Personality and Individual Dierences 37 (2004) 695706

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The validity of the Bar-On emotional intelligence quotient in an oender population q

Toni Hemmati
a b c

a,b,*

, Jeremy F. Mills

a,b

, Daryl G. Kroner

Carleton University, Ottawa, ON, Canada Department of Psychology, Bath Institution, P.O. Box 1500, 5775 Bath Road, Bath, ON, Canada K0H 1G0 Deparment of Psychology, Pittsburgh Institution, P.O. Box 4510, HNY 15, Kingston, ON, Canada K7L 5E5 Received 21 January 2003; received in revised form 22 September 2003; accepted 6 October 2003 Available online 19 November 2003

Abstract Recent research has suggested that emotional intelligence can be quantied and is distinct from general intelligence. Bar-On (1997) established a self-report measure of emotional intelligence, the Emotional Quotient Inventory (EQ-i), proposed to reect the potential for success in life. The current study examines the validity of the EQ-i in an oender sample. Results show that the EQ-i has no relationship with age, only a weak relationship with IQ, but a strong negative correlation with measures of psychopathology, depression and hopelessness. In addition, oenders as a group score higher than normals. Discussion centres on the suggestion that oenders interpret items dierently from non-oenders, respond dierently, and therefore require distinctive norms. 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Emotional intelligence; Oenders; Personality

1. Introduction While the current wave of interest in measuring emotional intelligence was stimulated by Gardner (1983), research into emotional measurement theory has been well established for several

The views expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reect the views or policies of the Correctional Services of Canada. * Corresponding author. Address: Department of Psychology, Bath Institution, P.O. Box 1500, 5775 Bath Road, Bath, ON, Canada K0H 1G0. Tel.: +1-613-351-8019; fax: +1-613-351-8347. E-mail address: toni@kingston.net (T. Hemmati). 0191-8869/$ - see front matter 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.paid.2003.10.003

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decades. Eysenck (1975) oered a summary of past research into emotion measurement. Traditionally, attempts were made to measure emotions across three distinct parameters: physiological concomitants (e.g., heart rate); introspective assessment (i.e., self-report); and behavioural observation (i.e., judging observed behaviour). Citing past research, Eysenck concluded the evidence suggests that verbal report, far from being a throwback to pre-behaviouristic days, is in many ways the preferred method of measuring and indexing states of emotional arousal (p. 441). Gardner (1983) proposed that there are seven primary types of intelligence: verbal, mathematicallogical, spatial, kinesthetic, musical, intraphysic abilities (insight, inner contentment) and personal intelligences. The personal intelligences consist of interpersonal intelligence, the ability to understand others, and intrapersonal intelligence, the ability to develop an accurate model of the self and use it eectively to operate throughout life. Analogous to these personal intelligences, is the concept of emotional intelligence, proposed by Salovey and Mayer (1990) and popularized by Goleman (1995). Mayer, Salovey, and Caruso (2000) present a comprehensive review of three distinct concepts of emotional intelligence from the literature: The rst is as a popular representation of current culturea zeitgeist. The second consists of emotional intelligence as a component of, or synonymous with, personality. The third view, reecting the perspective of Mayer et al., is that emotional intelligence is conceptualized as a mental ability. From this perspective, ability is linked to skill and capacity. In support of the ability model, Mayer, Caruso, and Salovey (1999) illustrated through factor analysis that emotional intelligence is composed of three separate factors: perceiving and expressing emotions; assimilating and understanding emotions; and managing those emotions. These authors suggest that emotional intelligence can be useful in predicting particular life criteria such as parental warmth, life satisfaction and artistic ability. Rather than a measure of emotion per se, emotional intelligence is a measure of ones ability to recognize, use and regulate emotional, personal and social information in an adaptive way (Mayer et al., 1999). Bar-On endorses this concept but includes the personality aspects of general mood and happiness in the Bar-On emotional intelligence quotient (EQ-i; Bar-On, 1997). He describes emotional intelligence as the emotional, personal, social and survival dimensions of intelligence. Based on this denition, Bar-On developed the EQ-i as a measure of emotional intelligence. 1.1. Intelligence quotient A number of studies have examined the relationship between emotional intelligence and traditional measures of cognitive intelligence. However, these studies have used various measures of both types of intelligence. For example, Bar-On (1997, p. 137) reported the absence of a relationship (r 0:12) between the EQ-i and the total score of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) as evidence for the divergent validity of the EQ-i from IQ. However, the sample was very small (n 40) and only the total WAIS score was reported. Similarly, Newsome, Day, and Catano (2000) also reported no relationship (r 0:08) between the EQ-i and a measure of cognitive ability, the Wonderlic Personnel Test. Other research into the relationship of the EQ-i with a Standard Intelligence Test was conducted by Derksen, Kramer, and Datzko (2002). These researchers examined the relationship of the EQ-i with the General Adult Mental Ability Scale (GAMA), a non-verbal measure of general intelligence, in a sample of 489 men. The authors

