Structural and Predictive Properties of the Emotional Quotient Inventory Youth Version - Short Form (EQ-i:YV[s])

Emotional Intelligence (EI) is a popular construct with concentrated areas of application in education and health contexts. There is a need for reliable and valid measurement of EI in young people, with brief yet sensitive measures of the construct preferable for use in time-limited settings. However, the proliferation of EI measures has often outpaced rigorous psychometric evaluation (Gignac, 2009). Using data from 849 adolescents (407 females; 422 males) aged 11 to 16 years (mean age 13.4; SD = 1.2 years), the current paper systematically examined the structural and predictive properties of a frequently employed measure of adolescent trait EI – the Emotional Quotient Inventory Youth Version Short Form - EQ-i:YV(S) (Bar-On & Parker, 2000). Whilst the intended multidimensional factor structure was recovered through confirmatory factor analysis, the statistical and conceptual coherency of the underlying model was inadequate. Using a multi-trait multi-method approach, the EQ-i:YV(S) was found to converge with other measures of EI, however, evidence for divergent validity (Big Five personality dimensions) was less robust. Predictive utility for adolescent mental health outcomes (depression; disruptive behavior) was also limited. Findings suggest that use of the EQ-i:YV(S) for predictive or evaluative purposes should be avoided until refinements to the scale are made.