Relationship between emotional intelligence, social skills and peer harassment. A study with high school students

Abstract

The objective of this study was to analyse the relationship between emotional intelligence and social skills, and how these two variables influence bullying. In this study, 912 Spanish high school students, 471 boys and 441 girls aged 14–16 years, participated, who were administered the Spanish version of the Trait Meta Mood Scale 24, the “Bateria de socialización BAS-3” and the Peer Harassment Questionnaire. To analyse the results, a structural equation model was made. The results reflected a positive relationship between emotional intelligence and social skills (B = 0.44, p < 0.001), and a negative relationship with respect to bullying (B = −0.56, p < 0.001). In turn, social skills reflected a negative relationship with respect to bullying (B = −0.38, p < 0.001). These results reflect the need to implement educational programs focused on the development of emotional intelligence in the classroom, as a means to try to stop bullying behaviours in the classroom.