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found that the total EQ-i score was not related to GAMA but the EQ-i scales of stress and general mood were signicantly but weakly related to GAMA (r 0:10 and r 0:12, respectively). Although the relationship was statistically signicantly the overall variance accounted for was less than two percent. Emotional intelligence as measured by the Multifactor Emotional Intelligence Scale (MEIS; Mayer et al., 1999) has also been studied with measures of cognitive intelligence. Through their development of the MEIS, Mayer et al. (1999) found that emotional intelligence was correlated (r 0:36) with the vocabulary scale of the Army Alpha Intelligence Scale. Subsequent research by Ciarrochi, Chan, and Caputi (2000) did not nd a relationship (r 0:05) between emotional intelligence as measured by the MEIS and cognitive intelligence as measured by the Ravens Intelligence Test. Mayer, Caruso, and Salovey (2000) later argued that the low correlation between emotional intelligence and the Ravens was due to the Ravens measurement of performance or spatial intelligence and not verbal performance. None of the above studies examined the relationship of emotional intelligence with both verbal and non-verbal (performance) measures of cognitive intelligence. The discrepancies between these ndings may hinge upon this distinction. The current study will examine the relationship of emotional intelligence with cognitive intelligence as measured by both verbal and performance measures of cognitive intelligence. 1.2. Age Research has demonstrated that IQ decreases with age in adulthood (e.g., Derksen et al., 2002). One might expect then, that emotional intelligence would also diminish as one ages, however this is not the case: Bar-On (1997) found that EQ-i and scale scores were positively and signicantly related to age. With age broken into 10-year blocks, the 4049 year-old age group consistently had the highest means across domains. This nding was replicated in a more recent study (Derksen et al., 2002) although these authors found a decrease in EQ-i scores past the age of 65 years. If the relationship between EQ-i and age is consistent, it might be reected in oender populations with a broad age range representation. 1.3. Psychopathology Bar-On proposed that emotional intelligence contributes to psychological well being. He suggested that in addition to traditional IQ tests, EQ-i can make a unique contribution to better understand people and their potential to succeed in various aspects of life (Bar-On, 1997, p. 4). Bar-On demonstrated that EQ-i total scores are positively related to measures of emotional health, and negatively related to measures of psychopathology and neuroticism. Dawda and Hart (2000) found that EQ-i scores were positively correlated with emotional stability and negatively correlated with neuroticism and psychopathology. Parker, Taylor, and Bagby (2001) also found a strong negative relationship between EQ-i scores and alexithymia. They suggested that because alexithymia is associated with illness behaviour and increased mortality from all causes, high emotional intelligence might convey protective factors against mental and physical illness. They proposed that individuals high in alexithymia (therefore low in emotional intelligence) are intolerant of stress and possess limited adaptive resources.

