Analysis of the relative impact of emotional intelligence on explaining adolescent academic performance

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to explore the potential role of emotional intelligence as a significant predictor of academic performance in secondary school students, while concurrently factoring in other pertinent personal factors in the prediction model, such as general intelligence, academic selfefficacy and scholar motivation. A cross-sectional correlational study was carried out with a sample of 427 adolescents aged between 12 and 17 (M = 13.83; SD = 1.40). The analyses carried out revealed that academic self-efficacy was the foremost predictor of academic performance, followed by general intelligence, performance-inhibiting anxiety and the experiential area of emotional intelligence. This study's findings conclude that emotional intelligence is a contributory skill in explaining adolescent academic performance.

En este trabajo se analiza si la inteligencia emocional, entendida como habilidad, contribuye a un mayor rendimiento académico del alumnado de Educación Secundaria Obligatoria, cuando se tienen en cuenta otros factores históricamente relevantes en su predicción: inteligencia general, motivación escolar y autoeficacia académica. Se realizó un estudio correlacional de naturaleza transversal con una muestra de 427 adolescentes entre 12 y 17 años (M = 13.83; DT = 1.40). Los análisis efectuados identificaron la autoeficacia académica como el predictor más destacable del rendimiento académico adolescente, seguido de la inteligencia general, la ansiedad inhibidora del rendimiento y la inteligencia emocional experiencial. Esta investigación lleva a concluir que la inteligencia emocional es una competencia que complementa la comprensión del rendimiento académico en la adolescencia.