Emotional Intelligence Construct; a Missing Link in Explanation of Social Physique Anxiety

Introduction In contemporary society, the mass media emphasizes the importance of physical appearance and provides unattainable standards of beauty which may lead to mental health and social problems for people, especially young women. Social physique anxiety is one of these mental disorders which can occur as the result of these social pressures. This anxiety arises when a person thinks that his or her body is evaluated negatively. Various issues may happen because of anxiety, so trying to prevent and treat anxiety is very valuable. Researchers have shown that emotional intelligence is negatively correlated with all kinds of anxiety, and strong emotional intelligence can reduce anxiety dramatically. This study tries to determine rate of social physique anxiety in young women. It also tries to determine the correlation of these disorders with emotional intelligence as one of the factors affecting mental health. Emotional intelligence is the ability to identify, assess, and control the emotions of oneself, of others, and of groups. People with highly developed emotional intelligence are usually self-smart - they are able to make sense of what they do, the thoughts they have, and why they feel what they feel. They also communicate effectively and are able to tune in and empathize with others. They are better at handling relationships of every kind and are more likely to be happy and fulfilled. Theorists believe that emotional intelligence is an important factor in reducing social anxiety. They argue that individuals will find ways to cope with stress by controlling their emotions. Considering the importance of emotional intelligence in explaining this type of anxiety, we want to investigate the existence and quality of the relationship between emotional intelligence and social physique anxiety. Materials and Methods The statistical population of this study includes all undergraduate female students of Tabriz University (4515 individuals). Research Sample is chosen through Cochran Formula (367 subjects). This study is done through survey method and we used closed questionnaire for collecting the data. To measure the components of emotional intelligence we used questions that were adapted from a standard emotional intelligence questionnaire. In order to measure the social physique anxiety, we used a close-ended questionnaire in Likert scale format. Finally, we analyzed the data by SPSS software. Discussion of Results and Conclusions According to the results of descriptive statistics, the mean of social physique anxiety variable is below the average and emotional intelligence mean is above the average among respondents. Other results show that emotional intelligence and its components (Self-awareness, self-controlling, social consciousness, and social skills) have a negative and significant correlation with social physique anxiety. In other words, social physique anxiety decreases by increase in self-awareness, self-control, social awareness, social skills and emotional intelligence in general. According to the regression analysis results, independent variables are able to explain 28% of the variance of social physique anxiety. Among these variables, "self- awareness" with a Beta of -0/498 and "social skills" with a Beta of -0/208 are significant factors in predicting social physique anxiety. This negative relationship between social physique anxiety and dimensions of emotional intelligence is parallel with previous studies in the literature. According to these findings, we can infer that women who have low scores in emotional intelligence, cannot resist against the fear of the significant others and are afraid of others' judgments about their appearance. Thus they experience social physique anxiety when they assume that their appearance is contrary to accepted standards of beauty