How much emotional attention is appropriate? The influence of emotional intelligence and subjective well-being on adolescents’ stress

Emotional intelligence and subjective well-being may contribute to preventing perceived and physiological stress in adolescents. To provide an overall picture of the relations of emotional intelligence and well-being, both the traditional monotonic effects and the non-monotonic effects of emotional attention on well-being were explored in relation to stress prediction. The purpose was to develop an accurate understanding of the different emotional conditions and states of well-being that may be associated with adolescents’ stress. The participants included 132 adolescents (mean = 12.73 years, standard deviation = 0.72, 51.5% girls) who completed the Trait Meta-Mood Scale-24, the Satisfaction With Life Scale, the Scale of Positive and Negative Experiences, and the Perceived Stress Scale-4. Hair samples were collected to assess physiological stress. Emotional intelligence and well-being explained between 36% and 39% of the variance in perceived and physiological stress. Emotional attention seems to operate in the same way regardless of its conceptualisation as monotonic or non-monotonic. In general, decreased attention and increased clarity and well-being should be the aim of adolescent interventions to achieve better health.