A critical literature review on emotional intelligence in addiction

Emotional intelligence (EI) has been defined as the ability to perceive, understand, use and manage emotions. Studying EI could potentially be useful in understanding addictive behaviors as well as for designing and planning interventions.

To conduct a critical review on EI impairment in addiction disorders.

MEDLINE/PubMed, Google Scholar, Cochrane, LILACS, and SciELO databases were searched. Articles that used the standardized Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test (MSCEIT) instrument to assess EI in people with addictions and healthy controls were selected for the review.

We selected seven articles assessing EI and its associations with addiction disorders, mainly alcohol abuse and cocaine dependence. Most studies reported that individuals with addiction disorders had worse EI scores when compared to controls.

Overall, the studies reviewed demonstrated that addictions are associated with EI deficits, compared to controls. However, aspects such as the small number of addictive disorders analyzed, methodological issues related to instruments for assessment of IE and the lack of follow-up remain significant limitations.