An Examination of the Role of Trait Emotional Intelligence in Psychotherapy

There is little doubt that the trait EI (Trait emotional intelligence) theory and measures have been found valid and reliable in several settings. This thesis aims to examine the role of trait EI on psychotherapeutic outcomes. This dissertation provides psychometric evidence of the TEIQue-SF (Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire-Short form) in Chilean general and clinical population (n₁ = 335, n₂ = 120) in studies one and two. The results supported a bi-factor multidimensional structure, besides informing full measurement invariance (through MGCFA, i.e., Multigroup Confirmatory Factor Analysis) between the original and the Chilean adaptation of the TEIQue-SF questionnaire. Since cultural peculiarities may influence trait EI, in study three, the author examined the relationship between trait EI and key sociodemographic variables through analyses of variance (ANOVA) and MGCFA in four countries (n = 2,228). The findings indicated significant trait EI differences across countries for age, gender, educational attainment, civil status, and occupation. Measurement invariance was acceptable, especially for age, gender, and education, supporting the cross-cultural consistency of the TEIQue-SF. The fourth study explored the adequacy of trait EI as a predictor explaining the variance in psychotherapeutic outcome longitudinally through a multilevel, quasi-experimental design across psychotherapist-patient dyads (n₁ = 67, n₂ = 39). Outcome variability was found for most dependent variables from start to the end of treatment. Patient trait EI significantly predicted variations in the overall outcome and symptom distress, whilst therapist trait EI significantly predicted variations in the overall outcome and interpersonal relationships. The alliance interacted with the treatment at a significant degree, although these effects explained less outcome variance than those of trait EI. The interaction between patient trait EI and therapist trait EI was a stronger predictor of symptom distress and the overall outcome than the alliance. Overall, the findings point to the importance of trait EI in psychotherapy