The Relationship between Emotional Intelligence and Internet Game Addiction among Adolescents in Aceh Indonesia

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to assess the level of Emotional Intelligence (EI) among adolescents and identify the correlation between emotional intelligence and game addiction among them. METHODOLOGY: This cross-sectional study was conducted among 19 Junior High Schools in Aceh province. Three hundred eighty-two (382) participants engaged in online gaming were involved based on multistage randomized sampling from 2 junior high schools in 9 sub-districts. The data collection tool used the Internet Gaming Disorder Scale–Short-Form (IGDS9-SF) and emotional intelligence screening using the Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire-Short Form (TEIQUE-SF). RESULTS: The data was analyzed using the Spearman's Rank two-tailed test with a significance value (α) = 0.05, resulting in a p-value = 0.000 and r =-0.286, which means that there is a unidirectional (negative) relationship between the game addiction variables and emotional intelligence. The results revealed that the EI Status of adolescents engaged in online gaming was slightly higher, with the frequency of 157 respondents (54.9%), while respondents in the low category showed 129 (45.1%). CONCLUSION: Based on this study, to prevent game addiction, EI status needs to be improved by considering several related components, such as developing emotional awareness, self-control, social skills, self-motivation and adaptability.