Relationship between emotional intelligence and aggression among High School adolescents in Mahikeng, South Africa

Abstract

The study investigated the relationship between emotional intelligence and aggression in high school adolescents in high school adolescents in Mahikeng, South Africa. The study adopted the quantitative methodology, and in particular, the correlation design was used to establish the relationship between emotional intelligence (EI) and aggression (A). The correlation matrix highlighted a statistically significant relationship between EI and A, while the t-tests confirmed hypotheses two through to four. The study concluded by highlighting some recommendations (i.e., schools based interventions to improve pupils' EI, gender sensitive aggression interventions) to enhance EI and lower aggression among adolescents. Objectives: The objectives of the study were to (1) examme the relationship between emotional intelligence and aggression among adolescents; (2) investigate differences in aggression among adolescents from rural and urban areas; (3) explore the different levels of aggression among male and female adolescents; and ( 4) investigate differences in emotional intelligence between male and female adolescents. Method: Using a correlational design, a total number of 440 adolescents were sampled by means of a stratified sampling method to participate in the study. A cluster sampling technique was used to select schools to participate in the study. 426 black adolescents and 14 coloureds participated in the study. The age of respondents ranged from 13-18 years with a mean age of 15.5. The statistical analyses used to test the hypotheses were as follows: Correlation matrix (Pearson r correlation) was used to test hypothesis 1 while independent t-tests were used to test hypotheses 2, 3 and 4. Results: The results revealed a positive statistically significant relationship between emotional intelligence and aggression among adolescents, which was tested among subscales of EI and aggression. Furthermore, adolescents in urban areas reported high levels of aggression than their counterparts in rural areas (t) =-1.227; DF= 438; p<0.01). Male adolescents reported high levels of aggression compared to female adolescents (t) =-1.947; DF= 438; p<0.01). In addition, female adolescents scored higher on emotional intelligence (t) =-1.398; DF= 436.16; p<0.01) compared to male adolescents.