Peers and Parental Attachment and Emotional Intelligence among Delinquents in Rehabilitation Centers in Malaysia

Abstract

This study examined the effects of parents and peers attachment on emotional intelligence among Malaysian delinquents in government rehabilitation institutions. There were 203 delinquents aged between 11 to 19 years old were randomly selected from six different rehabilitation centres in Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur (WPKL), Selangor and Malacca. Respondent's emotional intelligence was measured using the Assessing Emotional Scale instrument (AES; Schutte, Malouff, Hall, Haggerty, Cooper, Golden, & Dornheim, 1998), while attachment was assessed using the revised version of Instrument of Parent and Peer Attachment (IPPA; Armsden & Greenberg, 1989). Results revealed that mother, father and peer attachment were significantly correlated to emotional intelligence of delinquents in the rehabilitation centres. T-test analysis also indicated that there were no significant differences for mother attachment, peer attachment and emotional intelligence across gender. However, only father attachment was found to be significantly different between male and female delinquents. Introduction Emotional Intelligence, at the most general level, refers to the 'abilities to recognize and regulate emotions in own selves as well as in others' (Bar-On, 2000). According to Goleman (1995), emotional intelligence is the ability to recognize and regulate emotions in our ownselves and in others for motivating oneself and for managing a relationship. Good level of emotional intelligence is very important for growing adolescents in order to avoid them from involving in behavioural problems. Many previous studies agreed that emotional intelligence was negatively correlated to delinquency and problem behaviour. Siu (2009) found that individuals with low emotional intelligence level tend to involve more in behavioural problems, both internalizing (depression, anxiety, and stress) and externalizing (aggression, delinquency). Similar pattern can be observed in Malaysia. Liau, Liau, Teoh & Liau (2010) also found that emotional intelligence is negatively related to depression, stress, and aggression delinquency.