Investigation of the relationship between the emotional intelligence and interpersonal problems

Development of the emotional intelligence construct in psychological literature has opened a new array of research in this field. The results of the previously conducted research showed that the emotional intelligence was correlated with several psychosocial factors, and it played a major role in interpersonal problems. The goal of the present study was investigation of the relationship between the emotional intelligence and interpersonal problems. To do so, 140 students of Semnan University were selected through random cluster sampling. Their emotional intelligence and interpersonal problems were assessed by The Bar-On Emotional Quotient Inventory and Inventory of Interpersonal Problems (Barkham, Hardy & Startup, 1994) respectively. The results showed that there is a negative and significant relationship between most of the emotional intelligence components and interpersonal problems. Furthermore, different emotional intelligence components predicted some aspects of interpersonal problems. In sum, the results indicated that the emotional intelligence led to the increase of mental health and decrease of interpersonal problems and thus improved the quality of social and interpersonal relationships.