Emotional Intelligence in Physical Activity, Sports and Judo: A Global Approach

Jorge Acebes-Sánchez,Ignacio Diez-Vega,Daniel Mon-López,Cecilia Blanco-García,Gabriel Rodriguez-Romo

doi:10.3390/ijerph18168695

Abstract

Emotional intelligence (EI) has been studied in relation to health and physical activity (PA) or in a sport-specific approach. EI is related to sports performance; however, combat sports seem to show characteristics of their own that involve better control of emotions than other sports. This study aimed to analyse whether there are differences in EI dimensions between those who do not achieve World Health Organization (WHO) PA recommendations, those who meet WHO PA recommendations, those who meet WHO PA recommendations practising sports, and judokas of different levels. A descriptive and cross-sectional study was conducted. The sample comprised 2938 undergraduate students from Madrid and 487 active Spanish judokas. PA was measured by the Global Physical Activity Questionnaire (GPAQ). EI was assessed by the Trait Meta-Mood Scale (TMMS-24). Three different one-way ANOVA and ANCOVA (controlling for gender and age) were conducted to compare the effect of type of group studied on the EI dimensions. Significant differences in EI dimensions were found between those who do not meet PA recommendations, those who meet PA recommendations, those who meet PA recommendations practising sports, and judo athletes of different levels. However, when controlling for gender and age, these differences remained specifically in emotional attention and in emotional repair. Judo athletes and high-performance judo athletes showed better EI than the rest of the studied groups.

Highlights

physical activity (PA) was measured by the Global Physical Activity Questionnaire version 2 (GPAQv2), which contains 16 questions and captures information about PA in a typical week [52]
Three different one-way ANOVAs were conducted to compare the effect of type of group studied on the Emotional intelligence (EI) dimensions (EA, EC, and ER)
As EI consists of three dimensions, the significance level was adjusted at p < 0.017

Summary

Introduction

Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. Emotional intelligence (EI) is the ability to perceive accurately, appraise, and express emotions; to generate feelings when they facilitate thought; to understand emotion and emotional knowledge; and to regulate emotions to promote emotional and intellectual growth [1]. There is a scientific debate on what is the most appropriate tool to assess EI [2]. Petrides and Furnham [3] differentiated between trait EI and information-processing EI

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Discussion

Conclusion