Emotional intelligence and social skills on self-efficacy in Secondary Education students. Are there gender differences?

Abstract

Self-efficacy affects our students' academic results, which may be related to people's social skills and emotional intelligence. This study included 1402 (50.71% males) Secondary Education Spanish students (12–17 years), and analysed the relation of self-efficacy with emotional intelligence and social skills. It showed how these constructs were related, and how the self-efficacy perceived by students varied according to their social skills and emotional intelligence. Gender did not influence self-efficacy, social skills and emotional intelligence. These variables showed similar correlation indices in females and males. Self-efficacy was related with social skills and emotional intelligence in Secondary Education students, but this relation was not gender-sensitive. More studies and research are needed to study and describe these variables according to gender from other perspectives. One proposal is to investigate the association between gender identity and self-efficacy and social skills and emotional intelligence to better understand how these constructs participate in adolescent development.