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Updated: Oct 14, 2025
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Psychophysiological Assessment of the Effectiveness of Emotion Regulation Strategies in Childhood
Published on: February 11, 2017
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Personal values, trait emotional intelligence, and mental health problems.
1Sigmund Freud University Berlin, Medical School Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
Scandinavian Journal of Psychology
|November 4, 2021
Summary
Trait emotional intelligence (TEI) mediates the link between personal values and mental health. Higher TEI and general values predict better mental health, while conservation values are linked to problems.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Personality Psychology
- Mental Health Research
Background:
- Personal values and personality traits are distinct yet related constructs influencing mental health.
- Existing research highlights the connection between values, traits, and psychological well-being.
- Further investigation is needed to clarify the interplay between higher-order values, trait emotional intelligence (TEI), and mental health problems.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine the associations between higher-order personal values (general values factor, conservation, self-transcendence), trait emotional intelligence (TEI), and mental health problems.
- To investigate the mediating role of TEI in the relationship between personal values and mental health.
- To explore these relationships in a sample of young German adults.
Main Methods:
- Cross-sectional online survey.
- Sample size: N=618 young German adults.
- Measures included: higher-order personal values, global TEI and its factors, and mental health problems (depressive, anxiety, somatoform syndromes).
Main Results:
- Global TEI and its factors (well-being, sociability, emotionality, self-control) positively correlated with the general values factor but negatively with conservation.
- Emotionality (a TEI factor) was positively related to self-transcendence.
- Mental health problems correlated positively with conservation and negatively with the general values factor. Conservation remained significantly related to mental health problems after accounting for TEI. Global TEI fully mediated the general values factor-mental health link and partially mediated the conservation-mental health link.
Conclusions:
- Trait emotional intelligence plays a crucial role in mediating the relationship between personal values and mental health.
- The general values factor is associated with better mental health, potentially through higher TEI.
- Conservation values are linked to increased mental health problems, a relationship partially explained by lower TEI.
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