Trait Emotional Intelligence (EI)-related competencies are in growing demand in educational and vocational settings. The present study assesses the developmental dynamics of trait EI in emerging adulthood by capitalizing on the inclusion of a measure of trait EI in the National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth (NLSCY) called the Emotional Quotient Inventory: Mini (EQ-i: Mini). A sample of 1064 young adults (50% female) from ages 20-21 to 24-25 years was used to assess 4-year rank-order stability and mean-level change of trait EI, as well as whether the EQ-i: Mini functions equivalently over time (longitudinal measurement invariance). Results revealed full configural, partial metric, and scalar invariance of the construct for this time period. The Stress Management subscale achieved invariance at the residual level. After controlling for partial non-invariance, moderate levels of rank-order stability coefficients were found, suggesting malleability of the construct during emerging adulthood. Consistent with the maturity principle, there was a moderate increase in trait EI (specifically in the Interpersonal and Adaptability subscales). The malleability of trait EI suggests opportunities for enhancing socioemotional competencies in emerging adults, such as through formal and continuing education programing, on-the-job training, and targeted employment interventions.

Trait Emotional Intelligence (EI) is a constellation of emotional self-perceptions and dispositions related to perceiving, understanding, using, and managing emotions of self and others. Although higher trait EI has been implicated in post-secondary success among university students. There is lack of evidence for whether it predicts the pursuit of post-secondary education (PSE) in emerging adulthood. This was the first study to investigate the role of trait EI in PSE pursuit using a large, nationally-representative sample of Canadian young adults who participated in the National Longitudinal Survey for Children and Youth (NLSCY). Participants in this dataset reported on their PSE status at three biennial waves (age 20-21, 22-23, and 24-25), and completed a four-factor self-report scale for trait EI (Emotional Quotient Inventory: Mini) at ages 20-21 and 24-25. Higher trait EI subscale scores were significantly associated with greater likelihood of PSE participation both concurrently, and at 2- and 4-year follow-ups. Overall, these associations were larger for men than women. The finding that these links persisted over a multi-year period is particularly promising, as it represents an important validation step toward further investment in socioemotional competencies as part of youth development interventions.

Chapter 11 Emotional Intelligence, Stress, and Health When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Turn to Emotions Kateryna V. Keefer, Kateryna V. KeeferSearch for more papers by this authorDonald H. Saklofske, Donald H. SaklofskeSearch for more papers by this authorJames D. A. Parker, James D. A. ParkerSearch for more papers by this author Kateryna V. Keefer, Kateryna V. KeeferSearch for more papers by this authorDonald H. Saklofske, Donald H. SaklofskeSearch for more papers by this authorJames D. A. Parker, James D. A. ParkerSearch for more papers by this author Book Editor(s):LORRAINE DACRE POOL, LORRAINE DACRE POOLSearch for more papers by this authorPAMELA QUALTER, PAMELA QUALTERSearch for more papers by this author First published: 23 July 2018 https://doi.org/10.1002/9781394260157.ch11 AboutPDFPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShareShare a linkShare onEmailFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditWechat Summary In this chapter, the authors explore the role of emotional intelligence (EI) as one such factor that has been proposed to protect against the deleterious effects of stress on health and wellbeing. They review and critically evaluate the theory and research on the role of trait and ability EI in stress, health, and wellbeing, with a focus on adults. The authors also review correlational evidence on the associations of EI with various indicators of physical and mental health. They explore several pathways through which EI may moderate the impact of stress on health. The authors evaluate whether interventions designed to help people work through their distressing emotions and develop their EI competencies can improve health and wellbeing. Task-focused coping involves actions directed at removing or dealing with the source of stress. Avoidance coping is motivated by the desire to escape the stressor or the associated aversive emotion. An Introduction to Emotional Intelligence RelatedInformation

Education is one of the largest applied areas for the construct of emotional intelligence (EI). The emphasis on social-emotional learning (SEL) is rapidly growing at all levels of the education delivery system, from preschool and secondary school curricula to post-secondary, professional, and continuing education programs. The book Emotional Intelligence in Education brings together leading world experts in the fields of EI and SEL to highlight current knowledge, new opportunities, and outstanding challenges associated with scientifically based applications of EI in education. In this introductory chapter to the book, we take stock of almost three decades of EI research, addressing three common concerns: (1) that EI is nothing more than old wine in new bottles, (2) that EI is poorly defined and measured, and (3) that claims about the importance of EI for various life success outcomes are dramatically overblown. We also highlight a number of new and emerging trends that point to the increasing maturity of the EI field as an area of study. Having taken the pulse of the chapters comprising the book, we propose that the field of EI would benefit from paying greater attention to the social context within which EI operates.

