Emotional Intelligence, Social ProblemSolving Skills

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This study examines how emotional intelligence (EI), personality, and social ..... avoidance, or who are less impulsive or careless might also have lower.
Emotional Intelligence, Social Problem-Solving Skills, and Psychological Distress: A Study of Chinese Undergraduate Students1 Bonnie Wing-Yin Chow2

Ming Ming Chiu

Department of Applied Social Studies City University of Hong Kong Hong Kong, China

SUNY-Buffalo

Simpson Wai-Lap Wong The Hong Kong Institute of Education Hong Kong, China This study examines how emotional intelligence (EI), personality, and social problem-solving skills were linked to depression and life dissatisfaction in 144 Chinese undergraduate students in Hong Kong. Factor analyses of questionnaire responses yielded 3 separate dimensions of depression (affective, somative, and cognitive). Structural equation modeling showed that EI (self-emotions appraisal and use of emotion) was linked to somatic and cognitive symptoms of depression, after controlling for personality. Also, social problem solving was linked to psychological distress, and moderated its links with personality and EI. These results underscore the differences among the links between the components of EI and of psychological health, and support the possibility of promoting people’s psychological health through EI and social problem-solving interventions. jasp_787

1958..1980

People with higher emotional intelligence (EI) often have better psychological well-being (Schutte, Malouff, Thorsteinsson, Bhullar, & Rooke, 2007), including higher life satisfaction, lower depression, less anxiety, and less perceived fatigue (e.g., Austin, Saklofske, & Egan, 2005; Ciarrochi, Chan & Caputi, 2000). Despite the documentation of these links, few studies have examined their underlying mechanism(s). One possibility is that high EI contributes to better psychological health through better skills in managing stressful real-life situations (Salovey, Bedell, Detweiller, & Mayer, 1999). If so, people with higher EI might have better psychological health as 1 The authors thank Andrew M. H. Siu and Chi-Sum Wong for permission to administer the Chinese Version of the Social Problem Solving Inventory–Short Form and the Wong and Law Emotional Intelligence Scale, respectively. Also, we appreciate the comments of Catherine McBride-Chang and David Wai-Ock Chan, and the research assistance of Yik Ting Choi. 2 Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Bonnie Wing-Yin Chow, Department of Applied Social Studies, City University of Hong Kong, Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong. E-mail: [email protected]

1958 Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 2011, 41, 8, pp. 1958–1980. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

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a result of better social problem-solving strategies, such as identifying possible opportunities and obstacles, and generating effective solutions in daily life. The present study tested whether people with higher EI have lower psychological distress as a result of better social problem-solving strategies by examining their questionnaire responses. Specifically, this study investigated whether Hong Kong undergraduates’ EI was linked to life dissatisfaction or depression, and whether social problem-solving skills mediate or moderate these links. This study of Chinese participants informs the research literature by exploring EI mechanisms and the potential universality of the results from past studies (mostly of Westerners).

Emotional Intelligence, Psychological Health, and Social Problem-Solving Skills Regardless of the EI definition, studies consistently show that people with higher EI have better psychological health, which might be a result of better social problem-solving strategies in stressful situations. Among Chinese students, some of these relationships might differ because of cultural differences.

Conceptualization of Emotional Intelligence Past researchers have debated the appropriate conceptualization of EI, proposing different EI definitions and scopes. Salovey and Mayer (1990) conceptualized emotional intelligence as adaptive abilities that discriminate, monitor, and use emotions in problem solving. Later, Mayer and Salovey (1997) viewed EI as a mental ability, and conceptualized EI in terms of potential for intellectual and emotional growth. This model classified the psychological processes supporting EI into four branches of competencies: emotional perception, emotional integration, emotional understanding, and emotional management. This ability-based EI model focused on the mental abilities involved in the processing of emotional information, and viewed EI as a type of intelligence, relatively independent of personal traits (Mayer & Salovey, 1997). Goleman (1995) adopted and expanded this definition of EI to include social and communication skills. Specifically, he proposed that EI consists of five dimensions: self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy, and social skills. Thus, this mixed model encompassed more personal attributes than did the ability-based model (Mayer, Caruso, & Salovey, 1999). The present study focuses on people’s skills in processing emotional information

1960 CHOW ET AL.

Personality Vector W Agreeableness (-) Openness (-) Extraversion (-) Conscientiousness (-) Neuroticism (+)

Emotional intelligence Vector X Self-emotions appraisal (-) Others-emotions appraisal (-) Use of emotion (-) Regulation of emotion (-)

