Emotional Intelligence, responses styles and depression

Based upon Mayer and Salovey s EI model (1997), the purpose of the present study was to investigate the relationship between, emotional intelligence, assessed by the Trait Meta-Mood Scale (TMMS) and the Mayer Salovey Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test (MSCEIT), the responses styles to depressed mood (rumination and distraction styles) and the levels of depression (Beck Depression Inventory; BDI) in a wide sample of high school and university students. The predictive validity of emotional intelligence on depression to depressed mood controlling for the effects of sociodemographic variables and different responses styles was also examined. In general, the results showed that although responses styles were the most significant predictor for depression, however, emotional intelligence predicted modest but significant variance. Finally, when the sample was divided into different groups, the slight and moderate-severe depression groups reported less emotional abilities than the normal group. Our findings support the consideration of EI as a theoretically relevant construct and predictive empirically individual differences in accounted for depression. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: journal abstract)