The transition from high school to a post-secondary setting is a stressful period for most individuals, and difficulties with social and emotional adjustment are strong predictors of student dropout and underachievement. In this context, emotional intelligence (EI) has been studied as a possible explanatory variable for a range of post-secondary adjustment and attainment outcomes. However, the empirical evidence from two decades of research is rather mixed. In this chapter, we summarize the current state of evidence on the links between EI and post-secondary outcomes, review several mediating pathways through which EI may impact these outcomes, and point out important methodological limitations that have confounded research in this area. Using examples from our own research program, we demonstrate that careful treatment of these methodological issues yields informative and promising results. We then discuss a number of practical applications of EI in post-secondary settings, from utilizing EI assessments to improve the delivery of student services to targeted EI interventions.

It is claimed that emotional competency is crucial to children’s scholastic success, and for creating healthy academic environments.The implementation of interventions to help children build emotional competency are, thus, important. But, how do we ensure that the interventions we design and deliver promote individual change? Following the principles laid out by Kelly (2012), in the current paper we provide a scientific focus for the implementation of emotional competency interventions in education contexts. In the paper we, first, examine the evidence for the thesis that emotional competency impacts academic success and other related constructs.We also consider how emotional competency can be conceptualised, and advocate the use of a multi-methods approach when measuring an individual’s emotional competency so that different aspects of the construct are examined.We end by describing some interventions that have been designed to increase emotional competency among both students and educators.Those interventions are representative of the ideals among educators to help children develop emotional competency, but we highlight the need for: (1) further rigorous scientific evaluation, including the use of further Randomised Control Trials; and (2) effective implementation.The main message is that existing evidence supports claims emotional competency impacts academic life, but there is a need to consider how we measure that construct to ensure appropriate evaluation of intervention strategies and the monitoring of individual progress.The application of robust scientific methods to the implementation and evaluation of programmes for the training of emotional competency is imperative.

Alexithymia is a clinically relevant personality construct characterized by difficulties identifying and describing feelings, externally oriented thinking, and impoverished imaginal processes. Previous taxometric investigations provided evidence that alexithymia is best conceptualized as a continuous dimension rather than a discrete type, at least when assessed with the self-report 20-Item Toronto Alexithymia Scale. The aim of the current study was to test the categorical versus dimensional structure of alexithymia using the recently developed Toronto Structured Interview for Alexithymia. Three nonredundant taxometric procedures (MAXCOV, MAMBAC, and L-Mode) were performed on the Toronto Structured Interview for Alexithymia subscale scores from a multinational sample of 842 adults. All taxometric procedures produced unambiguously dimensional solutions, providing further evidence that the core alexithymia features are continuously distributed in the population. Discussion focuses on the theoretical, assessment, and clinical implications of these findings for the alexithymia construct.

The purpose of this study was to create and validate a scale of attitudes towards professional values. It corresponds to the phase of analysis of metric properties in an intentional sample of 1008 bachelor student's equivalent to 30.74% of the population of the Universidad Autonoma de Baja California. The sample of students represents six knowledge areas: Social and Business Sciences, Human and Education Sciences, Natural Sciences, Exact Sciences, Technology and Engineering, and Health Sciences. The scale was pilot tested with a group of 253 students that took the full 50-item scale. Based on the Rasch Methodology, twenty items were deleted from the original scale. From the final scale, the outcomes reported unidimensionality and goodness-of fit indexes assuming the Rating Scale Model (RSM). The results showed values close to 1 on both goodness fit indexes: INFIT MNSQ and OUTFIT MSNQ. Finally, the reliability for the total scale was found to be .85 Cronbach's alpha. The six subscales within the scale (responsibility, honesty, justice, respect, autonomy and professional competence) had moderate levels of internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha ranging .62 to .75). The findings have important implications for the accumulation of evidence of reliability and construct validity of an instrument for college students in the Mexican context.