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1.4. Criminality Gardner (1983) stipulates in the day-to-day world, no intelligence is more important than the interpersonal (intelligence). If you dont have it, youll make poor choices about who to marry, what job to take and so on (p. 12). If this position is true, then those who make poor choices (e.g., commit oences) would be expected to have lower interpersonal intelligence than those who do not commit oences. Little research has been conducted on the utility of emotional intelligence measures with criminals. Goleman (1995) stated that empathy (as dened as the capacity to know how another feels) is absent in criminal psychopaths, rapists and child molesters. He further asserted that the inability to feel the victims pain allows a perpetrator to fabricate and believe lies that further facilitate their crime, for example, a child molester who believes he is expressing love. The literature on emotional intelligence measures in correctional facilities is limited. Bar-On (1997) cites an unpublished study that indicates prisoners in an American state facility scored signicantly lower on the total and most scale scores when compared to a matched group from a community sample. Bar-On speculated that for this population, emotional intelligence is equated to success in abiding by the rules of society (Bar-On, 1997, p. 146). It is implied then that conversely, low scores of emotional intelligence will be related to not abiding by societal laws. If indeed ability is related to capacity and behaviour, then the EQ-i might oer a unique insight into forensic populations. The purpose of the current study is to examine the validity of the Bar-On EQ-i with an oender population. Consistent with prior research there are four hypotheses: First, past research comparing emotional intelligence measures to those of general intelligence showed a positive relationship between emotional intelligence and verbal components of IQ (Mayer et al., 1999). There were minimal relationships between emotional intelligence and non-verbal IQ measures. It is therefore hypothesized that EQ-i scores will be positively related to verbal IQ but not to performance IQ. Second, if the EQ-i captures the ability to deal eectively with day to day life then it is expected to be inversely related to measures of psychopathology. Third, studies have demonstrated a general increase in emotional intelligence with age, therefore it is hypothesized that EQ-i scores will be positively related to age among oenders. Fourth, if the EQ-i is predictive of success in life, then oenders scores on the EQ-i should be lower than those of the normative sample.

2. Method 2.1. Participants Participants were 119 male inmates in a medium security federal institution with an average age of 37.0 years (SD 11.7, range 2060). The racial composition of the sample was 70% White, 15% Black, 12% Native American, 2% Asian and 1% other. Twenty-six subjects were serving life sentences; of the remaining subjects, the mean sentence length was 6.0 years (SD 3.6, range 216.8 years). Oenders most serious index (conning) oences were assaultive 45%, robbery 34%, property 9%, sexual 4%, criminal negligence/driving 5% and drugs 3%. All of the participants volunteered and were not paid for their involvement in the study.

