 |
[email protected] |
 |
3275638434 |
 |
 |
| Paper Publishing WeChat |
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Youth Emotional Intelligence as Related to Adaptive Coping with Stress Encounters
Dorit Olenik Shemesh
Full-Text PDF
XML 1470 Views
DOI:10.17265/2159-5542/2017.01.001
The Open University of Israel, Raanana, Israel
The current research aimed to examine the nexus of relationships between emotional intelligence (EI) and adaptive coping with stressful encounters among adolescents. More specifically, the study assesses the extent to which EI uniquely facilitates adaptive coping, beyond the effects of general intelligence and personality dimensions. The research is based on Mayer and Salovey’s (1997) definition of EI as a hierarchically organized constellation of four emotional abilities that leads to emotional growth and enables individuals to cope adaptively with stress encounters, thus improving their sense of well-being. Accordingly, we hypothesized that adolescents with high EI cope more effectively in stressful situations than those with low EI, reaching more adaptive outcomes and thus a greater sense of well-being. We also examined the mediating role of social support in the relationship between EI and adaptive coping. The sample included 203 adolescents, aged 16-17 (41.9% boys, 58.1% girls), and their homeroom teachers completed questionnaires regarding the examined variables. Overall, the results corroborated our hypothesis: High EI and positive adaptive outcomes were highly correlated. EI and problem-focused or emotion-focused coping were not correlated, but EI was negatively correlated with avoidant coping strategies that entail non-adaptive behaviors. Modest positive correlations were found between EI and scholastic performance. Furthermore, an assessment of the hypothesized model using structural equation modeling (SEM) showed social support mediates the nexus of relationships between EI and adaptive outcomes. Students’ evaluations of their homeroom teachers supplemented the assessment of the research model. The findings indicate that in times of stress, adolescents with high EI rely on their higher emotional abilities to build a social network that supplies them with significant social resources to minimize the negative impact of stress, help them achieve positive adaptive outcomes, and protect them from using non-adaptive coping strategies. Implications of the findings for adolescents’ education are discussed.
emotional intelligence, youth, adaptive coping, stress encounters
Dorit Olenik Shemesh. (2017). Youth Emotional Intelligence as Related to Adaptive Coping with Stress Encounters. Psychology Research, 7(1), 1-19.
Asher, S. R., & Gazella, H. (1999). Loneliness, peer relations, and language disorder in childhood. Topics in Learning Disorders, 19(2), 16-33.
Bar-On, R. (1997). Eqi: Bar-On emotional quotient inventory. Toronto: Multi-Health Systems, Inc. New York: Guilford Press.
Baron, R. M., & Kenny, D. A. (1986). The moderator-mediator variable distinction in social psychological research: Conceptual, strategies and statistical reconsideration. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51, 1173-1182.
Barrett, L. F., & Salovey, P. (2002). (Eds.) The wisdom of feeling. New York, NY: Guilford Press.
Brackett, M. A., & Mayer, J. D. (2003). Convergent, discriminate and incremental validity of competing measures of emotional intelligence. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 29, 1147-1158.
Bracket, M. A., Mayer, J. D., & Warner, R. M. (2004). Emotional intelligence and its relation to everyday behavior. Personality and Individual Differences, 36, 1387-1402.
Brody, L. R. (1985). Gender differences, in emotional development: A review of theories and research. Journal of Personality, 53, 102-149.
Byrne, M. B. (1994). Structural equation modeling with EQS and EQS/Windows: Basic Concepts, applications and programming. California: SAGE.
Carver, C. S., Scheier, M. F., & Weintraub, J. K. (1989). Assessing coping strategies: A theoretically based approach. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 56, 267-283.
Carver, C. S., Scheier, M. F., & Pozo, C. (1992). Conceptualizing the process of coping with health problems. In H. S. Friedman (Ed.), Hostility, coping and health (pp. 167-199). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Ciarrochi, J., Deane, F. P., & Anderson, S. (2002). Emotional intelligence moderates the relationship between stress and mental health. Personality and Individual Differences, 32, 197-209.
Ciarrochi, J., & Scott, G. (2006). The link between emotional intelligence and well-being: A longitudinal study. British Journal of Guidance and Councelling, 33(2), 231-242.
Cohen, S., Mermelstein, R., Kamarck, T., & Hoberman, H. M. (1985). Measuring the functional components of social support. In I. Sarason, & B. Sarason (Eds.), Social support: Theory, research and application (pp. 73-94). Boston: Matrinus Nijhof Publishers.
Compas, B. E. (2004). Processes of risk and resilience during adolescence: Linking contexts and individuals. In R. L. Lerner, & L. Steinberg (Eds.), Handbook of adolescent psychology (pp. 263-296). New-Jersey: John Wiley & Sons.