Much of the work on predicting academic success in postsecondary education has focused on the impact of various cognitive abilities, although in recent years there has been increased attention to the role played by emotional and social competency (also called emotional intelligence (EI)). Previous work on the link between EI and giftedness is reviewed, particularly factors connected to the successful transition to postsecondary education. Data are presented from a sample of 171 exceptionally high-achieving secondary students (high school grade-point average of 90% or better) who completed a measure of trait EI at the start of postsecondary studies and who had their academic progress tracked over the next 6 years. High-achieving secondary students who completed an undergraduate degree scored significantly higher on a number of EI dimensions compared to the secondary students who dropped out. Results are discussed in the context of the importance of EI in the successful transition from secondary to postsecondary education.

This chapter discusses the application of resiliency in school environments. We begin by briefly introducing the constructs of resilience/resiliency as internal and external mechanisms that allow an individual to recover from/overcome adversities. Resilience is described as a non-stigmatizing construct which includes social-emotional intelligence and which is well suited to use in a school environment. Next, the three-factor model of personal resiliency, developed by Prince-Embury, is presented as a working model to simplify the construct into three underlying developmental principles for applications in schools. The three-factor model describes core underlying developmental systems of personal resiliency as sense of mastery, sense of relatedness, and emotional reactivity. The Resiliency Scales for Children and Adolescents are then presented as a tool for preventive screening in schools that employ the three-factor model. A multitiered model for preventive screening is presented using the RSCA index scores of vulnerability and resource to identify students who are most at risk and drilling down to identify specific areas of relative strength and vulnerability. The second part of this chapter provides specific examples of applications of resiliency and related strength-based constructs in schools at different levels of intervention: school-wide/systemic, classroom, and individual.

The aim of this project was to evaluate the psychopathological impact of home confinement and school closing between March and September 2020 on the mental health of Catalonian children.PEDSAME study: first cross-sectional section (beginning of the school year) and retrospective data (lockdown), carried out through the network of Primary Care pediatricians in the Catalan population between 5 and 14 years (included) from 09/14/2020 to 10/30/2020 in a random sample. Data were collected with an online survey through the RedCap platform at the beginning of the school year. The main variable was the result of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire answered by parents to assess the risk of psychopathology, in addition to other related variable.The results obtained at the beginning of the school year show that 9.8% of the patients were probable cases of psychopathology. The most affected group were those between 5 and 8 years. The perception of the children's level of concern for their health and that of their family was a risk factor for presenting psychopathology, while the good family environment was a protective factor. Emotional and behavioral symptoms, sleep disorders and problematic use of screens were detected more frequently during confinement than at the beginning of the school year.Confinement and the absence of schooling for 6 months had a negative impact on the mental health of the child–adolescent population who showed worse indicators than the previous year.El objetivo de este proyecto fue evaluar el impacto psicopatológico del confinamiento domiciliario y cierre escolar entre marzo y septiembre 2020 en la población pediátrica catalana.Estudio PEDSAME: primer corte transversal (inicio de curso escolar) y datos retrospectivos (periodo de confinamiento), realizado a través de la red de pediatras de atención primaria en población catalana entre 5 y 14 años (incluidos) del 14/09/2020 al 30/10/2020 en una muestra aleatoria. Los datos fueron recogidos con una encuesta on line a través de la plataforma RedCap al inicio del curso. La variable principal fue el resultado del cuestionario Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire contestado por los progenitores para evaluar el riesgo de psicopatología, además de otras variables relacionadas.Los resultados obtenidos al inicio del curso escolar mostraron que el 9,8% de los pacientes eran casos probables de psicopatología. La franja más afectada fue la de los 5 a 8 años. La percepción del nivel de preocupación de los niños por su salud y la de su familia fue un factor de riesgo de presentar psicopatología, mientras que el buen ambiente familiar resultó protector. Durante el confinamiento se detectaron con mayor frecuencia síntomas emocionales, de conducta, trastornos del sueño y uso problemático de pantallas respecto al inicio del curso escolar.El confinamiento y la ausencia de escolarización durante 6 meses supusieron un impacto negativo en la salud mental de la población infantojuvenil, con peores indicadores que el curso anterior.

