The relationship of emotional intelligence with mental health in adolescents

Abstract

Background: In different studies, the relationship of emotional intelligence with psychological sign and symptoms and it's subscales in life and inter-personal relationship in adulthood has been proved. Our purpose in this study was to identify the relationship between emotional intelligence and mental health in adolescents. Methods: This study was done on 185 students (101 boys and 84 girls) in Isfahan city, Iran. Emotional intelligence questionnaire was used to investigate emotional intelligence in target group and for evaluation of psychological sign and symptoms, we used Symptom Checklist-90-Revised (SCL-90R) questionnaire. Data were analyzed using Pearson correlation coefficient. Findings: There was no significant difference in prevalence of emotional intelligence scales in different sexes and ages. Emotional intelligence had inverse relationship with psychological symptoms parameter including aggression (P = 0.013), obsession (P = 0.037), somatization (P = 0.040), depression (P = 0.010) and phobia (P = 0.030) in both girls and boys. This inverse relationship existed after exclusion of age and sex as confounding variables. Conclusion: In present study, it was determined that emotional intelligence had invert relationship with psychological symptoms subscales including aggression, obsession, somatization, depression, and phobia. These improvements revealed the necessity of research and training of emotional intelligence in schools. © 2017, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences(IUMS). All rights reserved.