Cultural influences on the relation between perceived emotional intelligence and depression

The present study examined the hypothesis that cultural factors influence the relation between Perceived Emotional Intelligence (PEI) and depression. We predicted that the influence of PEI on depression is moderated by culture. The cultural factors used in this study were Individualism-Collectivism and Masculinity-Femininity based on in Hoftede ́s dimensions. Participants from three different cultures (United States, Chile, and Spain) completed measures of Perceived Emotional Intelligence (Trait MetaMood Scale, TMMS, with three factors: Attention, Clarity, and Repair) and depression (Beck Depression Inventory, BDI). Résumé La présente étude a examiné l’hypothèse que les facteurs culturels influencent la relation entre l’intelligence émotionnelle perçue (IEP) et la dépression. Nous avons prévu que l’influence de IEP sur la dépression serait modérée par la culture. Les facteurs culturels utilisés dans cette étude étaient l’Individualisme collectivisme et la Masculinité-Féminité de Hofstede. Les participants de trois cultures différentes (Etats-Unis, Chili, et Espagne) ont répondu à des mesures d’intelligence émotionnelle perçue (TMMS, avec trois facteurs : Attention, Clarté, et Réparation) et dépression (BDI). L’attention a été associée à la dépression (BDI), Mots-clés Culture; IndividualismeCollectivisme; Masculinité-Féminité; Intelligence Emotionnelle Perçue; Dépression. Key-words Culture; IndividualismCollectivism; Masculinity-Femininity; Perceived Emotional Intelligence; Depression. This research was funded by the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science as part of Project No. BSO2003-02573. We are grateful to Dario Paez and Peter Smith for their comments and contributions to our work. Please address all correspondence to Dr. Pablo Fernández-Berrocal, Department of Psychology, University of Málaga, Faculty of Psychology, Campus de Teatinos s/n. 29071 Málaga, Spain. Email: [email protected] * Pablo Fernández-Berrocal, University of Málaga. ** Peter Salovey, Yale University. *** Aldo Vera, Universidad de Chile. **** Natalio Extremera & Natalia Ramos, University of Málaga. MEP 1/2005 18/04/05 17:37 Page 91