Psychological distress Life dissatisfaction Depression

Social problem solving Vector Z Positive problem solving (-) Negative problem orientation (+) Rational problem solving (-) Avoidance (+) Impulsivity/carelessness (+)

Control variables Vector V Age (+/- ?) Gender (+/- ?) Past achievement (-)

Figure 1. A conceptual model of how personality, emotional intelligence, and social problem solving might influence life dissatisfaction and depression. Note. Signs in parentheses indicate the expected relationships with the psychological distress outcome variables. Mediation effects are illustrated by arrows pointing from personality to emotional intelligence/social problem solving, and then to psychological distress. Moderation effects are illustrated by arrows pointing from problem solving to the arrows between personality/emotional intelligence social to psychological distress.

and, hence, adapted the ability-based EI model, which encompasses more unique features of EI in relation to other personal traits. Though these models view EI as a theoretically distinct construct under the umbrella term of intelligence, its discriminant validity in relation to personality constructs (e.g., the Five-Factor Model) is controversial (Matthews, Zeidner, & Roberts, 2004). As personality constructs often reflect emotional dispositions influenced by experiences and regulation of emotions (Lopes, Salovey, & Straus, 2003), EI and personality constructs often overlap (see Figure 1; e.g., Dawda & Hart, 2000; Newsome, Day, & Catano, 2000). For instance, EI measures are moderately to highly correlated with extraversion and neuroticism, which are linked with the propensity to experience, and regulate positive and negative emotions, respectively (e.g., Larsen & Ketelaar, 1989, 1991; Rusting & Larsen, 1997). EI has smaller correlations with openness, agreeableness, and conscientiousness, which are related to emotional regulation in social settings (Larsen, 2000). Across cultures, psychological health is consistently positively correlated with extraversion and negatively linked to neuroticism (Schimmack, Radhakrishnan, Oishi, Dzokoto, & Ahadi, 2002). An extraverted person

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tends to have higher social connectedness, and this awareness of being in close relationship with the social world contributes to the person’s better psychological health (Lee, Dean, & Jung, 2008). However, a neurotic person is less likely to think constructively and, thus, tends to be poorer in coping with negative events and emotions, which is harmful to the person’s psychological well-being (Harris & Lightsey, 2005). Given the overlap between EI and personality and the relationships of personality to psychological health, EI studies often control for personality to investigate the unique contributions of EI on psychological health. These studies have found that EI makes a unique contribution to psychological health (e.g., life satisfaction), over and beyond personality (e.g., Gannon & Ranzijn, 2005). Emotional Intelligence and Psychological Health High EI might contribute to better psychological health directly or indirectly (Chan, 2005; Salovey et al., 1999). Specifically, the intrapersonal components of EI (e.g., regulating one’s own emotions) help people better manage their emotions and cognitions, which might help them address difficulties (Austin et al., 2005). As the interpersonal components of EI (e.g., understanding others’ emotions) facilitate social interactions, they can help build a social network of friends and acquaintances, who might aid a person’s psychological health indirectly (Austin et al., 2005). EI has been linked to several psychological health variables, including life satisfaction and depression, even after controlling for variables that might overlap with EI (e.g., Gannon & Ranzijn, 2005). For example, EI, assessed with the Trait Meta-Mood Scale (TMMS), predicted life satisfaction over and above both positive and negative affect among 16- to 64-year-old adults (Palmer, Donaldson, & Stough, 2002). In addition, EI, measured with the Multi-Factor Emotional Intelligence Scale, correlated with life satisfaction after controlling for IQ and personality variables among Australian undergraduates (Ciarrochi et al., 2000). Each dimension of EI has different relationships with psychological health variables. For instance, managing one’s own emotions and others’ emotions are both linked with less depression, but the latter is more important in reducing suicidal ideation when responding to stress (Ciarrochi, Deane, & Anderson, 2002). Also, Bastian, Burns, and Nettelbeck (2005) found that only the Clarity and Repair subscales of the TMMS predicted life satisfaction beyond personality and cognitive abilities. Although the associations of EI with psychological health are well documented, their underlying mechanisms remain unclear. One possibility is that higher EI individuals have better social problem-solving strategies that contribute to better psychological health.

