 1395 student athletes from Lithuanian universities, among them 59.2% female and 40.8% male. For measurement, the SSRI inventory and a self-control scale were used. All values of emotional intelligence indicators were significantly higher for males than females. Estimates of the components of the self-control construct varied. The score for the healthy habits component was significantly higher for women than for men, the self-discipline component did not differ significantly, and the other three components were higher for males. Estimates of the components of the self-control construct varied. Models for predicting the values of self-control components were proposed. Only one component of the emotional intelligence construct, optimism, was repeated in all forecasting models, as well as gender. Other components of emotional intelligence vary in models.