Emotional intelligence and psychological maladjustment in adolescence: A systematic review

Abstract

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.

Pathways into psychopathology: Modeling the effects of trait emotional intelligence, mindfulness, and irrational beliefs in a clinical sample

“…Clinical samples are as rare as they are necessary for this type of research because they do not leave any doubts as to whether the findings are theoretically and practically relevant to clinical groups (e.g., Wupperman, Neumann, & Axelrod, ). Studies using clinical samples are needed to identify personality correlates of mental health problems as well as to determine whether these differ from correlates in nonclinical samples (Resurrección, Salguero, & Ruiz‐Aranda, ).…”

Social status and its link with personality dimensions, trait emotional intelligence, and scholastic achievement in children and early adolescents

“…There is also some evidence attesting that girls show higher overall trait EI levels compared to boys (e.g., Andrei et al, 2014;Mavroveli, Petrides, Sangareau, & Furnham, 2009). However, the EI literature focusing on developmental age has generally overlooked gender differences in investigating the association between trait EI and relevant outcomes (Resurrección, Salguero, & Ruiz-Aranda, 2014), thus requiring further explorations.…”

Does Emotional Intelligence have a “Dark” Side? A Review of the Literature

“…It is argued that beliefs about emotional abilities (indicated by TEI) are just as important, given appraisal and reactivity to everyday activities may be partly filtered through these (Petrides et al, 2007). Whilst there is evidence to link EI to better mental and physical health (for reviews see Martins et al, 2010; Resurreccion et al, 2014), research suggests that in some contexts, high levels of EI (particularly emotional awareness; management) may be related to poorer psychological health and adversely impact upon an individual's capacity to deal with emotionally salient situations.…”