Problem gambling, gaming and Internet use in adolescents: Relationships with emotional intelligence in clinical and special needs samples

• Examined emotional intelligence and addiction-related behaviours in adolescent outpatients and special needs students.
• A dysfunctional preoccupation latent variable accounted for half the variability in addiction-related behaviours.
• Emotional intelligence was a moderate predictor of dysfunctional preoccupation in both groups.
• Adolescent boys scored higher on problem gaming and gambling behaviours than girls.

The study examined the relationship between emotional intelligence (EI) and several addiction-related behaviours (gambling problems, Internet abuse, and computer gaming misuse) in two adolescent samples: 270 clinical outpatients (180 males and 90 females) and 256 special needs students (160 males and 96 females). Gambling problems, Internet abuse, and computer gaming misuse were positively inter-correlated in both samples; approximately half of the variability in these addiction-related behaviours could be accounted for by a common dysfunctional preoccupation latent variable. Latent variable path analysis found emotional intelligence to be a moderate predictor of dysfunctional preoccupation in both adolescent samples.