Indigenous Emotional Intelligence Scale: Development and validation

Abstract

In Nigeria, it seems there is sparse of indigenous measure of emotional intelligence. Therefore, this research fills a gap in literature by developing a valid and reliable indigenous scale. To achieve this, the author combined the Bar-On and Goleman’s models of emotional intelligence. In Study 1, 255 items were generated and were reduced to 198 based on expert advice. At the end of several analyses, 52 items were retained. These items were put in a questionnaire form and administered to 850 students in a university. The author determined the factorial validity of the scale using a sample of 834 participants who returned the scale. The scale (using varimax rotation method) was then subjected to principal component analysis and 40 items were retained in a 7 well defined factor structure. The factors/dimensions include interpersonal skill (r = .77), empathetic response (r = .73), stress tolerance (r = .69), optimism (r = .75), assertiveness (r = .78), problem solving (r = .74) and flexibility (r = .80). The scale has convergent validity because of its positive relationship with empathy (r = .67) and social intelligence (r = .79) and negative relationships with aggression (r = -.41) and impulsiveness (r = -.32). A test re-test reliability of .79 was also established for the scale.