Friendship network mechanisms linking emotional intelligence and subjective well-being: Beyond a mediation model

ABSTRACT

This study examined whether the status (central or peripheral position) of individuals in a friendship network and the quality of a friendship network represent key mechanisms in determining how emotional intelligence is associated with subjective well-being. Using data collected from 217 Chinese senior undergraduates, we found that the interaction of the quality of a friendship network and a peripheral position in a friendship network mediated relations of emotional intelligence with subjective well-being. Although a central position in a friendship network did not interact with the quality of a friendship network, it did mediate the relations of emotional intelligence with subjective well-being on its own. The findings expand the growing body of research findings on the association between emotional intelligence and subjective well-being by investigating the role of friendship networks and highlight the importance of a network perspective in understanding the association.

KEYWORDS:

• Friendship network
• emotional intelligence
• subjective well-being
• central position
• peripheral position

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Data availability statement

The data described in this article are openly available in the Open Science Framework at materials presented in appendix and not online.

Open Scholarship

This article has earned the Center for Open science badges for Open Materials through Open Practices Disclosure. The materials are openly accessible presented in appendix and not online.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China [71102176,71401100,71402092,71771160,71971141].

Notes on contributors

Hui-Hua Zhang

Hui-Hua Zhang is an Associate Professor of Human Resource Management at Shanghai Normal University, China. His research interests lie in the areas of positive psychology, with an emphasis on emotional intelligence. His research in the area of emotional intelligence focuses on the measurement of emotional intelligence, the relationships between emotional intelligence and important outcomes in workplace and daily life, and interventions to increasing emotional intelligence.

Rui Li

Rui Li is a Professor of Organizational Behavior in the School of Business, Soochow University. He received his PhD from Jinan University, China. His research interests include leadership, proactivity, constructive deviance, and social network.

Nicola S. Schutte

Nicola S. Schutte is an Associate Professor of Psychology at the University of New England, Australia. Her research interests lie in the area of positive psychology, with a focus on emotional intelligence. Together with research colleagues, she has investigated the assessment of emotional intelligence; the dimensional nature of emotional intelligence; outcomes associated with emotional intelligence, including aspects of mental health, relationships, workplace functioning, and telomere length; and approaches to increasing emotional intelligence.