1962 CHOW ET AL. Emotional Intelligence and Social Problem-Solving Skills People with higher EI might have better psychological health as a result of better coping skills during stressful situations (e.g., eliciting more social support by expressing emotions more appropriately; Salovey et al., 1999). For example, people with high EI often perceive stressors as less threatening, use more active coping skills, and use fewer passive ones (Bastian et al., 2005; Matthews et al., 2006; Salovey, Stroud, Woolery, & Epel, 2002). Coping skill is a relatively broad construct that refers to all cognitive and behavioral activities involved when managing stressful situations. Social problem solving specifically concerns the conscious, rational, and effortful cognitive-affective-behavioral processes when selecting adaptive coping methods for solving real-life problems (D’Zurilla & Chang, 1995; D’Zurilla, Nezu, & Maydeu-Olivares, 2002). D’Zurilla and Nezu (2006) proposed two components of social problem-solving skills: orientation (positive and negative) and style (rational, avoidant, impulsive/careless). People with better social problem-solving skills often suffer less from the negative effects of stress, such as hopelessness, anxiety, and depression (Bonner & Rich, 1988; Haugh, 2006; Nezu, 1986a, 1986b). In line with the results of past coping-strategies research and the links between social problem solving and psychological health, social problem-solving skills might mediate or moderate the link between EI and psychological distress. Apart from investigating the contribution of social problem-solving skills in the link between EI and psychological distress, the present study with Chinese participants also informs cultural differences on EI. Emotional Intelligence in Chinese Culture EI and psychological health are also linked in studies of Chinese students, but they show some cultural distinctions. In line with past studies on Western populations, college students in China with higher EI had less anxiety and less depression, without controlling for personality (Wang, 2002). Also, Chinese high school students whose parents rated their EI more highly had higher life satisfaction and felt less powerlessness, controlling for gender, maternal and paternal education, and personality (Law, Wong, & Song, 2004). Still, emotions function differently across individualistic and collectivistic cultures (e.g., Bond, 1993; Singelis, Bond, Sharkey, & Lai, 1999). To maintain good interpersonal relationships that contribute to higher life satisfaction, individualistic cultures (e.g., United States) encourage expression of emotion, while collectivistic cultures (e.g., China) support mutual dependence and emotion differentiation (Kang, Shaver, Sue, Min, & Jing, 2003).

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In collectivistic cultures, emotions are seen as disruptive to interpersonal relationships, so individuals are expected to control their own emotions and to be sensitive to others’ emotions to promote harmony (Bond, 1991; Oyserman, Coon, & Kemmelmeier, 2002; Wu, 1996). Thus, parents in collectivistic cultures often teach young children to restrain their emotions, rather than to express and discuss them (Wang, 2001). These differential functions and experiences of emotions across cultures highlight the greater importance of specific aspects of EI for predicting psychological health in each culture. For example, only appraisal of others’ emotions predicted life satisfaction among Chinese undergraduates in Hong Kong, controlling for personality and other EI dimensions (Law et al., 2004). Chinese culture’s emphasis on control of emotions and social harmony suggests that coping strategies—especially those related to social interactions—might be linked to Chinese people’s EI and psychological health. High school students in Hong Kong with more adaptive social problem-solving skills had more empathy, higher emotional well-being, better family quality of life, less depression, and less personal distress when applying empathy (Siu & Shek, 2005a, 2005b). Also, gifted high school students in Hong Kong with higher EI used positive coping strategies more often and used negative coping strategies less often (Chan, 2003). Furthermore, gifted high school students in Hong Kong with higher self-relevant EI (management and utilization of own emotions) or higher other-relevant EI (empathy and social skills) had less psychological distress. These links were mediated by avoidant coping and social-interaction coping, respectively (Chan, 2005).

The Present Study The present study extends this line of research by examining the links among EI, social problem-solving skills, and psychological distress in Chinese students attending university in Hong Kong. Psychological distress was measured through life dissatisfaction and depression. This study addressed three research questions regarding EI in Chinese undergraduates. First, do Chinese students with higher EI have lower psychological distress, like their Western counterparts? It is hypothesized that EI will have negative links with life dissatisfaction and depression in Chinese students. Second, how do social problem-solving skills influence these links? It is proposed that social problem-solving skills might moderate the links of EI with psychological distress. As EI and personality often overlap, we included personality in our model to investigate the unique contributions of EI on psychological health, and its effects on the aforementioned links.

1964 CHOW ET AL. Third, do the dimensions of EI and social problem solving have differential links with psychological distress? Specifically, individuals who have better understanding of their emotions (i.e., self-emotion appraisal) and others’ emotions (i.e., others’ emotions appraisal) might better use their emotions to enhance self-perception and performance (use of emotion) and to regulate their emotions (regulation of emotion), yielding less depression and less dissatisfaction with life. Individuals who use more positive rational problem solving and problem orientation, less negative problem orientation and avoidance, or who are less impulsive or careless might also have lower psychological distress. Age, gender, and prior academic achievement were also included, as they might affect these variables and the links among them.

