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Perceived emotional intelligence as predictor of psychological adjustment in adolescents: a 1-year prospective study

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Abstract

In recent years, emotional intelligence has appeared as a predictor of adults’ mental health, but little research has examined its involvement in adolescents’ psychological adjustment. In this paper, we analyzed the predictive validity of perceived emotional intelligence (attention to feelings, emotional clarity, and emotional repair) over psychological adjustment in an adolescent sample at two temporal stages with a 1-year interval. At Time 1, the results indicated that adolescents with high scores in attention to feelings and low scores in emotional clarity and repair display poorer psychological adjustment, concretely, higher levels of anxiety, depression, and social stress and lower levels of general mental health. At Time 2, attention to feelings and emotional repair significantly predicted adolescents’ psychological well-being, even when the effects of previous psychological adjustment were controlled for. The findings suggest that perceived emotional intelligence is a stable predictor of adolescent adjustment and may serve as a useful resource for preventive interventions.

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Acknowledgments

We wish to thank the Emotions and Emotional Intelligence Laboratory of the University of Málaga (Spain) for their effort collecting data and their contributions during this process. This research was funded by project P07-SEJ-03036 of the Autonomous Government of Andalusia.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Personality, Evaluation and Psychological Treatment, Psychology Faculty, University of Malaga, Campus de Teatinos s/n. Málaga, 29071, Málaga, Spain

    José M. Salguero

  2. Department of Developmental and Educational Psychology, University of Cantabria, Cantabria, Spain

    Raquel Palomera

  3. Department of Basic Psychology, University of Malaga, Malaga, Spain

    Pablo Fernández-Berrocal

Authors
  1. José M. Salguero
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  2. Raquel Palomera
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  3. Pablo Fernández-Berrocal
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to José M. Salguero.

Additional information

José M. Salguero Department of Personality, Evaluation and Psychological Treatment, Psychology Faculty, University of Malaga, Campus de Teatinos s/n. Málaga, 29071 Málaga, Spain. E-mail: jmsalguero@uma.es.

Current themes of research:

The role of emotional intelligence in predicting psychological and emotional disturbances in adolescents. Development and validation of assessment measures of emotional intelligence. Literacy interventions on emotional intelligence.

Relevant publications:

Salguero, J.M., Fernández-Berrocal, P., Balluerka, N., & Aritzeta, A. (2010). Measuring perceived emotional intelligence in adolescent population: Psychometric properties of the Trait Meta Mood Scale. Social Behavior and Personality, 38(9), 1197–1210.

Ruiz-Aranda, D., Fernández-Berrocal, P., Cabello, R., & Salguero, J. M., (2008). Educando la inteligencia emocional en el aula: Proyecto Intemo [Educating in emotional intelligence in the classroom: Intemo Project]. Revista de Investigación Psicoeducativa, 6(2), 240–251.

Ruiz-Aranda, D., Salguero, J. M., Cabello, R., Palomera, R., & Fernández-Berrocal, P. (in press). Can an emotional intelligence program improve adolescents’ psychosocial adjustment? Results of Project Intemo. Social Behavior and Personality.

Raquel Palomera Department of Developmental and Educational Psychology, University of Cantabria, Cantabria, Spain.

Current themes of research:

Teacher’s emotional intelligence on relation with teaching quality and school social climate. Development and validation of assessment measures of emotional intelligence. Literacy interventions on emotional intelligence.

Relevant publications:

Gil-Olarte, P., Palomera, R. y Brackett, M. (2006). Relating emotional intelligence to social competence, and academic achievement. Psicothema, 18, 118–123.

Palomera, R., Fernández-Berrocal, P. y Brackett, M. (2008). Emotional intelligence as a basic competence on teacher’s initial education. Electronic Journal of Research in Educational Psychology, 6(2), 437–454.

Brackett, M. A., Palomera, R., Mojsa, J., Reyes, K., Salovey, P. (2010). Emotion-Regulation Ability, Burnout, and Job Satisfaction among British Secondary-School Teachers. Psychology in the Schools, 47(4), 406–417.

Pablo Fernández-Berrocal Department of Basic Psychology, University of Malaga, Malaga, Spain.

Current themes of research:

Emotional intelligence on educational context. Development of customized training programs for improving people’s emotional intelligence.

Relevant publications:

Fernández-Berrocal, P., Extremera, N. y Palomera, P. (2008). Emotional Intelligence as a crucial Mental Ability on Educational Context. En A. Valle y J. C. Núñez (Eds.), Handbook of Instructional Resources and Applications. New York: Nova Science Publishers.

Fernández-Berrocal, P. y Ruiz-Aranda, D. (2008). The Emotional intelligence in the school context. Electronic Journal of Research in Educational Psychology, 15, 421–436.

Extremera, N. & Fernández-Berrocal, P. (2003). La inteligencia emocional en el contexto educativo: hallazgos científicos de sus efectos en el aula. Revista de Educación, 332, 97–116.

Williams, F., Fernández-Berrocal, P., Extremera, N., Ramos, N., & Joiner, T. E. (2004). Mood regulation skill and the symptoms of endogenous and hopelessness depression in Spanish high school students. Journal of Psychological maladjustment and Behavioral Assessment, 26, 233–240.

Fernández-Berrocal, P., Alcaide, R., Extremera, N., & Pizarro, D. A. (2006). The role of emotional intelligence in anxiety and depression among adolescents. Individual Differences Research, 4, 16–27.

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Salguero, J.M., Palomera, R. & Fernández-Berrocal, P. Perceived emotional intelligence as predictor of psychological adjustment in adolescents: a 1-year prospective study. Eur J Psychol Educ 27, 21–34 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10212-011-0063-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10212-011-0063-8

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