Relationship between Emotional Intelligence and Bullying in Adolescents

Abstract

Objective. To analyze the relationship between emotional intelligence and bullying in ninth and tenth-grade students of an educational institution, since these two aspects are significant in education because they contribute to the construction of positive social relationships. Methodology. It is a quantitative approach of a non-experimental design with a transactional cut and a correlational scope. The sample was a systematic sample of 141 ninth and tenth-grade high school students from an educational institution. Data were collected implementing a self-administered questionnaire technique; the instruments used were TMMS-24 and INSEBULL, suitable for the Colombian population. After systematization, the data were analyzed using the SPSS correlational statistical package. Results. When relating the dimensions of bullying such as lack of social integration, social maladjustment, and lack of solutions, with the dimensions of emotional intelligence, a significant and inversely proportional relationship was found with emotional clarity and emotional repair, therefore the subjects do not have sufficient resources to get out of bullying situations, since they do not understand and do not regulate their emotional states, preventing them from seeking help for the solution of the conflict when it is necessary. Conclusion. Thus, at a general level, the emotional intelligence variable acts independently. Despite the fact that the students present high levels of emotional intelligence, they are not exempt from bullying situations, because it is not the only variable involved in this phenomenon in educational contexts, i.e., the relationship between the variables of emotional intelligence and bullying has a weak correlation according to Spearman Brown's coefficient.