Method As a result of the subjective natures of life dissatisfaction and depression and the facility of straightforward, unsupervised data collection (Austin et al., 2005), the present study, like Schutte et al. (1998), used a self-report questionnaire grounded in Salovey and Mayer’s (1990) ability-based model. After factor analyses identified the optimal structure for each set of constructs, seemingly unrelated regressions (SURs) and mediation tests yielded a preliminary explanatory model for structural equation modeling (SEM), which produced the final model.

Participants The study participants were 144 undergraduates in Hong Kong (43 males, 101 females) who participated in partial fulfillment of credit requirements for an introductory psychology course. The participants came from a variety of disciplines of studies. Their mean age was 19.9 years (SD = 1.2; range = 18–23 years).

Materials All of the participants were fluent in Chinese and completed an anonymous battery of questionnaires in Chinese in the order presented later. For all of the scales, the participants rated the extent of their agreement with each statement on a 5-point Likert-type scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree), unless otherwise noted. All non-Chinese questionnaires were forward-translated into Chinese, back-translated, and tested for validity

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and cultural relevance. The participants were asked to indicate their age, gender, and past academic achievement. Wong and Law Emotional Intelligence Scale (WLEIS; Wong & Law, 2002). Developed for the Chinese population, this 16-item self-report questionnaire measured four dimensions of EI: self-emotions appraisal, others’ emotions appraisal, use of emotion, and regulation of emotion. Composite score reliability coefficients were .94, .93, .89, and .91, respectively, for selfemotions appraisal, others’ emotions appraisal, use of emotion, and regulation of emotion. Chinese Version of the Social Problem-Solving Inventory–Short Form (C-SPSI-SF; Siu & Shek, 2005a). We used this 25-item multidimensional, self-report inventory to assess participants’ social problem-solving skills. The C-SPSI-SF consists of five subscales: Positive Problem Orientation (PPO), Negative Problem Orientation (NPO), Rational Problem Solving (RPS), Avoidance Scale (AS), and Impulsivity or Carelessness Scale (ICS). This inventory was adapted from the English version of the Social ProblemSolving Inventory (Siu & Shek, 2005a). Good problem solvers are expected to score higher on the first two subscales and lower on the last three subscales. Composite score reliability coefficients were .93, .91, .85, .94, and .83, respectively, for PPO, NPO, RPS, AS, and ICS. Chinese Beck Depression Inventory-II (CBDI-II; Psychological Corporation, 2000). Translated into Chinese from the Beck Depression Inventory-II, this 21-item self-report CBDI was used to assess participants’ intensity of depressive symptoms. For each item, there were four statements that were scored on a 4-point scale ranging from 0 to 3, with higher scores indicating more severe depression symptoms. Participants marked one of the four statements that best described their experiences during the past 2 weeks. Factor analyses of this study yielded three dimensions, including affective, cognitive, and somative dimensions. Composite score reliability coefficients were .99, .98, and .88, respectively, for the affective, cognitive, and somative dimensions. Life Dissatisfaction Scale. We used six self-report items that were translated into Chinese to assess life dissatisfaction. The first five items were from the Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS; Diener, Emmons, Larsen, & Griffin, 1985), and the last item was taken from the Delighted–Terrible Scale (D-T Scale; Andrews & Withey, 1976). All six items have been widely used and well validated across nations (e.g., Ayyash-Abdo & Alamuddin, 2007; Hong & Giannakopoulos, 1994; Neto & Barros, 2000). Participants rated the extent of their agreement with each statement on a 7-point scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly agree) for the SWLS. Responses for the D-T Scale were rated on a 7-point scale ranging from 1 (terrible) to 7 (delighted).

1966 CHOW ET AL. To facilitate reader understanding of the final results, the meanings of the outcome variables were aligned by reversing this life satisfaction scale to represent the extent of life dissatisfaction. Life dissatisfaction was used instead of life satisfaction, because using outcome variables with the same valence (i.e., life dissatisfaction and depression reflected psychological distress) can facilitate reader comprehension. The composite score reliability coefficient was .95. NEO Five-Factor Inventory: Form S–Chinese version (NEO-FFI; Costa & McCrae, 1988). Translated into Chinese from the NEO-FFI, this 60-item self-report questionnaire measured the personality dimensions of neuroticism, extraversion, openness, agreeableness, and conscientiousness. Controlling for personality differences in our model helped clarify the links between EI and psychological distress. Composite score reliability coefficients were .99, .92, .90, .77, and .90, respectively, for neuroticism, extraversion, openness, agreeableness, and conscientiousness.

