Modeling Longitudinal Change in the Emotional Intelligence Self-Concept From Childhood to Adolescence

• In Event: Roundtable Session 16
  In Roundtable Session: Assessing Competencies and Correlates of Social and Emotional Learning: Theoretical and Measurement Issues

Abstract

This study examined trajectories of change in youth’s self-ratings of emotional intelligence (EI) from late childhood (age 10-11) to late adolescence (age 16-17). Latent growth curve models were fitted to responses on the Emotional Quotient Inventory – Youth Version for 392 boys and 381 girls who participated in the National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth, collected over four waves. Consistent with the general self-concept literature, changes in perceived EI competencies followed a quadratic trend: self-ratings were highest in childhood, declined during the transition to adolescence, and increased again throughout adolescence. The shape and slope of this trajectory were gender-invariant, suggesting that other factors contribute to the observed inter-individual variability in the EI self-concept change over time.

Authors

• Katia Keefer, Queen's University - Kingston

• James D.A. Parker, Trent University

• Ronald Robert Holden, Queen's University