Longitudinal assessment of trait emotional intelligence: Measurement invariance and construct continuity from late childhood to adolescence.

Abstract

Amid the growing efforts to promote positive youth development, trait emotional intelligence (TEI) has emerged as an important protective factor in the processes of resilience and adaptation. The inclusion of a brief form of the Emotional Quotient Inventory-Youth Version (EQi:YV-Brief) in the Canadian National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth (NLSCY) presents a unique opportunity to study the developmental dynamics of TEI during the transition from childhood to adolescence. However, before drawing any inferences about construct continuity and change, researchers must establish that the EQi:YV-Brief functions equivalently over time. This study tested configural, metric, scalar, and residual measurement invariance of the EQi:YV-Brief over a 6-year period from late childhood (age 10-11) to adolescence (age 16-17). Longitudinal mean and covariance structures models were fitted to the data from 773 NLSCY participants (51% girls) who completed the EQi:YV-Brief at 4 biennial cycles. Three of the 4 EQi:YV-Brief subscales were found to be fully invariant at ages 12-13 through 17-18 and partially invariant at age 10-11. Controlling for partial noninvariance, we also investigated patterns of rank-order stability and mean-level change in TEI. These exploratory analyses showed that individual differences in TEI became increasingly more stable with age and that changes in mean TEI levels followed a complex nonlinear pattern over time. The results supported the longitudinal utility of 3 of the 4 EQi:YV-Brief subscales used in the NLSCY, supporting their further use in research on the developmental dynamics of TEI.

Desarrollo de la Inteligencia Emocional en la adolescencia: un estudio transversal y longitudinal

“…These findings coincide with most previous research (Bar-On, 1997b;Joseph & Newman, 2010;Keefer et al, 2013;Salguero et al, 2010;Ugarriza & Pajares, 2005). It seems that adolescent girls often demonstrate greater ability in certain competences, including those involving mainly interpersonal aspects (Qualter, Gardner, Pope, Hutchinson, & Whitely, 2012).…”

“…33, nº 2 (may) which it remains steady from 16-17. Lastly, the adaptability scale decreases until 14-15 and then increases at 16-17; the degrees of change are relatively minor during the six-year time period (Keefer et al, 2013). The increase in emotional competence among older age groups is consistent with the expectation that emotional skills should increase progressively with greater maturity and further life experience (Mayer, Caruso, & Salovey, 1999;Saarni, 1999).…”

“…Due to the fact that previous research points to the possible existence of significant sex-based differences (Bar-On, 1997b; Keefer et al, 2013), the scores obtained were first analysed in order to verify the appropriateness of presenting the subsequent findings either as one whole sample or independently for each sex. The findings indicated that girls scored significantly higher than boys in the interpersonal dimension (z (482) = -5.741, p = .001), with a medium effect size (d = -0.39).…”

“…Women tend to score higher than men on the interpersonal scale whereas men tend to achieve higher scores for self-perception on the intrapersonal, adaptability and stress management scales (Bar-On, 1997b;Bar-On, Brown, Kirkcaldy, & Thome, 2000;Ugarriza & Pajares, 2005). Keefer et al (2013) found that women score higher on the intrapersonal and interpersonal scales while men score higher for adaptability. In terms of general EI, some studies find that women have better self-perception (Saklofske, Austin, & Minski, 2003;Van Rooy, Alonso, & Viswesvaran, 2005), while others maintain that this is the case for men (Kong, Zhao, & You, 2012;Mikolajczak, Luminet, Lerooy, & Roy, 2007;Shi & Wang, 2007).…”

“…Keefer, Holden and Parker (2013), who analysed the psychometric properties of the Emotional Quotient Inventory: Young Version Short (Bar-On & Parker, 2000) in a Canadian sample of 10-18-year-olds over a six-year period (this was the first study to research longitudinal differences in EI over a period of several years), reported non-variance in three (intrapersonal, interpersonal and adaptability) of the four scales between the ages of 12 and 18. It has not been possible to confirm the longitudinal usefulness of the stress management scale.…”