Contributions of temperament and parenting in the development of trait emotional intelligence

Abstract

The inclusion of several trait-EI variables in the last four cycles of the Canadian National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth (NLSCY) presents a unique opportunity to test the role of temperament and parenting practices in the development of trait EI. The stratified population survey of over 22,000 Canadian children has been followed by Statistics Canada biannually over the past 14 years. This paper reports on a subsample of children who were 2–3 years old at Cycle 1 (caregivers completed measures of parenting practices and the child’s temperament) and completed a brief version of the EQi:YV at ages 10–11, 12–13, 14–15, and 16–17 years. Latent growth curve modelling was used to derive the normative developmental trajectory of trait EI and to link the latent-growth parameters (initial level and rate of change) to the early-childhood temperament and parenting variables. Implications of the findings for the trait EI theory will be discussed.