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2.2. Materials 2.2.1. Emotional Quotient Inventory (EQ-i; Bar-On, 1997) The EQ-i is a 133-item questionnaire with a 5-point Likert Response Scale. Responses to each item can range from 1, very seldom or not true of me to 5, very often or true of me for positively or negatively-keyed items. The nal item is a self-report on honesty of responding and is not included in any scale. The results are reported in four formats: the total score, the validity score, 5 scales, and 15 subscales. The scales and subscales are intrapersonal intelligence (emotional self-awareness, assertiveness, self-regard, self-actualization, independence); interpersonal intelligence (empathy, interpersonal relationships, social responsibility); adaptability (problem solving, reality testing, exibility); stress management (stress tolerance, impulse control); general mood (happiness, optimism). Higher scores indicate a higher level of emotional intelligence. Scores were derived by using item scales provided in the manual. 2.2.2. Basic Personality Inventory (BPI; Jackson, 1997) The BPI is a 240-item instrument comprised of 12 scales: hypochondriasis, depression, anxiety, interpersonal problems, alienation, impulse expression, persecutory ideation, thinking disorder, self-depreciation, social introversion, denial, and deviation. Participants respond in a true or false format. Each of the 11 clinical scales (excluding deviation) has 20 items with balanced true/false keying. The deviation scale is a critical-item scale, with all items true-keyed. The BPI has demonstrated reliability and validity when used in an oender population (Kroner & Reddon, 1996; Kroner, Holden, & Reddon, 1997; Kroner, Reddon, & Beckett, 1991). 2.2.3. Balanced Inventory of Desirable Responding (BIDR; Paulhus, 1994) The BIDR is a 40-item self-report with a seven-point Likert Response Scale. Items are scored from 1, not true to 7, very true. Results are reported in two scales: Self-Deception Enhancement (SDE) and Impression Management (IM). SDE is a measure of the degree to which respondents answer honestly, although their answers are inated through self-deception. IM however, represents deliberate manipulation to demonstrate a better (or worse) presentation. Kroner and Weekes (1996) have demonstrated the reliability and validity of the BIDR when used with an oender sample. 2.2.4. Depression Hopelessness and Suicide Screening Form (DHS; Mills & Kroner, 2002) The DHS is a 39-item true/false response questionnaire designed to screen for hopelessness and depression and ag suicide and self-harm concerns. Depression and hopelessness items are both negatively and positively keyed. A response of true to a positively-keyed item, is scored as 1 (e.g., My problems dont seem to end). A false response to a negatively-keyed item is scored as 1 (e.g., My future will be mostly happy). Higher scores on the depression scale indicate depressed aect, such as sadness, social withdrawal and a reduced interest in previously enjoyed activities. Elevated scores on the hopelessness scale are suggestive of despair, for example the inability to anticipate future happiness and little sense of self-ecacy. The DHS includes a 13-item critical item checklist for self-harm and suicide ideation that is not to be summed (e.g., I recently had thoughts of hurting myself). Developed and normed on an oender population, the DHS has demonstrated both internal consistency and validity (Mills & Kroner, in press).

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2.2.5. Multidimensional Aptitude Battery-II (MAB; Jackson, 1998) The MAB-II is a measure of aptitude and intelligence. Scores are reported in three formats: As a verbal IQ comprised of information, comprehension, arithmetic, similarities and vocabulary subscales; as performance IQ comprised of digit symbol, picture completion, spatial, picture arrangement, and object assembly subscales; and as an overall IQ score. 2.3. Procedure Oenders were approached at the time they completed testing for a psychological risk assessment and asked if they would participate in this research. Agreement was indicated by signing a consent form. All participants were tested for literacy and achieved at least a grade ve reading level. All of the measures were administered within a time period of two or three days. The EQ-i manual (Bar-On, 1997, p. 43) states that item 133 is included as a validity measure and not summed in any scale: a response of 4, often true of me or 5, very often true of me renders the results invalid. This is not a reverse-scored item, therefore the indication of non-validity should be 1, very seldom or not true of me, or 2, seldom true of me. Only one subject in the current study responded with 1 for this item and was dropped from analysis. No one responded with 2, therefore the total n was reduced from 119 to 118.

3. Results Table 1 shows the mean, range, standard deviation, alpha and T -score equivalents for the EQ-i total, scales, and 15 subscales. Calculation of the T -score equivalents was based upon the North American norms provided by Bar-On (1997). Table 2 provides descriptive statistics for the BPI, DHS, BIDR and MAB scales. All EQ-i scale intercorrelations are signicant at the p < 0:01 level (Table 3). DHS scores were available for only 104 participants and only 92 participants had MAB scores. Table 4 shows the correlations between EQ-i total and EQ-i scales with other measures used in the study. The EQ-i total and scales are negatively correlated with the DHS and BPI scales with the exception of BPI denial that shows a positive relationship. EQ-i is also positively related to the BIDR scales. All correlations between the EQ-i and the BPI, DHS and BIDR are signicant at the p < 0:01 level with the exception of the EQ-i interpersonal scale with the BPI thinking disorder scale that is non-signicant. Correlations between the EQ-i and the MAB total score were statistically signicant at the p < 0:05 level for only the EQ-i scales of adaptability and general mood. Although three scales of the EQ-i (interpersonal, adaptability, general mood) were related to MAB verbal, there were no relationships between MAB performance and the EQ-i scales. To test for a relationship between EQ-i score and age, four age categories similar to those used by Bar-On (1997) were compared: less than 29 years (n 36), 3039 years (n 35), 4049 years (n 32), and 50 years and older (n 15). A one-way ANOVA between EQ-i and age groups revealed no dierences in EQ-i scores (F 3; 114 0:043, p > 0:05). Most EQ-i scale scores were higher for the current sample than those reported for the normative sample by Bar-On (1997). T -tests between group means, correcting for unequal variance when encountered (Reddon, 1992), indicated the oender scores were signicantly greater than

