Childhood maltreatment (CM) has been linked to poor emotional intelligence (EI) and psychosocial functioning (PSF) in patients with bipolar disorder (BD). However, no study has investigated whether EI mediates the relationship between CM and PSF in patients with BD. Here, we aimed to assess the association of CM with EI and PSF in euthymic patients with BD compared with healthy controls (HCs).

We assessed 124 euthymic participants with a BD diagnosis and 124 HCs by means of the Mayer–Salovey–Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test, the Functioning Assessment Short Test and the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire. Linear regression models were constructed using CM categorized as no-CM, low/moderate-CM and high-CM. We subsequently assessed whether EI mediates the relationship between CM and PSF.

Compared with HCs, patients with BD reported higher rates of CM and lower rates of PSF and EI. In the BD group, subjects who exhibited low/moderate CM obtained lower levels of PSF and EI than those with no-CM and high-CM levels. The regression models demonstrated that, compared with the no-CM category, the low/moderate CM category was inversely associated with EI strategic area scores in patients with BD. However, EI did not mediate the relationship between CM and PSF.

Low/moderate-CM was associated with the worst EI scores in BD. However, we did not observe any mediating effect of EI on the relationship between CM and PSF. Our results emphasize the importance of assessing CM in mental health and suggest that targeted therapies should be administered to affected patients.

Children with CHD who have undergone corrective or palliative surgery are at increased risk for developmental delays. One important aspect is the development of emotional intelligence. Although emotional intelligence is not explicitly included in the current neurodevelopmental battery testing, increasing evidence supports the inclusion of it.

In this prospective, single-centre, cross-sectional pilot study, we analysed emotional intelligence in a broad spectrum of English-speaking paediatric patients, aged 7 to 17 years old, with a confirmed CHD and without moderate-to-severe developmental delay. We evaluated emotional intelligence using the Bar-On Emotional Quotient Inventory: Youth Version questionnaire, administered parent questionnaires, and reviewed medical records. We determined associations between components of the Emotional Quotient Inventory: Youth Version and pertinent demographic and clinical variables using one-way ANOVA and multivariable regression.

A total of 67 patients were included in this study; 68.7% underwent cardiac surgery in infancy, 74.2% with cardiopulmonary bypass. Children with greater CHD severity had lower emotional quotient scores, and there was a significant inverse relationship between social vulnerability index scores and emotional quotient scores. Multivariable modelling showed that social vulnerability scores explained 25.1% of emotional quotient total variance. Higher CHD severity, surgical complexity, multiple operations, and higher social vulnerability scores were associated with lower emotional quotient stress and adaptability.

Emotional intelligence is a modifiable component of developmental progression of children with CHD and can provide a complementary perspective of neurodevelopmental functioning. Addition of the Emotional Quotient Inventory: Youth Version to the battery of testing may be considered.

Household dysfunction represents one of the most prevalent adverse childhood experiences worldwide, and has been previously associated with an increased risk for mental health problems. However, little is known about the protective role of emotional intelligence in this association.

To explore whether emotional intelligence mediates the relationship between household dysfunction and (a) substance use (age at first use and severity index) and (b) psychopathological status (behavioural/emotional problems, global functioning and number of lifetime psychiatric diagnoses and pharmacological treatments).

A simple mediation model was employed. A total of 187 children and adolescents aged 7–17 years, from the multicentre EPI-Young-Stress Project, were included in the study. Household dysfunction was assessed following the validated Tool for Assessing the Severity of Situations in which Children are Vulnerable (TASSCV) criteria and emotional intelligence was evaluated with the Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire for Children Short Form (TEIQue-CSF) parent version.

There is an indirect-only mediation effect of emotional intelligence on the relationship between household dysfunction and children’s and adolescents’ age at first substance use (proportion mediated: 31.40%, 99% CI −0.53 to −0.02) and severity index (proportion mediated: 23.69%, 99% CI 0.50−0.34), as well as the number of lifetime psychiatric diagnoses (proportion mediated: 45.38%, 99% CI 0.19−0.60) and psychiatric drugs prescribed (proportion mediated: 48.75%, 99% CI 0.19−0.57). A complementary mediation effect of emotional intelligence was found between household dysfunction and emotional/behavioural problems (proportion mediated: 56.37%, 99% CI 0.32−0.80), as well as global functioning (proportion mediated: 54.20%, 99% CI −0.72 to −0.28).

Emotional intelligence emerges as a putative protective factor against the negative consequences of household dysfunction on mental health and substance use. Emotional intelligence should be considered a primary target in preventing and promoting the health of youth exposed to household dysfunction.

Using a cross-sectional design, this study aimed to examine the associations between personal resources and emotional exhaustion, with anxiety as a potential variable consistent with a mediating role.

Data was collected in Lebanon over a six month period using validated self-report questionnaires. Workers aged 18 to 64 years (N = 295) were recruited using a non-randomized snowball sampling approach. Multiple regression and mediation analyses were conducted.

The findings indicate that personal resources (sleep quality (b = −0.224, 95% CI [−0.286, −0.165]), emotional intelligence (b = −0.061, 95% CI [−0. 112, −0.007]), and internal locus of control (b = −0.216, 95% CI [−0. 351, −0.075]) were all negatively associated with anxiety, supporting Hypothesis 1. Sleep quality (b = 0.073, 95% CI [−0.125, −0.029]) and internal locus of control (b = −0.071, 95% CI [−0.140, −0.018])) were also associated with lower emotional exhaustion through their associations with lower anxiety levels (i.e., indirect association via anxiety). In contrast, emotional intelligence (b = −0.020, 95% CI [−0.046, 0.002]) showed no significant indirect association with emotional exhaustion (i.e., no indirect association via anxiety).

The results of this study highlight that not all personal resources have uniformly positive effects.