Abstract

This research examined whether Emotional Intelligence (EI) could be considered as a predictor for mental health. It also aimed to explore the moderating effect of Gender on the relationship between EI and mental health among high school students. The participants in the study included 10th, 11th, and 12th grade students from 8 public high schools in Gorgan City, north of Iran. They were 247 high school students, specifically comprised 124 boys and 123 girls, age ranged between 14 to 17 years old. The research design was an ex post facto and tested for alternative hypotheses. Two valid and reliable instruments were used to assess EI and mental health. Data analysis included frequencies, percentages, mean scores, simple regressions and moderated regressions. The result demonstrated that mental health could be influenced by EI. In addition, gender was a significant moderator for the relationship between EI and mental health.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.