Analyses We used the following procedures to test the validity of personality, EI, and social problem-solving skill questionnaire items for the participants and to analyze whether these characteristics were linked to life dissatisfaction or depression among university undergraduates in Hong Kong. Unless otherwise specified, we used LISREL 8.7 software (Jöreskog & Sörbom, 2004) to conduct the analyses. Internal reliability of factors. First, we tested if students responded consistently to each of the five sets of personality question items, four sets of EI items, five sets of social problem-solving items, one set of life satisfaction items, and three sets of depression items. We did so by estimating singlefactor congeneric measurement models via a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) on the sets of item responses’ polychoric correlation and asymptotic covariance matrices. These matrices are more precise than Pearson correlation matrices for ordered variables (Jöreskog & Sörbom, 2004). Unlike parallel and tau-equivalent models, single-factor congeneric models minimize measurement error by allowing both the loadings and estimated measurement errors to differ for each variable (Jöreskog & Sörbom, 2004). Next, we estimated the reliability of each congeneric factor using composite scale reliability coefficients (rc), which are more precise than Cronbach’s alpha (for a detailed discussion, see Rowe & Rowe, 1997). Factor structures. We tested each of the personality, EI, social problem solving, life satisfaction, and depression factors against various factor models: (a) single factor; (b) separate factors; (c) hierarchical factors; or (d)

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nested factors (Chiu et al., 2005; Gustafsson & Balke, 1993). Using Monte Carlo simulation studies, Hu and Bentler (1999) showed that using a combination of the standardized root mean residual (SRMR) and one of the following indexes tends to minimize Type I and Type II errors under many conditions: Tucker-Lewis Index (TLI), incremental fit index (IFI), and root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA). The following threshold values separate good, moderate, and poor fits for each measure: SRMR (.90). As Marsh, Hau, and Grayson (2005) noted, however, these goodness-of-fit measures are best used as guidelines (not absolute criteria) for comparing models, especially as models with large numbers of variables (as in this study) are unlikely to satisfy even the moderate criteria listed previously. Explanatory model. We computed composite factor scores for each of the aforementioned factors and estimated their relationships in sequential sets (Cohen, West, Aiken, & Cohen, 2003) of seemingly unrelated regressions (SURs; Kennedy, 2004). For the SUR analyses, we used Eviews software (Lilien, Startz, Ellsworth, Noh, & Engle, 1995). We entered the variables according to time constraints, causality constraints, and likely importance. First, we entered the v control variables of age, gender, and past achievement (V).

Yyi = βvy Vyi + e yi

(1)

Yyi consists of the y outcome variables (life dissatisfaction and depression factors) for each participant i, while bvy are the regression coefficients of Vyi. We tested whether this set of predictors was significant with a nested hypothesis test (c2 log likelihood; Cohen et al., 2003). Nonsignificant variables were removed from the specification. Next, we entered the w personality factors of neuroticism, extraversion, openness, agreeableness, and conscientiousness (W).

Yyi = βvy Vyi + βwy Wyi + e yi

(2)

We applied the aforementioned procedures on W. Then, we applied the aforementioned procedures on the x EI factors of self-emotion appraisal, other-emotion appraisal, use of emotion, and regulation of emotion (X).

Yyi = βvy Vyi + βwy Wyi + β xy X yi + e yi

(3)

1968 CHOW ET AL. To test for moderation effects, we added interactions among pairs of variables within X or between those in X and in W. Then, we applied the aforementioned procedures on the z social problemsolving factors: positive problem orientation, negative problem orientation, rational problem solving, avoidance scale, and impulsivity/carelessness (Z).

Yyi = βvy Vyi + βwy Wyi + β xy X yi + β zy Z yi + e yi

(4)

Mediation effects were identified with the Sobel (1982) test. To aid interpretation of the results, how a 10% increase in each continuous explanatory variable above its mean was linked to each outcome variable was reported (difference in outcome variable = b * 10%). As percentage increase is not linearly related to standard deviation, scaling is not warranted. We used an alpha level of .05. To control for the false discovery rate (FDR), we used the two-stage linear step-up procedure, which outperformed 13 other methods in computer simulations (Benjamini, Krieger, & Yekutieli, 2006). The SUR and mediation results provided the initial candidate for the structural equation model (SEM). Nonsignificant independent variables were removed from the initial SEM to obtain the final SEM. The SEM included standardized coefficients to simplify comparison of the effects of different independent variables and computation of direct, indirect, and total effects. Reduced-form squared multiple correlations (SMCs) for each outcome variable (comparable to explained variance, R2) were also reported.

