Optimism and friendship quality as mediators between trait emotional intelligence and life satisfaction in Chinese adolescents: A two-wave longitudinal study

Abstract

Using a convenience sample of adolescents (N = 1609; 63.5% female; Mage = 16.54), this study explored whether EI predicted adolescent life satisfaction and whether friendship quality and optimism mediated this relationship during the COVID-19 pandemic. The structural equation modeling revealed that EI predicted adolescent life satisfaction, friendship quality, and optimism, friendship quality partially mediated the relationship between EI and life satisfaction, and optimism partially mediated the relationship between EI and friendship quality. These findings prove that psychological or educative approaches focused on EI could increase life satisfaction in adolescents during difficult times such as COVID-19, but EI may be linked with life satisfaction via friendship quality only. Training in optimism approaches and friendship quality enhancement programs could also effectively promote life satisfaction.

The Roles of Emotional Intelligence in Developing Optimism among Public University Students in Perak, Malaysia

“…Despite many studies conducted examining the effects of emotional intelligence and optimism on students' learning, limited research is found in identifying the relationship between emotional intelligence and optimism especially among adolescents (Tejada-Gallardo et al, 2022). It was further revealed that adolescents' lives, optimism and friendship quality can be predicted by their emotional intelligence, reflecting the moderate positive relationship between emotional intelligence and optimism (Wang et al, 2022). Interchangeably, previous studies have suggested a reverse finding where optimistic students were also the ones with high self-esteem and emotional intelligence (Checa-Domene et al, 2022).…”

“Quiet Strength and Bold Energy” Unraveling Psychological Dynamics of Friendship among Mismatched Personalities

“…Novel study suggested that support from friends does more than that. It can help our brains see the problem in a new way or "look on the bright side" better than if we tried to deal with it alone (Geers, Reilley, & Dember, 1998;Wang et al, 2022).…”