The purpose of this systematic review is to explore the literature on emotional intelligence related to school leadership using Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) guidelines. The authors searched the electronic databases of Eric education, PsycINFO, Scopus and Psychology Database to find relevant articles. They used search criteria to identify a total of 110 references. Using rigorous selection methods, 35 articles were systematically reviewed. The results revealed that emotional intelligence is key for effective leadership and that the most commonly used skills/competences are self-awareness, self-management and empathy. Additionally, the literature makes it clear that the extent to which the leader builds trusting relationships contributes greatly to the development of teacher satisfaction and performance. These findings can help to inform the design of successful pre-service programmes for aspiring leaders and in-service programmes for school principals. Limitations and future lines of research are discussed.

Adolescent aggression is a global public health with long-lasting and costly emotional, social, and economic consequences, and it is of vital importance to identify those variables that can reduce these behaviors in this population. Therefore, there is a need to establish the protective factors of aggressive behavior in adolescence. While some research has demonstrated the relationship between emotional intelligence (EI) and various aggressive responses in adolescence, indicating that EI—or the ability to perceive, use, understand, and regulate emotions—could be considered a protective factor for the development of aggressive behavior in adolescence, the strength of this effect is not clear. The aim of the present study was to conduct a systematic review of the literature concerning the relationship between aggressive behavior and EI in adolescents and provide a reliable estimate of the relationship between both constructs through a meta-analysis. For this purpose, we searched for relevant articles in English and Spanish in Medline, PsycINFO, and Scopus, obtaining 17 selectable articles based on the search terms used in research in the adolescent population. These studies provide scientific evidence of the relationship between the level of EI assessed from the three theoretical models of EI (performance-based ability model, self-report ability model, and self-report mixed model) and various aggressive responses, showing that adolescents with higher levels of EI show less aggressive behavior. Implications for interventions and guidelines for future research are discussed.

It has long been thought that emotional intelligence (EI) involves skillful emotion regulation, but surprisingly little is known about the precise links between EI and emotion regulation. To address this gap in the literature, we examined the relation between EI—operationalised as an ability—and the use of two common emotion regulation strategies—cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression. Seven hundred and twelve participants from a community sample in Spain were assessed on ability EI (using the MSCEIT) and emotion regulation (using the ERQ). Findings revealed that EI ability was positively associated with cognitive reappraisal and negatively associated with expressive suppression. These relationships were moderated by gender and age. The strength of the association between EI and cognitive reappraisal increased with age for men, while this strength decreased with age for women. Conversely, the strength of the association between EI and suppression decreased with age for men, but increased with age for women. These findings confirm the expectation that EI is associated with greater use of generally adaptive forms of emotion regulation (reappraisal), and lesser use of generally maladaptive forms of emotion regulation (suppression), although effect sizes were quite modest. Observed differences in the strength of associations between EI and emotion regulation may be the result of gender differences in the development of emotional skills along with cultural changes in emotional education and social norms.

The Dark Triad (DT) is composed of three closely related personality traits: psychopathy, Machiavellianism and narcissism. These traits have been linked to emotional deficits. The aim of the present study was to analyze the relationship between the DT traits, including sub-dimensions, and depressive symptoms in order to identify those factors most strongly associated with the development of depression in individuals scoring high on DT. For these purposes, a total of 791 adults (M = 35.76 years; 24.91% males) completed a questionnaire battery including DT traits and depression measures. A positive significant correlation was found between psychopathy and Machiavellianism traits (total score and all sub-dimensions) and depressive symptoms. For narcissism, the direction of the correlation was dependent on the sub-dimension assessed. A model explaining 26.2% of the depressive symptoms scores was composed of the callous affect and criminal tendencies sub-dimensions of psychopathy, cynical view of human nature, which is a sub-dimension of Machiavellianism, and entitlement and self-sufficiency, which are sub-dimensions of narcissism. In addition, some of the relationships found between DT sub-dimensions and depressive symptoms appeared to depend on gender. Our results could have implications for detection and intervention programs aimed at decreasing the negative emotional consequences suffered by individuals with high DT scores. Limitations and future lines of research are discussed.

Previous research has highlighted that Emotional Intelligence (EI) is related to an array of positive interpersonal behaviours, including greater human empathy. Nonetheless, although animals are an integral part of our lives, there is still a lack of clarity regarding the way in which EI relates to empathy towards animals. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between EI and empathy towards humans and animals. We used the Trait-Meta Mood Scale to assess EI, the Interpersonal Reactivity Index to assess empathy for humans, and the Animal Empathy Scale to assess empathy for animals. Our findings revealed a positive relationship between empathy for humans and animals. The results also supported the idea that EI is positively related to empathy for humans, while the relationship between EI and empathy for animals was dependent on whether or not the participants had experience with pets. In addition, multiple regression analysis showed that the variables that best predicted empathy for animals were having a pet (or not), age, gender and human empathic concern. Finally, the relationship between human empathic concern and empathy for animals was stronger in participants who had pets. These findings provide a better understanding of the mechanisms underlying empathic behaviour and suggest that empathy for humans and animals can be influenced by different factors. Limitations and future lines of research are discussed.