Results Factor analyses identified the factor structure of each scale. The factor analysis results confirm the original, separate dimensions of the NEO-FFI (Costa & McCrae, 1988), WLEIS (Wong & Law, 2002), and SPSI (Siu & Shek, 2005a). However, the results also suggest that depression, as measured by the CBDI-II, had three separate dimensions (affective, somative, and cognitive) for this sample of participants, in contrast to Steer, Ball, Ranieri, and Beck’s (1999) and Storch, Roberti, and Roth’s (2004) participants (see Table 1 for summary statistics). We proposed a model in which EI was linked to life dissatisfaction and depression with social problem-solving skills as mediators or moderators, controlling for personality and other common variables (see Figure 1). After the SURs and mediation tests identified a preliminary model, SEM yielded the final model shown in Figure 2.3 3

All intermediate results (e.g., mediation tests) are available from the authors upon request.

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Table 1 Summary Statistics of Study Variables Variable Age Gender Past achievement Personality Neuroticism Extraversion Openness Agreeableness Conscientiousness WLEIS Self-emotions appraisal Others’ emotions appraisal Use of emotion Regulation of emotion Social problem solving Negative problem orientation Positive problem orientation Rational problem solving Avoidance scale Impulsivity/carelessness scale Beck Depression Inventory Affective Cognitive Somative Life dissatisfaction

M

SD

Min.

Mdn

Max.

19.85 0.70 3.19

1.16 — 0.81

18 0 1

20 1 3.20

23 1 5

2.71 2.78 2.77 2.77 3.25

0.72 0.76 0.78 0.85 0.69

1 1 1 1 1

2.67 2.74 2.75 2.73 3.26

5 5 5 5 5

3.02 2.95 3.36 2.98

0.81 0.80 0.77 0.82

1 1 1 1

3.09 2.93 3.45 2.99

5 5 5 5

2.77 2.79 2.80 2.67 2.44

0.82 0.79 0.70 0.91 0.97

1 1 1 1 1

2.78 2.76 2.77 2.63 2.35

5 5 5 5 5

2.29 2.18 2.56 2.54

0.94 0.86 0.83 0.77

1 1 1 1

2.12 2.02 2.53 2.57

5 5 5 5

Note. For ease of comparison, all factors were rated on a 5-point scale ranging from 1 to 5. Gender: 0 = boy; 1 = girl. WLEIS = Wong and Law Emotional Intelligence Scale (Wong & Law, 2002).

1970 CHOW ET AL. Personality

Emotional intelligence

Social problem solving

Moderation effects Psychological distress

-.16** -.19*** -.18***

Agreeableness Openness

Impulsivity/carelessness scale

Life dissatisfaction

-.42***

Extraversion

.23** -.16*

Neuroticism

.40*** Avoidance scale * Use of emotion Impulsivity/carelessness scale * Self-emotions appraisal

-.15*

Depression –affective

.16** .13* .50***

Self-emotions appraisal

Use of emotion

-.14* Rational problem solving -.14* -.15** * Neuroticism -.22***

Depression – somative

Depression – cognitive

.63***

Figure 2. Path diagram of significant predictors of life dissatisfaction and depression. Values are standardized parameter coefficients. Note. This model fit the data better than competing models did, c2(91) = 173.84, p < .001 (standardized root mean square residual = .15; comparative fit index = .92; incremental fit index = .93; Tucker-Lewis Index = .88; root mean square error of approximation = .085; adjusted goodness-of-fit index = .79; RFI = .80). Avoidance scale and rational problem solving are not shown because they were not significantly linked to the outcome variables. Solid lines indicate positive effects; dashed lines indicate negative effects; and thicker lines indicate larger effect sizes. *p < .05. **p < .01. ***p < .001.

Life Dissatisfaction Personality and social problem-solving skills were linked to life dissatisfaction (see Figure 2). People who were 10% less agreeable, 10% less open, or 10% less extraverted than their respective means on these subscales were 2% (b = -0.16, p < .01), 2% (b = -0.19, p < .001), or 4% (b = -0.42, p < .001) less satisfied with life, respectively. Meanwhile, people who were 10% more neurotic than average were 2% less satisfied with life (b = +0.23, p < .01). People who were 10% less impulsive/careless than average were 2% less satisfied with life (b = -0.18, p < .01). Depression Personality, EI, and social problem-solving skills were all linked to depression’s affective, cognitive, and somative symptoms (see Figure 2). Regarding personality, people who were 10% less extraverted or 10% more neurotic than their respective means had 2% or 4% more affective symptoms

