Determinants of Emotional Intelligence and its Association with Psychological Well-Being among mid-adolescents in southern India: a Cross-Sectional study

Adolescence is a pivotal chapter in human life, a time when the brain undergoes a rapid reorganization that sets the stage for how a person will handle emotions, relationships, and challenges for the rest of their life. During these years, young people are learning to navigate intense feelings, complex social hierarchies, and the pressure of growing up. While much attention is paid to academic success or the absence of mental illness, researchers are increasingly interested in a specific set of skills known as emotional intelligence. This is not about being the smartest person in the room, but rather the ability to recognize one's own feelings, understand the emotions of others, and manage reactions effectively. Alongside this, scientists look at psychological well-being, which measures how well a person is functioning in their daily life, including their sense of purpose, their relationships, and their self-acceptance. Understanding how these two areas connect is crucial because it helps us see which young people might be struggling to develop these essential life skills and what factors in their environment might be helping or hindering them.

A team of researchers in southern India recently set out to explore these connections among a large group of teenagers. They conducted a study in Mysuru, a city known for its mix of educational systems and cultural diversity, surveying over 2,000 students between the ages of 14 and 17. The goal was to map out the emotional landscape of these mid-adolescents, identifying who had strong emotional skills, who was struggling, and how these skills related to their overall sense of well-being. The researchers asked the students to fill out detailed questionnaires about their lives, their families, their school experiences, and their daily habits. They used standardized tools to measure emotional intelligence, which involved asking students to rate how well they could identify and manage their feelings, and to measure psychological well-being, which looked at how satisfied and purposeful they felt in their lives.

The results revealed a clear picture of the emotional health of these students. The majority of the teenagers, about 63 percent, fell into a "normal" range for emotional intelligence, meaning they possessed a functional level of these skills. However, a significant portion, roughly 27 percent, scored in the low range, suggesting they might find it difficult to navigate emotional challenges. Only a small fraction, about 10 percent, demonstrated high emotional intelligence. When looking at psychological well-being, the vast majority of students, over 90 percent, were found to have a moderate level of well-being. This indicates that while most were functioning satisfactorily, there was a large group sitting in a middle ground where their mental health could easily move in either direction, depending on the support and opportunities they received.

The study found that emotional intelligence was not randomly distributed; instead, it was deeply shaped by the social and economic circumstances of the students' lives. The researchers discovered that certain groups were far more likely to have lower emotional skills. Boys were significantly more likely to have lower emotional intelligence than girls. Students attending government schools, which often serve families with fewer resources, were much more likely to struggle with these skills compared to their peers in private schools. Similarly, teenagers living in rural areas and those who spoke Kannada as their primary language of instruction showed lower levels of emotional intelligence than their urban counterparts or those in English-medium schools. The family environment also played a major role; students from nuclear families, where parents and children live together without extended relatives, tended to have better emotional skills than those in three-generation households. Furthermore, students who participated in extracurricular activities, engaged in any form of physical exercise, and maintained excellent relationships with their families were more likely to possess higher emotional intelligence.

Perhaps the most surprising finding was the nature of the link between emotional intelligence and psychological well-being. While the two were positively related—meaning students with better emotional skills tended to have better well-being—the connection was surprisingly weak. The researchers calculated that emotional intelligence explained only a tiny fraction of the differences in how well the students were doing psychologically. This suggests that while being good at managing emotions is helpful, it is not the sole driver of a happy and healthy life. Many other factors, such as academic pressure, family dynamics, and personal circumstances, play a much larger role in determining a teenager's overall well-being. The study also noted that the direction of this relationship could not be determined; it is possible that good well-being helps develop emotional skills, or that emotional skills help build well-being, but the study design could not prove which came first.

The researchers emphasized that these findings point to specific groups of young people who would benefit most from targeted support. The students in government schools, rural areas, and those not participating in sports or clubs represent a population that is currently underserved in terms of emotional learning. The study suggests that existing school programs in India, which aim to teach life skills and promote mental health, should prioritize these groups. By focusing on boys, rural students, and those without access to extracurricular activities, educators and health workers can help build emotional resilience where it is needed most. The study concludes that emotional competence is a skill that can be influenced by the environment, and by addressing the structural inequalities in schools and communities, society can help more adolescents develop the tools they need to thrive.