engleski

Gender Differences in Emotional Competence: Cross-cultural Study

Emotional intelligence (EI) is defined as the ability to process emotionally laden information. It can be assessed via two types of conceptualizations: as a self-report, and as an ability conception. The self-reported approach to EI encompasses behavioral dispositions and self-perceived abilities, and therefore is better to call it emotional competence. The Emotional Skills and Competences Questionnaire (ESCQ) was applied to a large sample of university students in 12 countries from four continents. It is a measure of self-reported emotional intelligence and was developed in Croatian settings, on a theoretical basis from the Mayer and Salovey emotional intelligence four branches model. The ESCQ consists of 45 items divided into three subscales: Perceive and Understand emotions, Express and Label emotions, and Manage and Regulate emotions. Reliability analysis showed a satisfactory internal consistency of each subscale and a total ESCQ score in all the samples. A gender difference emerged in Perceive and Understand emotions and Express and Label emotions subscales, showing higher scores in the female sample. Significant differences are obtained among countries in all three subscales of the ESCQ and total score. The major difference was found among all the samples on one side, and the Japanese sample on the other. Significant interaction effects were found, stressing that female students perceived their own emotional competence higher only in Croatia, Slovenia, Argentina and Serbia.

gender differences; emotional competences; cross-cultures

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