Subjective well‐being and gender‐typed attributes in adolescents: The relevance of emotional intelligence

Enhancing cross-cultural well-being: a mixed methods study on critical thinking, cultural intelligence, and eudaimonic well-being in arts students' cultural identity development

Introduction

This research explores the role of critical thinking and cultural intelligence in psychological well-being through the lens of cultural identity development. It aims to understand how individuals think critically and navigate different cultural challenges that influence their psychological wellbeing.

Methods

The quantitative analysis utilizes various scales to elucidate the correlation between critical thinking beliefs, cultural intelligence, and well-being. The qualitative exploration employing NVivo 20.0 uncovers the interplay between critical thinking, cultural intelligence, and well-being in the construction of cultural identity and psychological selfhood.

Results

The research results show a significant positive correlation between critical thinking, cultural intelligence, and psychological well-being. Themes such as well-being, cultural intelligence, critical thinking, and facing challenges illustrate how individuals navigate obstacles to achieve a meaningful and purposeful life. The findings from both the quantitative and qualitative analyses provide a comprehensive understanding of how critical thinking, cultural intelligence, and well-being intersect and influence individuals' perceptions of themselves and their cultural identities.

Discussion

The research results suggest that developing critical thinking and cultural intelligence positively impacts individuals' psychological well-being in cultural identity development. This can lead to greater belonging and acceptance in diverse cultural settings.

Trait emotional intelligence mediates the dispositional gratitude and subjective well-being in young adults

Gratitude has proved to be an enhancer of subjective well-being in previous studies. However, studies that linked the relation between emotional intelligence and its facets when interacting with gratitude, are still limited. In this sense, this study examined the mediating roles of emotional intelligence between gratitude and subjective well-being indicators, by introducing the general factor of emotional intelligence. The first approach to data analysis was to examine the descriptive statistics; the second approach consisted of an Exploratory Structural Equation Modelling, applying also a bifactor analysis. Data was collected from 406 Spanish students, through an online survey that includes the gratitude, trait meta mood scale, satisfaction with life and subjective happiness scale. The mean age of participants was 20.27 years (SD = 4.68), whereas 79.5% were females. The results provided preliminary evidence of the mediation role of the general factor of emotional intelligence between gratitude and subjective well-being, which provided a meaningful insight about the role of trait emotional intelligence. These findings suggested that gratitude promotes emotional intelligence, allowing to an increase in subjective well-being. Nonetheless, there is a need for further research to achieve a better understanding of the role of the emotional intelligence facets between gratitude and subjective well-being.

Emotional self-knowledge profiles and relationships with mental health indicators support value in 'knowing thyself'

"Know thyself" may be indicated by a balanced high pairing of two emotional self-knowledge indicators: attention to emotions and emotional clarity. Closely associated but often evaluated separately, emotional clarity is consistently, inversely associated with psychopathology, while evidence regarding attention to emotions is less consistent. Variables of high/low emotional clarity and attention to emotions yielded four emotional self-knowledge profiles which were analyzed for associations with mental health indicators (depression and anxiety symptoms, self-esteem, self-schema, resiliency, transcendence) in n = 264 adolescents. Here we report regression models which show that compared with neither, both high (attention + clarity) show higher positive self-schema (B = 2.83, p = 0.004), more resiliency (B = 2.76, p = 0.015) and higher transcendence (B = 82.4, p < 0.001), while high attention only is associated with lower self-esteem (B = - 3.38, p < 0.001) and more symptoms (B = 5.82, p < 0.001 for depression; B = 9.37, p < 0.001 for anxiety). High attention only is associated with most severe impairment all indicators excepting transcendence. Profiles including high clarity suggest protective effects, and 'implicit' versus 'explicit' emotional awareness are discussed. Balanced vs. imbalanced emotional self-awareness profiles dissimilarly affect mental health, which have implications for treatment and policy.

Mediating effect of social interaction anxiety between emotional intelligence and life satisfaction in physical education students: post-COVID-19 study

The aim of this research is to analyze the effect of social interaction anxiety on satisfaction with life mediated by emotional intelligence. The research design was descriptive, cross-sectional, and non-randomized. In total, 1,164 Mexican physical education students participated (Mage = 21.21; SD = 3.26; 30.0% female; 69.6% male; 0.4% other). The scales used were the Social Interaction Anxiety Scale, Trait Meta-Mood Scale and Satisfaction with Life and a structural equation analysis with latent variables was conducted. The results highlight that it can be asserted that emotional clarity and repair had a mediating effect between social interaction anxiety and satisfaction with life, as they did decrease the negative effects of social interaction anxiety on satisfaction with life. In addition, social interaction anxiety had a direct and positive effect on emotional attention and a negative effect on emotional clarity and repair.

