Emotional Intelligence and Psychological Distress: Gender as a Moderator

The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship of emotional intelligence and distress symptoms between males versus females. Whereas emotional intelligence has been found to be negatively correlated to psychological disorders, little research has examined the relationship between emotional intelligence and psychologically distressing symptoms. Specifically, we hypothesized that females would show a weaker correlation between emotional intelligence and distress than males. Participants will be comprised of 100 female and 100 male college student aged 18- to 25 years old who will complete one measure for emotional intelligence (Emotional Intelligence [Schutte et al., 1998]), two measures for distress symptoms (Brief Symptom Inventory-18 [Derogatis, 2001] and Perceived Stress Scale [Cohen, 1994]), and demographics items. Results are expected to show a low to moderate negative correlation between emotional intelligence and distress, with males demonstrating a stronger negative correlation than women.