Is low Emotional Intelligence a primary causal factor in drug and alcohol addiction

This study was conducted with the cooperation of 103 residents in a residential drug and alcohol rehabilitation program to confirm Goleman’s (1995) assertion that low Emotional Intelligence (EI) was a major causal factor in drug and alcohol addiction. A range of measures including EI, level of psychological distress, and the Big Five Factors of personality were administered to the participants and compared against the criterion of an individual’s recovery. The study also used a repeated measures design where the participants were surveyed again one month later. It was found that participants improved significantly in EI scores and experienced a significant reduction in psychological distress during the additional month in the rehabilitation program. It was also found that EI scores were significantly related to addiction levels, but this was fully mediated by the psychological distress variable.