Coping mediates the relationship between emotional intelligence (EI) and academic achievement

MacCann, Carolyn and Fogarty, Gerard J. and Zeidner, Moshe and Roberts, Richard D. (2011) Coping mediates the relationship between emotional intelligence (EI) and academic achievement. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 36 (1). pp. 60-70. ISSN 0361-476X

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Abstract

Research examining the relationships between performance measures of emotional intelligence (EI), coping styles, and academic achievement is sparse. Two studies were designed to redress this imbalance. In each of these studies, both EI and coping styles were significantly related to academic achievement. In Study 1, 159 community college students completed the Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test (MSCEIT) and problem-focused, emotion-focused, and avoidant coping scales. Collectively, the coping variables significantly mediated the relationship between EI and grade-point-average (GPA) for Emotion Perception, Emotion Facilitation of Thought and Emotion Management (but not for Emotional Understanding). Problem-focused coping was the only single significant mediator, mediating the relationship between emotion management and GPA (but not other branches and GPA). In Study 2, 293 middle-school students completed the Situational Test of Emotion Management for Youths (STEM-Y) and scales measuring the same three coping strategies. In this study, the coping variables again significantly mediated the relationship between emotion management and GPA. Once again, problem-focused coping was a significant mediator. Collectively, these results suggest that better educational outcomes might be achieved by targeting skills relating to emotion management and problem-focused coping.

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Item Type:	Article (Commonwealth Reporting Category C)
Refereed:	Yes
Item Status:	Live Archive
Additional Information:	Accepted version deposited in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher. The correct APA citation for this paper is: MacCann, C., Fogarty, G.J., Zeidner, M. & Roberts, R.D. (2011). Coping mediates the relationship between emotional intelligence (EI) and academic achievement. Contemporary Educational Practice, 36(1), 60-70.
Faculty / Department / School:	Historic - Faculty of Sciences - Department of Psychology
Date Deposited:	18 Jan 2011 03:22
Last Modified:	19 Aug 2014 06:15
Uncontrolled Keywords:	emotional intelligence; academic achievement; coping; Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test; situational test of emotional management
Fields of Research :	17 Psychology and Cognitive Sciences > 1701 Psychology > 170103 Educational Psychology 17 Psychology and Cognitive Sciences > 1701 Psychology > 170109 Personality, Abilities and Assessment 17 Psychology and Cognitive Sciences > 1701 Psychology > 170110 Psychological Methodology, Design and Analysis
Socio-Economic Objective:	E Expanding Knowledge > 97 Expanding Knowledge > 970113 Expanding Knowledge in Education
Identification Number or DOI:	doi: 10.1016/j.cedpsych.2010.11.002
URI:	http://eprints.usq.edu.au/id/eprint/9382

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