Earley, Liza (2014) Emotional Intelligence and Depression: A Meta-analysis comparing the Ability and Mixed Model. Coursework Masters thesis, University of Southern Queensland. (Unpublished)
Abstract
Emotional intelligence (EI) is pivotal to the expression and control of emotions whilst potentially providing a framework for early mental health interventions (Akerjordet & Severinsson, 2004). However, global EI encompasses two theoretical models, the ability model and mixed model, each with distinct measurement methods and mental health associations. Recent meta-analyses (Martins, Ramalho, & Morin, 2010; Schutte, Malouff, Thorsteinsson, Bhullar, & Rooke, 2007) have highlighted a moderate relationship between self-reported, or trait EI (Petrides & Furnham, 2010) and general mental health. The current study extended these findings by (1) focusing on a specific internalised mental health disorder, depression; (2) using construct-method pairings (Arthur & Villado, 2008) to differentiate between the theoretical models and measurement method (Ability Model Performance Based, Ability Model-Self Report and Mixed Model-Self Report) whilst (3) exploring several potentially important moderators including gender and age. Based on 40 effect sizes and 12,030 participants, global EI moderately and negatively related to depression (-.30). Construct-method pairings significantly moderated this relationship with the Ability Model-Self Report measures exhibiting the strongest relationship (-.35) and performance-based measures the weakest (-.10). A range of cultural-based moderators were evident in self-report pairings. However, the role of gender and age remained inconclusive. Effect sizes were highest for the EQ-i (-.59), and weakest for the MSCEIT (-.13) and unexpectedly, the TMMS (-.18), a self-report measure. These findings highlight the importance of adopting a construct-method pairing in future EI research to differentiate the impacts of the underlying theoretical model and measurement methods. The implications of these results and directions for future research are discussed.
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| Item Type: | Thesis (Non-Research) (Coursework Masters) |
|---|---|
| Item Status: | Live Archive |
| Additional Information: | Current UniSQ staff and students can request access to this thesis. Please email research.repository@unisq.edu.au with a subject line of SEAR thesis request and provide: Name of the thesis requested and Your name and UniSQ email address |
| Faculty/School / Institute/Centre: | Historic - Faculty of Health, Engineering and Sciences - School of Psychology, Counselling and Community (1 Jul 2013 - 31 Dec 2014) |
| Supervisors: | Paul Bramston |
| Qualification: | Master of Psychology (Clinical) |
| Date Deposited: | 10 Oct 2025 03:58 |
| Last Modified: | 10 Oct 2025 03:58 |
| Fields of Research (2008): | 17 Psychology and Cognitive Sciences > 1799 Other Psychology and Cognitive Sciences > 179999 Psychology and Cognitive Sciences not elsewhere classified |
| Fields of Research (2020): | 52 PSYCHOLOGY > 5299 Other psychology > 529999 Other psychology not elsewhere classified |
| URI: | https://sear.unisq.edu.au/id/eprint/52292 |
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