Emotional intelligence and teenagers alcohol/tobacco consumption

This investigation examined the relationship between emotional intelligence (EI) and teenage alcohol/tobacco consumption. Emotional intelligence, understood as the ability to perceive, understand and regulate emotions in an adequate way, is associated to a reduction in conducts entailing a risk for health, including tobacco and alcohol consumption. The hypothesis of our study is that persons who have developed these abilities to a larger extent shall not resort to drug consumption in order to regulate their negative emotional states. The participants of the study were students aged between 11 and 21. In order to evaluate emotional intelligence, we used the Trait Meta Mood Scale and to evaluate consumption of addictive substances we resorted to the questionnaire on drugs of the National Observatory on Drugs. Teenagers scoring higher in Emotional Intelligence reveal smaller tobacco and alcohol consumption levels. Teenagers scoring lower in Emotional Intelligence resort to consumption of these substances as an external form of emotional self-regulation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: journal abstract)