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Ability emotional intelligence and its relation to aggression across time and age groups
Esperanza García-Sancho1, José M Salguero2, Pablo Fernández-Berrocal1
1Department of Basic Psychology, University of Malaga, Spain.
Scandinavian Journal of Psychology
|September 29, 2016
Summary
Ability Emotional Intelligence (AEI) is linked to less physical aggression in adults and adolescents. This study found AEI predicts physical aggression over time, but not verbal aggression.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Social Psychology
- Developmental Psychology
Background:
- Emotional Intelligence (EI) research often focuses on trait EI and adults, with limited longitudinal data on aggression.
- Previous studies suggest a link between EI and psychosocial adjustment, including aggressive behavior.
- Personality traits are known predictors of aggression, necessitating investigation into EI's incremental validity.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore the relationship between Ability Emotional Intelligence (AEI) and aggression in adults and adolescents.
- To examine the incremental validity of AEI beyond personality traits in predicting aggression.
- To conduct both cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses of AEI and aggression.
Main Methods:
- Study 1: Cross-sectional design with 474 undergraduate students examining AEI, personality traits, and aggression (physical and verbal).
- Study 2: Longitudinal design with 151 adolescents assessing AEI and aggression over time.
- Statistical analyses included regression to determine unique variance explained by AEI.
Main Results:
- AEI significantly predicted unique variance in physical aggression in adults, beyond personality traits.
- AEI did not significantly predict verbal aggression in adults after controlling for personality traits.
- Longitudinal analysis showed AEI predicted physical aggression in adolescents over time, but not verbal aggression.
Conclusions:
- A significant negative relationship exists between AEI and physical aggression in both adults and adolescents.
- AEI plays an important explanatory role in physical aggressive behaviors.
- The findings suggest emotional abilities are less relevant to verbal aggression compared to physical aggression.
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