The Emotional Competence of Adolescent Girls Based on Their Subjective Well-Being

Subjective Well-Being (SWB), which includes emotional and cognitive elements, is one of the most important factors related to psychological and physical health. This study aimed at comparing emotional competence in two groups of Iranian adolescent girls with high and low SWB. Intensity sampling with regard to maximum variation was utilized to select the participants. The data were gathered using in depth interviews (10 girls), incomplete sentences (37 girls), and narrative writing (32 girls). The results demonstrated seven sub-themes of emotional competence theme including: Recognition of emotions, Self-management of emotions, Management of emotions in relationships, Caring for others’ emotions and Empathy, Expressing emotions, level of hope in thought, and Balance of passion. These sub-themes were discussed based on cultural and theoretical frameworks.