IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v17y2020i21p7785-d434081.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Social Intelligence and Psychological Distress: Subjective and Psychological Well-Being as Mediators

Author

Listed:
  • Carolina M. Azañedo

    (Department of Psychology, Villanueva University, 28034 Madrid, Spain)

  • Santiago Sastre

    (Department of Psychology, Villanueva University, 28034 Madrid, Spain)

  • Teresa Artola

    (Department of Psychology, Villanueva University, 28034 Madrid, Spain)

  • Jesús M. Alvarado

    (School of Psychology, Complutense University of Madrid, 28223 Madrid, Spain)

  • Amelia Jiménez-Blanco

    (School of Psychology, Complutense University of Madrid, 28223 Madrid, Spain)

Abstract

The strength named “social intelligence” in the Values in Action (VIA) Classification of Character Strengths and Virtues represents emotional, personal, and social intelligences, which are considered “hot intelligences”. This work contributed to the study of the mechanisms of influence of social intelligence on mental health. A multiple mediation model was proposed to quantify the direct effect of social intelligence on psychopathological symptoms, as well as its indirect effect through its impact on components of subjective and psychological well-being. This study involved 1407 university students who completed the Values in Action Inventory of Strengths (VIA-IS), the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS), the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS), the Psychological Well-Being Scales (PWBS), and the Symptom Checklist-90-Revised (SCL-90-R). Social intelligence was found to be significantly associated with life satisfaction ( a = 0.33, p < 0.001), positive affect ( a = 0.42, p < 0.001), and negative affect ( a = −0.21, p < 0.001), transmitting significant indirect effects on psychopathological symptomatology through these components of subjective well-being. Likewise, social intelligence was positively and significantly related to psychological well-being ( a -paths ranged from 0.31 to 0.43, p < 0.001), exerting significant and negative indirect effects on psychological distress through the dimension of positive relations with other people. These results could be useful in order to expand the explanatory models of the influence of social intelligence on mental health and to design interventions based on this strength for the promotion of well-being and the reduction in psychological distress.

