Trait emotional intelligence in sports: A protective role against stress through heart rate variability?

Emotional intelligence (EI) has received very scant attention from researchers in the sport domain to date, yet emotions are key to sport performance. Therefore, the aim of this study was to explore the influence of trait EI in athletes when they have to face the stress of competition. Thirty male handball players (MAge = 22.5 years; SD = 1.7) were exposed to a competition-like stressor in the laboratory consisting of 20 min of negative imagery coupled with the sound of a crowd hissing. Their trait EI was measured with the Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire, and a mental stress indicator, the low-frequency/high-frequency (LF/HF) ratio, was calculated from their heart rate variability. A repeated measures analysis of variance showed a significant Time of Measurement × Trait EI interaction, F(1, 28) = 6.036, p = .020, ηp2=.18, indicating that high trait EI athletes experienced a lower increase of stress compared to their low trait EI counterparts. Through its influence on the LF/HF ratio, trait EI may help athletes cope better with stress.