T. Hemmati et al. / Personality and Individual Dierences 37 (2004) 695706 Table 1 EQ-i descriptive statistics Scale EQ-i total Intrapersonal Emotional self-awareness Assertiveness Self-regard Self-actualization Independence Interpersonal Empathy Interpersonal relationships Social responsibility Adaptability Problem solving Reality testing Flexibility Stress management Impulse control Stress tolerance General mood Happiness Optimism Range 320577 103190 1740 1635 1845 2345 1835 64120 1940 2355 2350 73130 2040 3050 1440 4387 2343 1945 4185 2145 1940 Mean 481.3 164.4 32.6 28.2 37.5 37.7 28.3 102.4 33.6 46.0 44.4 107.9 32.9 42.8 32.1 69.6 34.5 35.1 70.0 37.0 33.0 SD 57.7 20.0 5.5 4.5 6.3 5.3 4.0 12.4 4.8 6.6 5.2 13.8 5.1 5.3 5.2 9.5 4.5 6.0 10.2 6.1 5.0 Alpha 0.97 0.92 0.83 0.73 0.87 0.75 0.59 0.90 0.75 0.85 0.79 0.90 0.83 0.76 0.76 0.84 0.61 0.82 0.89 0.83 0.78

701

T -score equivalent 104.8 105.6 107.9 107.9 104.1 100.0 103.1 103.9 100.4 104.4 102.2 106.1 103.6 108.8 109.7 102.1 99.8 103.8 99.1 98.6 100.1

those of the normative sample for the EQ-i total, intrapersonal, interpersonal, and adaptability scales (Table 5).

4. Discussion Consistent with prior research (e.g., Mayer et al., 1999; Mayer, Caruso et al., 2000; Mayer, Salovey et al., 2000), the results from the current study support the hypothesis that EQ-i is weakly related to verbal IQ, though there is no relationship between EQ-i and performance IQ. These results are also consistent with those of Derksen et al. (2002) who found minimal but signicant relationships between the EQ-i scales and IQ total score. Mayer et al. (1999) specied three criteria for an intelligence: First, that it can be operationalized by a set of abilities; second, that these abilities should form related sets and be related to a standard pre-existing intelligence while still accounting for unique variance; and third that abilities of the intelligence will develop with age and experience from youth to adulthood. By meeting these criteria, the EQ-i would qualify as a measure of emotional intelligence by Mayer et al.s (1999) standards. However, Davies, Stankov, and Roberts (1998) specify that if emotional intelligence is to qualify as an intelligence, it must be independent from personality traits. This position is also supported by Mayer et al. (1999), Mayer, Caruso et al. (2000), and Mayer, Salovey

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Table 2 BPI, DHS, BIDR, and MAB descriptives Scale BPI hypochondriasis BPI depression BPI denial BPI interpersonal problems BPI alienation BPI persecutory ideation BPI anxiety BPI thinking disorder BPI impulse expression BPI social introversion BPI self-depreciation BPI deviation DHS totala DHS hopelessnessa DHS depressiona BIDR impression management BIDR self-deception MAB overallb MAB verbalb MAB performanceb
a b

Range 016 015 016 117 012 015 014 07 017 019 014 010 022 09 014 32134 43123 73128 74122 70134

