The validity of the Wong and Law Emotional Intelligence Scale in a Chinese sample: Tests of measurement invariance and latent mean differences across gender and age

Abstract

The Wong and Law Emotional Intelligence Scale (WLEIS) is one of the most widely used measures of trait emotional intelligence. The aim of this study was to examine measurement equivalence and latent mean differences of the WLEIS across gender and age groups. The sample consisted of 1160 Chinese individuals aged 13–40 years. Confirmation factor analysis (CFA) replicated the original four-factor model previously found in other studies. Importantly, the multi-group CFA revealed that configural, metric and scalar invariance across gender and age groups were supported. Moreover, latent mean scores on the WLEIS subscales were comparable across gender and age groups. The implications of these findings are discussed in light of existing literature in the field.