Compas, B. E., Connor-Smith, J. K., Thomsen, A. H., Seltzman, H., & Wadsworth, M. E. (2001). Coping with stress during childhood and adolescence: Progress, problems, and potential in the theory and research. Psychological Bulletin, 127, 87-127.
Compas, B., Champion, J., & Reeslund, B. S. (2005). Coping with stress: Implications for preventing interventions with adolescents. The Prevention Researcher, 12(3), 17-20.
Conger, J. J., & Peterson, A. C. (1984). Adolescents and youth, psychological development in a changing world. New York: Harper & Row.
Deary, I. J., Blenkin, H., Agius, R. M., Endler, N. S., Zeally, H., & Wood, R. (1996). Models of job-related stress and personal achievement among consultant doctors. British Journal of Psychology, 87, 3-29.
Diener, E., 
Emmons, R. A., Larsen, R. J., &
Griffin, S. (1985). The satisfaction
with life scale. Journal of Personality
Assessment, 49, 71-75.
Diener, E., Suh, E. M., Lucas, R. E., & Smith, H. E. (1999). Subjective well-being: Three decades of progress. Psychological Bulletin, 125, 267-302.
Endler, N., & Parker, J. (1990). Multi-dimensional assessment of coping: A critical review. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 58, 844-854.
Erickson, E. H. (1968). Childhood and society. New York: Norton.
Goleman, D. (1995). Emotional intelligence. New York: Bantam Books.
Goleman, D., Boyatzis, R., & McKee, A. (2002). Primal leadership: Realizing the power of emotional intelligence. Harvard Business School Press.
Grapentine, T. (2000). Path analysis vs. structural equation modeling. Marketing Research, 12(3), 12-20.
Gresham, F., & Elliot, S. N. (1990). Social skills Rating Systems (SSRS). Circle Pine, MN: American Guidance Services.
Gross, J. J., & John, O. P. (2002). Wise emotion regulation. In L. F. Barrett, & P. Salovey (Eds.), The wisdom in feeling (pp. 297-319). New York: Guilford.
Gur, R., Gunningham-Dixon, F., Bikler, W. B., & Gur, R. E. (2002). Sex differences in temporo-limbic and frontal brain volumes of healthy adults. Cerebral Cortex, 12, 998-1003.
Hammer, A. L., & Marting, S. (1990). Manual for the coping resources inventory; research edition. California: Consulting Psychology Press.
Hen, M., & Sharaabi-Nov, A. (2014). The emotional educator. Dapim (Hebrew), 78-105.
Keltner, D., & Haidt, J. (2001). Social functioning in emotions. In T. Mayne, & G. Bonanno (Eds.), Emotions: Current issues and future directions (pp.192-213). New York: Guilford.
Law, K. S., Wong, C., & Song, L. (2004). The construct and criterion validity of emotional intelligence and its potential utility for management studies. Journal of Applied Psychology, 89(3), 483-496.
Lazarus, R. S. (1999). Stress and emotion, a new synthesis. New York: Springer.
Lazarus, R. S., & Folkman, S. (1984). Stress, appraisal and coping. New York: Springer.
Lazarus, R. S., & Folkman, S. (1987). Transactional theory and research on emotions and coping. European Journal of Personality, 1, 141-170.
Lazarus, R. S., & Lazarus, B. N. (2001). Passion and reason: Making sense of our emotions (translated to Hebrew by Zmora-Bitan by arrangement with Oxford University Press).
Lopes, P. N., Salovey, P., & Straus, R. (2003). Emotional intelligence, personality, and perceived quality of social relationship. Personality and Individual Differences, 35, 641-658.
Lopes, P. N., Bracken, M. A., Nezlek, J. B., Schultz, A., Sellin, A., & Salovey, P. (2003). Emotional intelligence and social interaction. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 30, 2-39.
Lopes, P. N., Salovey, P., Cote, S., & Beers, M. (2004). Emotion regulation abilities and the quality of social interaction. Emotion, 5(1), 113-118.
Matthews, G., & Zeidner, M. (2000). Emotional intelligence, adaptation to stressful encounters and health outcomes. In R. Bar-On, & J. D. Parker (Eds.), Handbook of emotional intelligence (pp. 459-489). New York: Jossey-Bass.
Matthews, G., Zeidner, M., & Roberts, R. (2002). Emotional intelligence: Science and myth. Cambridge: MIT Press.
Mattlin, J. A., Wethington, E., & Kessler, C. (1990). Situational determinants of coping and coping effectiveness. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 31, 103-122.
Mayer, J. D., Caruso, D. R., & Salovey, P. (1999). Emotional intelligence meets standards for a traditional intelligence. Intelligence, 7, 267-298.
Mayer, J. D., Caruso, D. R., & Salovey, P. (1999). The manual for the MSCEIT V.2 (1st ed., July 28th, 2000). Toronto: Multi-Health Systems Inc.
