Confirmatory factor structure of trait emotional intelligence in student and worker samples

Growing interest in emotional intelligence (EI) led us to evaluate the factor structure of six core trait-EI facets from Salovey and Mayer (1990), assess the stability of the core factor structure across student (N = 184) and worker (N = 225) samples, and explore relations between core EI dimensions and four proximal outcomes from the same model. A three-factor structure, including Self Orientation, Other Orientation, and Emotional Sharing, replicated well across samples (fit indices range: .93–.98 per sample). Relations involving EI outcomes were less consistent. We conclude that trait-EI warrants assessment as specific facets rather than a global construct, core trait-EI structure may be stable across populations, and EI applications are context-specific.