PERSONAL AND SCHOOL VARIABLES ASSOCIATED WITH ADOLESCENT EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE

Abstract

The objective of this study was to learn the level of emotional intelligence in the adolescent period and to analyze the existence of significant differences that may occur in perception, understanding and emotional regulation based on certain personal and school factors. 4467 Compulsory Secondary Education students aged 12 to 16 (M: 13.81; DT: 1.38) from the Autonomous Community of Galicia participated, to whom the Trait Meta Mood Scale (TMMS-24) instrument was administered. The results reflect moderate levels of emotional intelligence in adolescents, with greater emotional regulation than understanding and, above all, emotional perception. In addition, multivariate analyses show significant differences in gender, women present greater emotional perception and men do so in understanding and emotional regulation; in age, the older the better emotional perception, while an earlier adolescence is indicative of better understanding and emotional regulation; in family: adolescents have more optimal levels of emotional regulation if they live in two-parent families; in academic record, the students who have always passed point to a better understanding and emotional regulation, and this emotional understanding is also higher in repeating students; in course, better understanding and emotional regulation in the first year of ESO, while emotional perception is higher in the third year of ESO; in type of center, greater perception and emotional regulation in students who study in subsidized centers; and downtown location, rural nuclei favor perception and emotional regulation, while urban ones do so in emotional understanding. In conclusion, it is evidenced that emotional intelligence is mediated by personal and school factors in the adolescent population, which should serve teachers in establishing strategies for their incorporation into schools.