Abstract
In childhood, the perception of body image is in the construction phase and emerges linked to the aesthetic ideals of society, which is well differentiated according to gender. In this way, according to people’s interpretations of the environment and how to manage it emotionally, greater or lesser body satisfaction may be generated, which could have irreversible consequences for children. Therefore, our interest lies in how body image satisfaction and gender can act as modulating variables of emotional intelligence in childhood, analyzing differences in the intrapersonal, interpersonal, stress management, adaptability, and mood dimensions of emotional intelligence, according to the degree of body image satisfaction and the child’s gender. A total of 944 Primary Education students selected by multistage cluster sampling, 548 boys and 396 girls aged between 9 and 12 years from different schools in Extremadura (Spain), participated in the research. The study design was descriptive, and questionnaires to measure emotional intelligence, self-perception, and body image satisfaction were used. An analysis of descriptive statistics, a Chi-square test to measure the variance/invariance of the participants’ distribution according to their satisfaction with body image and gender, and a MANOVA to determine the possible effects of satisfaction with body image as well as of gender on emotional intelligence were conducted. Regardless of gender, children who were satisfied with their body image showed higher interpersonal intelligence, greater adaptability, and better mood. With respect to gender, girls showed higher stress management than boys. Throughout Compulsory Education, it is necessary to promote campaigns imparted by specialists to prevent body image dissatisfaction, so that the benefits can reach the entire educational community (students, teachers, and parents). In this work, several possibilities are described to meet the demands of contemporary society.
Highlights
The term emotional intelligence was introduced by Salovey and Mayer [1] referring to the ability to understand and manage emotions to channel them in a positive way so that they work for us and not against
The hypothesis proposed is that participants who show greater satisfaction with their body image will have higher levels of emotional intelligence
As for body image satisfaction, it should be noted that 76.3% of the participants were not satisfied with their body image, 55% preferred to be thinner and 20% preferred to be heavier/more athletic
Summary
The term emotional intelligence was introduced by Salovey and Mayer [1] referring to the ability to understand and manage emotions to channel them in a positive way so that they work for us and not against. There are three main models of emotional intelligence: skill model or four branches of. Mayer and Salovey [2], Goleman’s emotional competencies model [3,4] and Bar-On’s emotional and social intelligence model [5]. Res. Public Health 2020, 17, 2120; doi:10.3390/ijerph17062120 www.mdpi.com/journal/ijerph
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