Emotional intelligence as a protective factor for risk behavior in adolescence

Emotional intelligence is a concept developed by Salovey and Mayer in 1990. Since the first published work on emotional intelligence, others have modified the original idea by adding personality-like traits to the model of emotional intelligence. Consequently, there is a split in the conceptualization of emotional intelligence and the measurement of emotional intelligence; ability model assessment and mixed or trait model self-report assessment. The ability model of emotional intelligence has stood up to tests of discriminant validity over personality traits, unlike the mixed model of emotional intelligence. It is also distinguishable from cognitive intelligence, yet correlates moderately and therefore is considered related to or a component of intelligence. Little research has used the ability model of emotional intelligence, but there is a growing body of evidence that emotional intelligence is important in the prediction of adolescent risk behavior (Mayer, Perkins, Caruso, & Salovey, 2001; Trinidad & Johnson, 2002). Adolescent risk behavior is a popular area of interest because the leading cause of death of persons between the ages of 15 and 19 years is unintentional injuries resulting from specific behaviors ( e.g., drinking and driving, unprotected sexual intercourse, speeding). The current study adds to the growing body of research that uses ability model emotional intelligence tests through a comparison of emotional intelligence scores with the Five Factor Model personality traits, self-reported risk behavior and risk perception of adolescents and young adults. Several risk behaviors were targeted, and these behaviors are of varying types: Thrill-seeking risk ( e.g., roller blading, sky diving), Rebellious risk (e.g., smoking, staying out late), Reckless risk (e.g., speeding, drinking and driving) and Anti-social risk (e.g., cheating, teasing others). The aim of this study was to answer three important questions. First, is emotional intelligence a protective factor for risk behaviors in adolescence and early adulthood? Second, does emotional intelligence have incremental validity over the NEO-FFI in predicting risk behavior in adolescents and young adults? Finally, do older participants have higher overall emotional intelligence scores then younger participants? Participants were 171 males and females between the ages of 15 and 24 recruited from area high schools, the UNI student population, and the local community. Each participant took the MSCEIT or MSCEIT-YV, the ARQ and the NEO-FFI. The findings of the present study suggest that emotional intelligence is related to risk behavior in high school students. However, in college students, the present results indicate that emotional intelligence is related to risk perception, but not to risk behavior. As expected, thrillseeking behavior was not related to emotional intelligence. Our data show that emotional intelligence provides incremental validity over personality factors in the prediction of risk behavior in high school students and provides incremental validity over personality in the prediction of risk beliefs in college students. We found a small indication of a developmental trend in the college students and a strong trend in the opposite direction from what was expected in the high school participants, which suggests that emotional intelligence may not increase with age

Development of the adolescent exploratory and risk behavior rating scale.

University of Minnesota Ph.D. dissertation. July 2009. Major: Educational Psychology. Advisors: Theodore Christ, Sandra Christenson. 1 computer file (PDF); v, 85 pages, appendices A-B.Adolescence is a time when risk behaviors begin to increase through experimentation with health risk behaviors such as substance used and reckless driving and exploratory risk behaviors such as asking someone on a date and standing up to peers. It is likely that some risk-taking is necessary in the course of social and academic development throughout childhood and adolescence. A shift in the adolescent risk behavior research from a focus on health related behaviors to physical and psychological well-being with a link to educational attainment has gained strength, but the goals of this movement are incomplete. Research is needed to better understand the positive outcomes of health risk and exploratory risk behaviors, and a measure that includes both exploratory risk behavior and health risk behavior is needed. The Adolescent Exploratory and Risk Behavior Rating Scale (AERRS) was developed to address this need. The AERRS was developed using both classical test theory and item response theory methods. The participants were 682 high school students in the Midwest. The results suggest that the developed measure has adequate reliability. The initial examination of validity resulted in a factor structure in which health risk behaviors and exploratory risk behaviors fall into separate factors with some gender differences noted. The item response theory results suggest that risk behavior is a spectrum of behaviors with exploratory behaviors falling on one end and health risk behavior on the opposite end of the spectrum. It was concluded that the AERRS is a reliable measure that has the potential to become a key assessment that has many potential uses in both academic research and applied settings, such as schools.Skaar, Nicole Renee. (2009). Development of the adolescent exploratory and risk behavior rating scale.. Retrieved from the University Digital Conservancy, https://hdl.handle.net/11299/53807