Trait emotional intelligence and its associations with subjective and physiological well-being

Abstract

The present thesis examined the association between trait emotional intelligence (EI) and well-being (subjective well-being [SWB] and physiological well-being) among Japanese participants (eldercare nurses and undergraduate university students). This research had four primary goals: First, to identify profiles of trait EI and to investigate their association with SWB (Study I); second, to examine the role of trait EI in the process of SWB (Study II); third, to investigate the association of trait EI with psychological state and physiological well-being in a laboratory-based stress induction condition (Study III); and fourth, to investigate the association of trait EI with affect and physiological well-being in the process of recovery in day-to-day life (Study IV). Three different datasets were used. For Studies I and II, cross-sectional data were collected from Japanese employees (N = 500). Study III investigated a sample of 28季 undergraduate Japanese students. Study IV utilized short-term longitudinal data randomly sampled from Japanese employees (N = 50) who had participated in the previous questionnaire survey (Studies I and II). The research yielded three primary results. First, an analysis based on the person-centered approach revealed six distinct profiles of trait EI. In general, the profiles in which all ability dimensions showed higher values were associated with lower burnout, lower depression, and higher work engagement, whereas the profiles in which all ability dimensions showed lower values were linked to more adverse outcomes. In addition, the trait EI profile characterized by the highest values for all ability dimensions, although lower for interpersonal skills, showed the best outcomes, and the trait EI profile combining moderate intrapersonal EI, high interpersonal EI, and low situational EI relatively poorer outcomes. Second, the results showed that trait EI fueled work engagement by enhancing social support, which in turn resulted in improved creativity. Moreover, trait EI interacted with social support: when trait EI was moderate or high, social support improved work engagement, which in turn stimulated creativity. Third, the results revealed that persons with higher trait EI showed better psychological state and more adaptive autonomic activity in both an experimental stress condition and a naturalistic situation compared to their lower trait EI peers. These findings enrich our understanding of the role of trait EI in promoting well-being and highlight the significant importance of trait EI as a personal resource for human flourishing and success in positive psychology.