The Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ; Gross & John, 2003 ) is widely used to assess individual differences in reappraisal and suppression. The present study tests the psychometric properties, reliability, and validity of a Spanish adaptation of the ERQ on a broad sample of participants of Spanish nationality aged 18–80 years (38% males, 62% females). Results of the confirmatory factor analysis showed the expected two-factor structure. Results also indicated adequate internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and convergent and discriminant validity. In terms of affective functioning, reappraisal use was positively associated with positive emotion, whereas suppression use was negatively associated with positive emotion. In terms of social functioning, reappraisal use was positively associated with social functioning, whereas suppression use was negatively associated with social functioning. These findings suggest that the Spanish version of the ERQ is a valid instrument for evaluating strategies of emotion regulation in the Spanish-speaking population, and can be used for laboratory and applied studies.

The aim of this study was to explore the effects of a two‐year intervention grounded in the ability model of emotional intelligence (EI) on aggression and empathy among adolescents. Eight Spanish public schools volunteered to participate in the research. A total of 590 adolescents (46% boys) were randomly assigned to either the EI training group or control group conditions. Students in the EI training group reported lower levels of physical/verbal aggression, anger, hostility, personal distress and fantasy compared to students in the control group. Additionally, the EI program was particularly effective for males' empathic abilities. These findings confirm the effectiveness of social and emotional learning interventions in Spanish academic contexts and extend the literature of gender‐related differences during adolescence. Study limitations and future research directions are also considered.

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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The study of emotional intelligence (EI) and its association with psychological maladjustment in adolescence is a new and active area of research. However, the diverse range of EI measurements and aspects of psychological maladjustment examined make it difficult to synthesize the findings and apply them to practice. Therefore, we conducted a systematic review to summarize the relationship between EI and adolescents' emotional problems, eating disorder symptoms, addictions, and maladaptive coping. Using English and Spanish keywords, we identified 32 studies that found a negative association between EI and internalizing problems, depression, and anxiety. EI was also associated with less substance abuse and with better coping strategies. These associations differed slightly depending on whether EI was evaluated based on self‐reporting or by testing maximum performance. We highlight methodological limitations in the literature on EI and adolescence, and we discuss potentially important areas for future research.