Mean 3.6 3.9 7.1 5.7 3.7 3.8 4.3 1.6 5.0 5.1 2.0 3.2 2.4 0.5 2.1 82.7 94.9 95.0 93.7 98.7

SD 3.4 3.1 3.2 3.4 2.7 3.1 3.0 1.7 3.6 3.7 2.5 1.9 3.8 1.2 3.1 19.9 13.0 12.5 11.0 14.9

DHS scores based on 104 participants. MAB scores based on 92 participants and are reported in standardized form (M 100, SD 15).

et al. (2000). Eysenck (1975) and Bar-On (1997) though, both include personality components as a necessity in an emotional intelligence concept. Our results that show the EQ-i is more strongly related to psychopathology than IQ is reective of the personality-inclusion view. It is interesting to note that although inclusive of personality, it could be argued that the EQ-i meets the rst two of the (personality-excluded) criteria for intelligence stipulated by Mayer et al. Without pre-adult participants however, the third criterion for an intelligence, the developmental component cannot be fully tested. In the current sample, the hypothesis that EQ-i scores increase with age was not supported. Both correlational analysis and a one-way ANOVA failed to show a relationship between EQ-i and age. Derksen et al. (2002) and Bar-On (1997) however, found a positive relationship between EQ-i and age in community samples. The failure to replicate that nding in the current sample might be unique to an oender sample. A replication with a larger oender sample would help to verify this nding. The third hypothesis was that there would be an inverse relationship between EQ-i and psychopathology. This was supported by the strong relationship between EQ-i and psychopathology as measured by the BPI and DHS. The size of these correlations when compared to those between EQ-i and IQ suggests that the EQ-i may be more strongly linked to personality constructs than cognitive intelligence. Similar correlations were found by Bar-On (1997) between EQ-i total and negative aect measured by the Beck Depression Inventory and the Zung Self-rating Depression Scale.

Table 3 EQ-i interscale correlations Scale 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 T. Hemmati et al. / Personality and Individual Dierences 37 (2004) 695706 703 EQ total 0.95 0.91 0.95 0.87 0.92 0.90 0.79 0.79 0.56 0.85 0.75 0.77 0.88 0.87 0.84 0.80 0.85 0.72 0.86 0.85 Intrapersonal 0.81 0.87 0.80 0.82 0.91 0.82 0.83 0.65 0.86 0.64 0.68 0.80 0.80 0.77 0.70 0.78 0.70 0.76 0.77 Interpersonal 0.86 0.69 0.83 0.75 0.74 0.68 0.41 0.73 0.90 0.89 0.93 0.77 0.74 0.75 0.72 0.52 0.79 0.76 Adaptability 0.80 0.86 0.79 0.71 0.74 0.48 0.80 0.73 0.75 0.81 0.92 0.85 0.87 0.80 0.64 0.82 0.77 Stress 0.79 0.80 0.65 0.62 0.49 0.69 0.54 0.54 0.72 0.75 0.73 0.63 0.94 0.88 0.75 0.71 mangement 6. General mood 0.84 0.66 0.67 0.41 0.75 0.68 0.69 0.82 0.77 0.75 0.74 0.79 0.62 0.91 0.94 7. Self-regard 0.70 0.71 0.53 0.75 0.56 0.60 0.76 0.71 0.75 0.63 0.76 0.68 0.75 0.81 8. Emotional 0.69 0.37 0.63 0.61 0.57 0.77 0.67 0.62 0.58 0.67 0.50 0.64 0.59 self-awareness 9. Assertiveness 0.41 0.62 0.56 0.59 0.67 0.67 0.65 0.64 0.66 0.44 0.66 0.60 10. Independence 0.46 0.31 0.34 0.41 0.45 0.49 0.33 0.45 0.46 0.36 0.39 11. Self-actual0.56 0.67 0.67 0.77 0.65 0.69 0.64 0.62 0.67 0.71 ization 12. Empathy 0.82 0.75 0.65 0.58 0.69 0.56 0.40 0.69 0.57 13. Social 0.70 0.70 0.58 0.71 0.55 0.41 0.70 0.59 responsibility 0.71 0.76 0.65 0.75 0.53 0.74 0.78 14. Interpersonal relationship 15. Reality 0.68 0.73 0.73 0.61 0.75 0.69 testing 16. Flexibility 0.56 0.74 0.57 0.63 0.74 17. Problem 0.63 0.49 0.79 0.60 solving 18. Stress 0.66 0.77 0.70 tolerance 19. Impulse 0.56 0.59 control 20. Optimism 0.71 21. Happiness

