Emotional intelligence and our ability to deal with stress

Abstract

The importance of emotional intelligence (EI) has gained increasing attentions among scholars in recent years (Mayer & Geher, 1996；Mayer & Salovey, 1993, 1995, 1997; Azerrad, 1997; Cooper & Sawaf, 1997; Goleman, 1995; Greenspan, 1997;Harp, 1996; Ryback, 1998; Segal, 1997). As the ability for individuals to react and control their emotions, EI is argued as the key to maintain successful lives and psychological health (Bar-On, 2001; Law, Wong, & Song, 2004). Individuals with high EI level tend to more in control of their own emotions, perceive lower level of stress, and are more devoted to their work and perform better. The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship of Emotional intelligence and stress, where stress has become the main ingredient of our daily life. No such study has been done in Lebanon, which is why little is known about emotional intelligence in Lebanese society. Emotional intelligence is a relatively new field of study, but since its presentation to the public, a lot of research and development has taken place in this field in other parts of the world. This study appears to be the first to directly to examine the relationship between EI, adaptability and stress in the Lebanese society. Data were collected in two 1-hour sessions, in which measures administered in the two sessions included EQ-i scale and Perceived stress scale. Results showed that developed emotional intelligence diminishes stress levels while simultaneously it increases the coping ability on the other hand, while underdeveloped emotional intelligence elevates stress levels and simultaneously it decreasing coping ability.