Mayer, J. D., & Salovey, P. (1997). What is emotional intelligence? In P. Salovey, & D. J. Sluyter (Eds.), Emotional development and emotional intelligence (pp. 3-31). New York: Basic Books.
Mayer, J. D., Salovey, P., & Caruso, D. (1999). MSCEIT, item booklet, version 2.0. Multi-Health Systems.
Mayer, J. D., Salovey, P., & Caruso, D. (2000). Models of emotional intelligence. In R. J. Sternberg (Ed.), Handbook of intelligence (pp. 369-420). Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge Universities Press.
Mayer, J. D., Salovey, P., & Caruso, D. (2000). Emotional intelligence as zeitgeist, as personality and as a mental ability. In R. Bar-On, & J. D. Parker (Eds.), The handbook of emotional intelligence (pp. 92-117). New York: Jossey-Bass.
Mayer, J. D., Salovey, P., & Caruso, D. (2004). Emotional intelligence: Theory, findings and implications. Psychological Inquiry, 15(3), 197-215.
Murphy, S. T., & Zajonc, R. B. (1993). Affect, cognition and awareness: Affective priming with optimal and suboptimal stimulus. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 64, 723-734.
Petrides, K. V., & Furnham, A. (2001). Trait emotional intelligence: Psychometric investigation with reference to establish trait taxonomies. European Journal of Personality, 15, 425-448.
Riley, H., & Schutte, N. S. (2003). Low emotional intelligence as a predictor of substance-use problems. Drug Education, 33(4), 391-398.
Roberts, R. (2001). Openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, neuroticism index condensed (OCEANIC): Preliminary technical reports draft 2. University of Sydney.
Salovey, P., Bedell, B., Detweiler, J., & Mayer, J. (1999). Coping intelligently: Emotional intelligence and the coping process. In C. R. Snyder (Ed.), Coping: The psychology of what works (pp.141-164). New York: Oxford University Press.
Salovey, P., Bedell, R. T., Detweiler, J., & Mayer, J. (2000). Current directions in emotional intelligence research. In M. Lewis, & J. M. Haviland-Jones (Eds.), Handbook of emotions (pp. 504-520). New York: Guilford.
Salovey, P., & Mayer, J. (1990). EI. Imagination, Cognition and Personality, 9, 185-211.
Salovey, P., Mayer, J. D., & Caruso, D. (2002). The positive psychology of emotional intelligence. In C. R. Snyder, & S. L. Lopez (Eds.), The handbook of positive psychology (pp. 159-171). New York: Oxford University Press.
Salovey, P., & Sluyter, D. (Eds.). (1997). Emotional development and emotional intelligence: Implications for educators. New York: Basic Books.
Salovey, P., Stroud, L. R., & Woolery, A. (2002). Perceived emotional intelligence, stress reactivity, and health: Further explorations using the Trait Meta-Mood Scale. Psychology and Health, 17, 611-627.
Saarni, C. (2000). Emotional competence: A developmental perspective. In R. Bar-On, & J. Parker (Eds.), The handbook of emotional intelligence (pp. 68-91). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Sarason, I. G. (1983). Assessing social support questionnaire. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 44, 127-139.
Schutte, N. S., Malouff, J. M., Simunek, M., McKenley, J., & Hollander, S. (2002). Characteristic emotional intelligence and emotional well-being. Cognition and Emotion, 16(6), 769-785.
Schwartz, N. (1990). Feelings as information: Informational and motivational functions of affective states. In E. T. Higgins, & E. M. Sorrentino (Eds.), Handbook of motivation and cognition (Vol. 2, pp. 527-561). New York: Guilford.
Seiffge-Krenke, I. (1995). Stress, coping and relationships in adolescence. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
Shulman, S., & Laursen, B. (2002). Adolescent perceptions of conflict in interdependent and disengaged friendships. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 12(3), 353-372. doi:10.1111/1532-7795.00037.
Thoits, P. (1995). Stress, coping and social support processes: Where are we? What next? Journal of Health and Social Behavior, (extra issue), 53-79.
Trinidad, D. R., & Johnson, C. A. (2002). The association between emotional intelligence and early adolescent tobacco and alcohol use. Personality and Individual differences, 32, 95-105.
Wells, A., & Matthews, G. (1994). Attention and emotion: A clinical perspective. Hove, U.K.: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Williams, G. A., & Asher, S. R. (1992). Assessment of loneliness at school. American Journal of Mental Retardation, 96, 373-385.
Zeidner, M., & Hammer, A. (1990). Life events and coping resources as predictors of stress symptoms in adolescents. Personality and Individual Differences, 11, 693-703.
Zeidner, M., & Saklofske, D. S. (1996). Adaptive and maladaptive coping. In M. Zeidner, & N. S. Endler (Eds.), Handbook of coping (pp. 505-531). New York: Wiley.