We explored whether emotional intelligence (EI) and its four dimensions individually promoted approach-related behaviors (i.e., sociability) or mitigated avoidance-related behaviors (i.e., internalizing behaviors) in adults clinically diagnosed with anxiety prior to undergoing cognitive behavioral therapy. Participants were 160 patients ( M age = 39.50 years, SD = 13.65, 28.1% male) who completed online questionnaires related to shyness, EI, sociability, and internalizing behaviors prior to the start of group treatment. We found sex-specific EI moderating effects on the relation between shyness and sociability. Among women, EI Self-Emotion Appraisal, a dimension of EI, moderated this relation ( p < .05) by reducing the negative effects of shyness on sociability. In men, the EI Others’ Emotion Appraisal dimension played a comparable role. The findings suggest that EI may be a promising target of intervention to increase social approach behaviors in some clinically anxious patients, with particular relevance for understanding and addressing sex-related differences in socio-emotional abilities.
Jung et al. (Tue,) studied this question.
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