Suggested Citation

  • Carolina M. Azañedo & Santiago Sastre & Teresa Artola & Jesús M. Alvarado & Amelia Jiménez-Blanco, 2020. "Social Intelligence and Psychological Distress: Subjective and Psychological Well-Being as Mediators," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(21), pages 1-11, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:17:y:2020:i:21:p:7785-:d:434081
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/21/7785/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/21/7785/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Kobau, R. & Seligman, M.E.P. & Peterson, C. & Diener, E. & Zack, M.M. & Chapman, D. & Thompson, W., 2011. "Mental health promotion in public health: Perspectives and strategies from positive psychology," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 101(8), pages 1-9.
    2. Keyes, C.L.M. & Dhingra, S.S. & Simoes, E.J., 2010. "Change in level of positive mental health as a predictor of future risk of mental Illness," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 100(12), pages 2366-2371.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Ernst T. Bohlmeijer & Jannis T. Kraiss & Philip Watkins & Marijke Schotanus-Dijkstra, 2021. "Promoting Gratitude as a Resource for Sustainable Mental Health: Results of a 3-Armed Randomized Controlled Trial up to 6 Months Follow-up," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 22(3), pages 1011-1032, March.
    2. Michael Frisch, 2013. "Evidence-Based Well-Being/Positive Psychology Assessment and Intervention with Quality of Life Therapy and Coaching and the Quality of Life Inventory (QOLI)," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 114(2), pages 193-227, November.
    3. Konstantinos Papazoglou & Mari Koskelainen & Natalie Stuewe, 2019. "Examining the Relationship Between Personality Traits, Compassion Satisfaction, and Compassion Fatigue Among Police Officers," SAGE Open, , vol. 9(1), pages 21582440188, January.
    4. Thomas Albers & Silvia Ariccio & Laura A. Weiss & Federica Dessi & Marino Bonaiuto, 2021. "The Role of Place Attachment in Promoting Refugees’ Well-Being and Resettlement: A Literature Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(21), pages 1-11, October.
    5. Jennifer S. Mascaro & Amanda Wallace & Brooke Hyman & Carla Haack & Cherie C. Hill & Miranda A. Moore & Maha B. Lund & Eric J. Nehl & Sharon H. Bergquist & Steve W. Cole, 2022. "Flourishing in Healthcare Trainees: Psychological Well-Being and the Conserved Transcriptional Response to Adversity," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(4), pages 1-18, February.
    6. Vanesa C. Góngora & Alejandro Castro Solano, 2017. "Pathological Personality Traits (DSM-5), Risk Factors, and Mental Health," SAGE Open, , vol. 7(3), pages 21582440177, August.
    7. Allison A. Appleton & Betty Lin & Elizabeth A. Holdsworth & Beth J. Feingold & Lawrence M. Schell, 2021. "Prenatal Exposure to Favorable Social and Environmental Neighborhood Conditions Is Associated with Healthy Pregnancy and Infant Outcomes," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(11), pages 1-13, June.
    8. Mushonga, Dawnsha R. & Henneberger, Angela K., 2024. "The Black-White paradox of mental health in college students," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 157(C).
    9. Chen, Ying & Kubzansky, Laura D. & VanderWeele, Tyler J., 2019. "Parental warmth and flourishing in mid-life," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 220(C), pages 65-72.
    10. Nathaniel W. Anderson & Anna J. Markowitz & Daniel Eisenberg & Neal Halfon & Kristin Anderson Moore & Frederick J. Zimmerman, 2022. "The Child and Adolescent Thriving Index 1.0: Developing a Measure of the Outcome Indicators of Well-Being for Population Health Assessment," Child Indicators Research, Springer;The International Society of Child Indicators (ISCI), vol. 15(6), pages 2015-2042, December.
    11. Eneko Sansinenea & Nagore Asla & Arrate Agirrezabal & Maria Jose Fuster-Ruiz-de-Apodaca & Alexander Muela & Maite Garaigordobil, 2020. "Being Yourself and Mental Health: Goal Motives, Positive Affect and Self-Acceptance Protect People with HIV from Depressive Symptoms," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 21(2), pages 593-612, February.
    12. Tassia K. Oswald & Alice R. Rumbold & Sophie G. E. Kedzior & Mark Kohler & Vivienne M. Moore, 2021. "Mental Health of Young Australians during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Exploring the Roles of Employment Precarity, Screen Time, and Contact with Nature," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(11), pages 1-22, May.
    13. Eduardo Luiz Mendonça Martins & Laís Cunha Salamene & Alessandra Lamas Granero Lucchetti & Giancarlo Lucchetti, 2022. "The association of mental health with positive behaviours, attitudes and virtues in community-dwelling older adults: Results of a population-based study," International Journal of Social Psychiatry, , vol. 68(2), pages 392-402, March.
    14. A. Fernandez & E. Howse & M. Rubio-Valera & K. Thorncraft & J. Noone & X. Luu & B. Veness & M. Leech & G. Llewellyn & L. Salvador-Carulla, 2016. "Setting-based interventions to promote mental health at the university: a systematic review," International Journal of Public Health, Springer;Swiss School of Public Health (SSPH+), vol. 61(7), pages 797-807, September.
    15. Ann-Marie Küchler & Dana Schultchen & Tim Dretzler & Morten Moshagen & David D. Ebert & Harald Baumeister, 2023. "A Three-Armed Randomized Controlled Trial to Evaluate the Effectiveness, Acceptance, and Negative Effects of StudiCare Mindfulness, an Internet- and Mobile-Based Intervention for College Students with," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(4), pages 1-23, February.
    16. Johanna Cresswell-Smith & Tapani Kauppinen & Taina Laaksoharju & Tuulia Rotko & Pia Solin & Jaana Suvisaari & Kristian Wahlbeck & Nina Tamminen, 2022. "Mental Health and Mental Wellbeing Impact Assessment Frameworks—A Systematic Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(21), pages 1-19, October.
    17. Chantie Charissa Luijten & Daphne Bongardt & Anna Petra Nieboer, 2022. "The Roles of Social Media Use and Friendship Quality in Adolescents’ Internalizing Problems and Well-being," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 23(7), pages 3161-3178, October.
    18. Pooja Garg & Renu Rastogi & Aakanksha Kataria, 2013. "Promoting Citizenship Behaviors in Workplace: The Relevance of Organizational Justice and Psychological Well-being of Employees," Jindal Journal of Business Research, , vol. 2(2), pages 67-84, December.
    19. Mohsen Joshanloo, 2022. "Longitudinal Relations Between Depressive Symptoms and Life Satisfaction Over 15 Years," Applied Research in Quality of Life, Springer;International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies, vol. 17(5), pages 3115-3130, October.
    20. Katie J. Shillington & Andrew M. Johnson & Tara Mantler & Shauna M. Burke & Jennifer D. Irwin, 2021. "Kindness as an Intervention for Student Social Interaction Anxiety, Resilience, Affect, and Mood: The KISS of Kindness Study II," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 22(8), pages 3631-3661, December.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:17:y:2020:i:21:p:7785-:d:434081. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.