Perceived emotional intelligence and subjective well-being during adolescence: The moderating effect of age and sex

Studies focusing on subjective well-being during adolescence are relatively scarce yet necessary, due to the drop in well-being that occurs during this developmental stage. The aim of the present study is therefore: (1) to analyze the variability of perceived emotional intelligence (PEI) and subjective well-being in accordance with sex and age; and (2) to explore the moderating effect of sex and age on the association between PEI and subjective well-being. The sample comprised 1542 students aged between 11 and 18 years, divided into two age groups: younger (11–14 years) and older (15–18 years). All participants completed the Trait Meta Mood Scale and the Satisfaction with Life Scale. Several ANOVAs and MANOVAs were performed using the SPSSv.28 statistical package. The simple moderation models were analyzed using the PROCESSv.4 macro. Age was the socio-personal variable that most significantly affected emotion repair and life satisfaction, whereas sex had a greater effect on the other variables studied. Sex moderated the predictive effect of emotional clarity on negative affect among girls, the predicted the effect of emotional attention on positive affect among boys, as well as the predictive effect of emotional clarity on life satisfaction in both groups. The theoretical and practical implications of these results are discussed.

Systematic review and meta-analysis: The association between emotional intelligence and subjective well-being in adolescents

INTRODUCTION

Emotional intelligence (EI) is a psychological protective factor that can improve subjective well-being (WB) in adolescents. This study aims to establish the overall relationship between different EI models (performance-based ability model, self-report ability model, and self-report mixed model) and subjective WB in adolescents, analyze the affective WB and cognitive WB components, and examine the moderating effect of EI models on both types of subjective WB.

METHOD

We searched PsycINFO and WOS databases. Eligible studies reported an association between EI and subjective WB in adolescents aged 10-19 years using instruments that directly measure subjective WB. In addition, two meta-analyses were conducted, one for the relationship between EI and affective WB and the other for EI and cognitive WB.

RESULTS

A total of 41 studies were included, of which 37 were pooled in the meta-analyses. We found a significant positive relationship between EI and affective WB (estimated effect size = 0.35) and between EI and cognitive WB (estimated effect size = 0.27). Regarding EI models, self-report ability showed an estimated effect size of 0.33 for affective WB and 0.27 for cognitive WB. For the self-report mixed model, we obtained an estimated effect size of 0.42 for affective WB and 0.37 for cognitive WB.

CONCLUSIONS

Establishing a quantitative relationship between EI and subjective WB makes it possible to implement clinical and educational prevention measures. Introducing EI training in educational and clinical settings can increase subjective WB, significantly impacting the prevention of emotional disorders in adolescents.

Benefits of Psychological Androgyny in Adolescence: The Role of Gender Role Self-Concept in School-Related Well-Being

It has been repeatedly shown that the extent to which individuals adopt stereotypically masculine and feminine traits in their self-concept impacts their health and well-being. This is especially important in adolescence, when developmental changes and social pressures to conform to stereotypical gender roles can affect psychological functioning. However, previous studies investigating relationship between gender role self-concept and well-being in adolescents focused mostly on general well-being rather than well-being in specific contexts. Given that school is one of the most important contexts for adolescents’ development and well-being, the aim of this study was to investigate differences between adolescents with different gender role self-concepts (masculine, feminine, androgynous and undifferentiated) in school-related well-being. In line with the new conceptualization of well-being uniting hedonic (pleasure attainment and pain avoidance) and eudemonic (self-actualization and having meaningful purpose in one’s life) approaches, the present study used a measure of school-related well-being encompassing five domains suggested in the EPOCH (Engagement, Perseverance, Optimism, Connectedness and Happiness) model as well as a superordinate well-being factor. A total of 999 Austrian adolescents (52.2% girls, M_age = 13.79, SD_age = 1.53) answered inventories assessing adolescents’ gender role self-concept (GRI-JUG) and school-related well-being (EPOCH-G-S). The results supported the androgyny model of well-being, showing clear advantages of having both positive masculine and feminine qualities in one’s self-concept for optimal levels of school-related well-being. In addition, our results indicated the strong importance of femininity in adolescence and the school context. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Stress, Emotional Intelligence and the Intention to Use Cannabis in Spanish Adolescents: Influence of COVID-19 Confinement

