Ability emotional intelligence, trait emotional intelligence and borderline personality disorder

Abstract

This thesis explored convergent, discriminant, concurrent and incremental validity of four Emotional Intelligence (EI) measures examined were one ability EI measure( Mayer-Salovey-CarusoE motional Intelligence Test [MSCEIT]); and three
self-report/trait EI measures (Schutte Emotional Intelligence Scale [SEIS], Multidimensional Emotional Intelligence Assessment [MEIA] and Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire [TEIQue]). Participants (N = 307) were drawn
predominantly from community and student populations. The MSCEIT showed reasonably good validity, although there were only small amounts of incremental validity in predicting psychologica flunctioning of the trait EI measures the SEIS and
MEIA performed similarly well, although the former was more distinctive from personality. The TEIQue produced mixed findings: the factors tructurew as inconsistent with the theoreticals tructure (preliminarya nalyses) but incremental validity was favourable. Placed within a theoretical context, results confin-n the distinctiveness of ability andt rait El. In addition, the trait EI measures appear to be assessing the same latent variable, although some small subscale level correlations question this conclusion. Findings also question whether a ll components of ability EI are assessing a type of intelligence, but suggest that trait EI has utility as a personality measure beyond the Big Five.
Based on Study 1, the MSCEIT and SEIS were selected for use in more explanatory research. Study 2 (N = 523) examined the role of ability and trait EI in Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD), a disorder that may be attributable to emotion
dysregulation. Consistent with this, poor emotion regulation (ability and trait EI) was especially characteristic of non-clinical BPD adults, as were poor emotional understanding and trait emotion perception. Strong evidence was lacking for a differential role of ability El in the disparate BPD feature/criteria, whilst trait EI was most related to 'affective and self dysregulation'. Findings also suggest that low trait emotion regulation is a possible contributing factor to BPD and eating disorder. These findings extend past work regarding the emotional skills and traits of non-clinical persons with BPD features.The greater role of ability and trait emotion manage menitn BPD is consistent with Linehan's (1993a, 1993b) emotion dysregulation theory of the disorder.