title: Emotional Intelligence Mediates the Relationship between Age and Subjective Well-Being.
abstract: Individuals' Subjective Well-being (SWB) increases as they grow older. Past literature suggests that emotional intelligence may increase with age and lead to higher levels of SWB in older adults. The primary purpose of the present study was to test whether emotional intelligence would mediate the relationship between age and SWB. A total of 360 Chinese adults (age range: 20 to 79 years old) participated in this study. They filled out questionnaires that assessed their age, life satisfaction (The Satisfaction with Life Scale), affective well-being (The Positive and Negative Affect Schedule), and emotional intelligence (The Wong and Law Emotional Intelligence Scale). Using Structural Equation Modeling, the mediation model was supported, χ(2) (75) = 194.21, p < .01; RMSEA = .07; CFI = .91. Emotional intelligence partially mediated the relationship between age and life satisfaction, and fully mediated the relationship between age and affective well-being. The findings suggest that older adults may use their increased emotional intelligence to enhance their SWB.
authors.affiliation: Bowling Green State University, OH, USA ywchen@bgsu.edu.
authors.forename: Yiwei
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Bowling Green State University, OH, USA.
authors.forename: Yisheng
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Peng
authors.affiliation: Capital Normal University, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Ping
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Fang
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000339:Affect / Q000502:physiology*; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000375:Aging / Q000523:psychology*; D056348:Emotional Intelligence; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010549:Personal Satisfaction; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: affective well-being; age; emotional intelligence; life satisfaction; subjective well-being