The disease brought about by the SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 coronavirus has had an unprecedented global impact. Confinement to control the outbreak may have mental health consequences for the most vulnerable in the population, including adolescents. This study aims to describe and analyze the relationships between the stress variables, Emotional Intelligence and the intention to use cannabis in healthy adolescents, before and after the end of the COVID-19 pandemic containment stage. A comparative correlational study was carried out with validated self-completed questionnaires through an online platform. The sample is made up of adolescents (n = 300) aged 13-17 from two different schools in Ponferrada (León, Spain). The analysis of correlation and differences between the groups indicate that confinement has had effects on the mental health of the adolescents, specifically on the emotional manifestations of stress. Furthermore, significant gender differences were found for stress values and Emotional Intelligence. However, no differences have been found for cannabis use intention.

The Mediating Role of Positive and Negative Affects in the Relationship Between Self-Esteem and Happiness

Background

Affects, both positive and negative, can act as mediators between self-esteem and happiness. The present study is undertaken among 812 university students in order to examine the relationship between these variables.

Methods

The sample included 812 university students – 361 men (44.46%) and 451 women (55.54%) – who participated voluntarily. The Positive and Negative Affect Scale, Subjective Happiness Scale and Self-Esteem Scale were the instruments used in this study.

Results

The results revealed that men have greater self-esteem and positive affects, while women scored higher in terms of subjective happiness. The analysis revealed a significant correlation between the variables under analysis. Positive affects show a strong positive correlation between self-esteem and happiness, while negative affects show a negative correlation. Mediation analysis suggests that affects, both positive and negative, mediate the relationship between self-esteem and subjective happiness. The results of this study may present us with new perspectives concerning the role that affects play between self-esteem and happiness.

Conclusion

The data present evidence of the mediating role-played by affects, both positive and negative, in the relationship between self-esteem and happiness. More research is needed to examine to what extent these results can be extrapolated, and how to design measures to improve psychological health and well-being.

I'm Not Good for Anything and That's Why I'm Stressed: Analysis of the Effect of Self-Efficacy and Emotional Intelligence on Student Stress Using SEM and QCA

Stress negatively affects the well-being and the quality of life of the society. Specifically in the academic context, it is relevant to analyze its levels due to its impact on performance and learning. There are factors that affect the said stress including, among others, self-efficacy, and emotional intelligence. The purpose of this study is to analyze how emotional intelligence and perceived self-efficacy affect student stress. In order to show this influence, two complementary methodologies are implemented: the structural equation models (SEMs) and the comparative qualitative analysis (QCA). A total of 477 students (85% of women) from a private University of Valencia participated in the study, with ages ranging from 18 to 53 years old (M = 21.57, SD = 3.68). The assessment instruments used were as follows: Emotional Intelligence Scale (TMMS-24) to measure emotional intelligence; General Self-Efficacy Scale (GSS) to measure self-efficacy; and Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) to measure stress. The results in the SEM endorse the hypotheses that emotional clarity and self-efficacy are negatively related to stress and positively related to emotional attention (EA), explaining 25% of the variance. The QCA results show that none of the variables is a necessary condition for inducing stress. Nevertheless, different combinations of these variables are sufficient conditions to explain 35% of the high stress levels. The most important combination over high stress levels seems to be the interaction between high levels of EA and low levels of self-efficacy. Regarding the low levels of perceived stress, there are sufficient conditions to explain 50% of them. Mainly, the most important interaction is between low levels of self-efficacy and low levels of EA. The comparison of both methodologies enables the broadening of new horizons at the methodological level applicable to different contexts.

Attachment Styles and Well-Being in Adolescents: How Does Emotional Development Affect This Relationship?

Attachment relationships with parents, as well as emotional competencies, are protective factors against stress and other physical, mental, and relational health symptoms in adolescence. In this paper, we will examine the mediating role of emotional competencies in the relationship between attachment to parents and the well-being of adolescents, taking into account the influence of gender. There were 1276 Spanish adolescents between 12 and 15 years old (M = 13.48; SD = 1.09). We measured mother and father attachment relationships (trust, communication and alienation), emotional competencies (perceive and understand emotions, label and express emotions, manage and regulate emotions), and adolescent well-being using the indicators: somatic complaints, stress, satisfaction with life and affectivity. Descriptive analyses, Pearson correlations, and a multi-group path analysis were performed. The results indicated that emotional competencies partially mediate the relationship between attachment to parents and well-being variables. Attachment to one's mother and father, along with emotional competencies, are relevant variables in adolescent well-being. This highlights the importance of understanding the protective factors of well-being in adolescence, a time when levels of well-being are reduced compared to childhood.