Trait emotional intelligence and its relationships with problem behavior in Hong Kong adolescents

This study examines how trait emotional intelligence, as measured using the 33-item Emotional Intelligence Scale, is related to internalizing and externalizing problem behavior in 325 adolescents in Hong Kong. An item factor analysis yields four dimensions of emotional intelligence. This set of Chinese data, together with a dataset from the UK (Petrides & Furnham, 2000), suggests the inadequacy of the original one-factor model in describing this type of intelligence. The female adolescents scored significantly higher in self-management of emotions and social skills, whereas no significant differences between genders were identified in awareness of others’ emotions and positive use of emotions. There was an inverse relationship between emotional intelligence and problem behavior. The self-management of emotions was negatively associated with all types of problem behavior, whereas social skills were related to aggression and delinquency. Regression analysis suggests that poor use of emotions may lead to higher levels of problem behavior, such as depression, aggression and delinquency, whereas a higher degree of self-management may lead to less anxiety. The implications of the findings for enhancing emotional intelligence and the limitations of this study are discussed.