Emotional Intelligence, Social Problem-Solving Skills, and Psychological Distress: A Study of Chinese Undergraduate Students

This study examines how emotional intelligence (EI), personality, and social problem-solving skills were linked to depression and life dissatisfaction in 144 Chinese undergraduate students in Hong Kong. Factor analyses of questionnaire responses yielded 3 separate dimensions of depression (affective, somative, and cognitive). Structural equation modeling showed that EI (self-emotions appraisal and use of emotion) was linked to somatic and cognitive symptoms of depression, after controlling for personality. Also, social problem solving was linked to psychological distress, and moderated its links with personality and EI. These results underscore the differences among the links between the components of EI and of psychological health, and support the possibility of promoting people's psychological health through EI and social problem-solving interventions. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.