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(b = -0.16, p < .05; and b = +0.40, p < .001, respectively). As shown in the significant interaction results, social problem-solving skills moderated the link between EI and affective symptoms of depression. Specifically, people whose use of emotion and avoidance both exceeded their respective means by 10% had 3% fewer affective symptoms (-3.2% = -0.15 * [110% * 110%] 100%; p < .05). In contrast, people whose self-emotions appraisal and impulsivity/carelessness both exceeded their means by 10% had 3% more affective symptoms (+3.4% = +0.16 * [110% * 110%] - 100%; p < .01).4 Personality, EI, and social problem-solving skills were all linked to cognitive symptoms of depression. People who were 10% more neurotic than average had 6% more cognitive symptoms (b = +0.63, p < .001). In contrast, people whose use of emotion exceeded the mean by 10% had 2% fewer cognitive symptoms (b = -0.22, p < .001). These results also showed significant moderation effects. People whose neuroticism and rational problem solving both exceeded the means by 10% had 3% fewer cognitive symptoms than did those as a result of neuroticism alone (-3.2% = -0.15 * [110% * 110%] - 100%; p < .01). Personality, EI, and social problem-solving skills were all linked to somative symptoms of depression. People who were 10% more neurotic than average had 5% more somative symptoms (b = 0.50, p < .001). Meanwhile, people whose self-emotions appraisal exceeded the mean by 10% had 1% fewer somative symptoms (b = -0.14, p < .05). These results also showed significant moderation effects. People whose self-emotions appraisal and impulsivity/carelessness both exceeded the means by 10% had 3% more somative symptoms than did those as a result of self-emotions appraisal alone (+2.7% = +0.13 * [110% * 110%] - 100%; p < .05). Also, people whose neuroticism and rational problem solving both exceeded their means by 10% had 3% fewer somative symptoms than did those as a result of neuroticism alone (-2.9% = -0.14 * [110% * 110%] - 100%; p < .01). No other variables or links were significant. Specifically, no mediation effects were significant. Also, age, gender, and academic achievement showed no significant effects.

Discussion Past studies have shown that people with higher emotional intelligence (EI) have better psychological health, but the mechanisms underlying this link have 4 This shows how the percentage is obtained from a computation with the regression coefficient (b), and it also shows the significance level ( p). For example, people who were 10% more neurotic than average were 2% less satisfied with life (b = +0.23, p < .01):

2% = Round (10% ∗ 0.23) = Round (0.023) = 0.02 = 2%.

1972 CHOW ET AL. not been fully explained. This study examined whether personality and social problem-solving skills are related to EI, psychological distress, or the link between EI and psychological distress among Chinese undergraduates in Hong Kong. The results show that personality, social problem solving, and EI were linked to psychological distress and that social problem solving moderated psychological distress’s links with EI and with personality (see Figure 2).

Personality, Emotional Intelligence, and Psychological Health This study showed that each dimension of personality had different links with psychological distress (i.e., life dissatisfaction and depression). Specifically, agreeableness, openness, and especially extraversion were negatively linked to life dissatisfaction. Meanwhile, neuroticism was strongly, positively linked to life dissatisfaction and all three depression factors (i.e., affective, somative, and cognitive symptoms; the data were best fit by three separate depression factors). Consistent with past research findings, extraversion had a stronger negative link and neuroticism had a stronger positive relationship with life dissatisfaction than other dimensions of personality in Chinese people (e.g., Zhang, 2005). While past findings on Westerners have also demonstrated the links between agreeableness, extraversion, neuroticism, and life dissatisfaction, they found life dissatisfaction had a stronger negative link with conscientiousness than with openness (Heller, Watson, & Ilies, 2004). These results suggest that links between some personality dimensions and life satisfaction differ across cultures. Even after controlling for personality in the SEM, EI was still negatively linked to depression. Specifically, participants with higher awareness and better understanding of their own emotions (i.e., self-emotions appraisal) often had fewer somative symptoms of depression. Participants who could better use their emotions to enhance self-perception and performance (use of emotion) often had fewer cognitive depressive symptoms. These results further support the claim that EI can affect psychological health, over and above personality. This study also shows that specific EI components (i.e., self-emotions appraisal and use of emotion) are particularly important for reducing somative and cognitive symptoms of depression, underscoring the importance of recognizing differential links between EI components and psychological health variables in future studies (e.g., Bastian et al., 2005). These results show that managing one’s own emotions was negatively linked to depression in Hong Kong, as in Western countries (Ciarrochi et al., 2002), but did not show a link between appraisal of others’ emotions and life satisfaction, unlike past research on Chinese undergraduates (Law et al., 2004).