Certain coping strategies alleviate stress and promote positive psychological outcomes, whereas others exacerbate stress and promote negative psychological outcomes. However, the efficacy of any given coping strategy may also depend on personal resiliency. This study examined whether personal resiliency moderated the effects of task-oriented, avoidance-oriented, and emotion-oriented coping strategies on measures of depression, anxiety, stress, positive affect, negative affect, and satisfaction with life. Results (N = 424 undergraduates) showed higher personal resiliency was associated with greater use of task-oriented coping strategies, which were in turn associated with more adaptive outcomes, and less reliance on nonconstructive emotion-oriented strategies, which in turn were associated with poorer psychological outcomes. In addition, individual differences in personal resiliency moderated the effects of task-oriented coping on negative affect and of emotion-oriented coping on negative affect and depression. Specifically, proactive task-oriented coping was associated with greater negative affect for people lower in personal resiliency. Moreover, high personal resiliency attenuated the negative effects of emotion-oriented coping on depression and negative affect. The effects of avoidance-oriented coping were mixed and were not associated with or dependent on levels of personal resiliency.

The Toronto Structured Interview for Alexithymia (TSIA) has been translated into Dutch, German, and Italian and validated in clinical and nonclinical populations. In order to make valid comparisons across different population groups, it is important to establish measurement equivalence across variables such as language, gender, and clinical status. Our objective in this study was to establish measurement equivalence in relation to language (English, Dutch, German, and Italian), gender, and clinical status (non-clinical, psychiatric, and medical) using differential item functioning (DIF). The sample was composed of 842 adults representing the four language groups, all of whom had undergone the TSIA assessment as part of several earlier studies. Ordinal Logistic Regression was employed to explore DIF of the TSIA items. Although several items were found to exhibit DIF for language, gender, or clinical status, all of these effects were within an acceptable range. These findings provide support for the measurement equivalence of the TSIA, and allow researchers to reliably compare results from studies using the TSIA across the four language groups, gender, and clinical status.

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.

The present study examined the association between trait emotional intelligence (TEI) and ADHD symptomatology in samples of 1388 adolescents (ages 14–17years) and 3313 young adults (ages 18–24years). Consistent with the notion that difficulties in emotion processing and affect regulation are important features of ADHD, TEI was found to be a moderate to strong predictor in both samples. The TEI dimensions of stress management and adaptability uniquely predicted both hyperactivity–impulsive and inattentive symptomatology for both samples. Implications are discussed in terms of the usefulness of the TEI framework for enhancing understanding of the socio-emotional difficulties associated with ADHD symptoms and for informing interventions and coping strategies.

The present study examined the link between problematic gambling and gambling related cognitions (GRCs) in a large sample of adolescents with (N = 266) and without (N = 1,738) special education needs (SEN) between the ages of 14 and 18 years attending several high schools in eastern central Ontario. The adolescents with SENs were identified as having various learning disorders and/or internalizing and externalizing problems [e.g., attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)]. All adolescents completed a self-report questionnaire package that included the GRC Scale (GRCS; Raylu and Oei in Addiction 99:757–769, 2004), as well as measures of problem gambling, negative affect, and ADHD symptomatology. Results showed that adolescents with SEN hold more erroneous beliefs about gambling and had a higher risk of developing problematic patterns of gambling behaviour than their typically developing peers. Moreover, the GRCS subscales were found to be strong predictors of problem gambling among adolescents both with and without SEN, accounting for a substantial amount of the variance even when controlling for the effects of age, gender, ADHD, and negative affect. It is suggested that intervention and prevention programs aimed at adolescent gambling need to give particular attention to those with SEN.