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These contradictory findings on appraisal of others’ emotions might be attributed to the different EI assessments employed. EI was rated by the participants themselves and by participants’ parents in this study and in Law et al. (2004), respectively. Parents might be more sensitive to participants’ reactions toward others, and more objective in evaluating participants’ appraisal of others’ emotions; but only the participants had direct access to their EI experiences. Future studies should examine the differences between self-rated and other-rated EI, and the links between EI components and psychological health. Our results show how EI was linked to psychological health in Chinese adults, enhancing understanding of EI in a non-Western culture. Though our results did not directly demonstrate these cultural differences without comparable data on Western counterparts, they shed light on the possible influence of culture on the links between EI and psychological health. They are in line with the scarce research on EI and psychological health among nonWesterners, such as Indians (Singh & Woods, 2008). Past studies have shown how culture moderates the effects of EI on psychological health in Western cultures. For example, attention and clarity scores of the Trait Meta-Mood Scale had stronger links with depression in cultures with more flexible gender roles (feminine) than in cultures with more rigid gender roles (masculine; Fernández-Berrocal, Salovey, Vera, Extremera, & Ramos, 2005). Future studies should examine how EI and its links with psychological health differ across societies whose cultural characteristics differ.

Social Problem-Solving Skills and Psychological Health In the present study, social problem-solving skills were linked to psychological distress and also moderated its links with personality and with EI. While past research has shown that neurotic people are more likely to feel depressed (e.g., Jorm et al., 2000), this study shows that the depression level of neurotic people varied depending on their social problem-solving skills. Among neurotic people, those with better rational problem-solving skills had fewer somative and cognitive symptoms of depression. So, improving neurotic people’s rational problem-solving skills might help reduce their depression levels, especially as improving their problem-solving skills is likely easier than changing their personalities. People who were impulsive/careless in their social problem solving and who had better understanding of their emotions (i.e., self-emotions appraisal) had more affective and somative depressive symptoms. If impulsive or careless people experienced more failures and were more aware of their negative

1974 CHOW ET AL. emotions during these experiences, they might have felt more depressed than those who were less aware of their negative emotions. So, fostering emotion management is particularly important for impulsive or careless people who have high self-emotions appraisal. In contrast with the harmful effects of impulsiveness/carelessness on depression, impulsiveness/carelessness was negatively linked to life dissatisfaction. One possible reason is that people who face less pressure to be perfect might be more playful, impulsive, or careless, and thus more satisfied with their lives. However, these findings did not contradict with each other. Life satisfaction assessed the cognitive component of psychological well-being, and our results show positive links of impulsiveness/carelessness with affective and somative depression symptoms only, but not the cognitive dimension of depression. Therefore, impulsiveness/carelessness tends to be beneficial or neutral to the cognitive aspect, but detrimental to the affective and somative aspects of psychological well-being. Meanwhile, people who used their emotions to enhance self-perception and performance (i.e., use of emotion) had lower levels of depression. Apart from the negative link between use of emotion and cognitive symptoms of depression, people who had an avoidance style of problem solving tended to have less affective symptoms of depression if they had better use of emotion. Among people with an avoidance style of problem solving, those who could use their emotions more effectively might better weather their anxiety when suddenly confronted with the problem that they had earlier avoided. The findings underscore the relative importance of the use of emotion among EI components and the interaction between EI and social problem-solving skills in understanding psychological health.

Study Limitations This study had some limitations. The present study showed links between EI, social problem solving, and psychological distress, but the direction of these links remains unclear. Thus, longitudinal studies are needed to understand the causal relationships between EI, social problem-solving skills, and psychological health. Also, this study focused on undergraduate students. Further studies can examine these links on participants of other age groups to understand the developmental trajectories of these relationships. In addition, the present study relied on self-report questionnaire data. Future studies should include performance-based measures of EI and social problem-solving skills (i.e., observations or interviews) to avoid bias in self-report data. Findings by both ways of measurement can consolidate these conclusions. Lastly, as different psychological outcomes—even closely

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related ones (e.g., depression, life dissatisfaction)—might have different trajectories, future EI studies should examine broader arrays of psychological outcomes (e.g., anxiety, suicide ideation) to provide a clearer picture of how EI influences psychological well-being. Despite these limitations, this study of Chinese undergraduates contributes to this line of research in three ways. First, EI was linked to symptoms of depression, even after controlling for personality. It further supports the unique contributions of EI on depression over and above personality, and suggests that the links between EI and depression might hold across cultures. Second, social problem solving was linked to psychological distress, and moderated its links with personality and EI. These results enhance our understanding of the contextual differences among the links between EI and psychological health, and support the possibility of promoting people’s psychological health through EI and social problem-solving interventions. Third, components of EI and social problem solving showed differential links with psychological distress variables. Therefore, separate dimensions of EI and social problem-solving skills should be recognized in future studies and intervention programs.

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