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Table 4 EQ-i scale correlations with BPI, DHS, BIDR, IQ, and age Scale BPI hypochondriasis BPI depression BPI denial BPI interpersonal problems BPI alienation BPI persecutory ideation BPI anxiety BPI thinking disorder BPI impulse expression BPI social introversion BPI self-depreciation BPI deviation DHS total DHS hopelessness DHS depression BIDR impression management BIDR self-deception MAB overall MAB verbal MAB performance Age EQ-i total )0.50 )0.67 0.44 )0.64 )0.54 )0.44 )0.50 )0.26 )0.65 )0.56 )0.57 )0.64 )0.61 )0.47 )0.59 0.50 0.43 0.20 ns 0.21 0.17 ns )0.01 ns Intra )0.47 )0.65 0.45 )0.56 )0.46 )0.44 )0.49 )0.20 )0.59 )0.54 )0.56 )0.62 )0.57 )0.43 )0.54 0.48 0.43 0.15 0.16 0.12 )0.01 Inter )0.43 )0.54 0.30 )0.65 )0.51 )0.31 )0.34 )0.19 ns )0.52 )0.55 )0.49 )0.56 )0.50 )0.36 )0.46 0.46 0.33 0.20 ns 0.21 0.18 ns )0.04 ns Adapt )0.47 )0.60 0.41 )0.61 )0.55 )0.41 )0.43 )0.28 )0.62 )0.53 )0.49 )0.60 )0.61 )0.43 )0.57 0.47 0.43 0.25 0.25 0.20 ns )0.02 ns Stress )0.44 )0.62 0.45 )0.56 )0.49 )0.40 )0.57 )0.32 )0.67 )0.38 )0.50 )0.54 )0.50 )0.41 )0.50 0.42 0.38 0.18 0.17 0.15 0.02 General mood )0.47 )0.67 0.38 )0.62 )0.52 )0.42 )0.45 )0.26 )0.63 )0.54 )0.58 )0.58 )0.61 )0.51 )0.60 0.45 0.39 0.21 0.21 0.17 ns 0.00 ns

ns ns ns ns

ns ns ns ns

Note: All correlations between the EQ-i, EQ-i scales, BPI scales, BIDR scales and DHS scales are signicant at the p < 0:01 level unless otherwise indicated. Correlations with the MAB and its scales are signicant at the p < 0:05 level unless otherwise indicated.

Table 5 Comparison between inmate scores and Bar-Ons (1997) normative sample Scale EQ total Intrapersonal Interpersonal Adaptability Stress management General mood t 2.97 4.03 2.49 6.40 1.47 0.53 df 122.47 3947 122.6 3947 3947 122.35 p <0.01 <0.001 <0.05 <0.001 ns ns

The fourth hypothesis that oenders as a group would have lower scores than those of the normative sample was not supported. If it is true that individuals who make poor life decisions (i.e., engage in criminal activity) are lower in emotional intelligence than those who make good life decisions (i.e., choose not to engage in criminal activity), then the nding that oenders have scores equal to or higher than non-oenders presents a paradox. A potential explanation is that oenders demonstrate a high degree of social desirability in their responses. This however, is confounded by research that shows a signicant negative relationship between the BIDR and criminal risk indices (Mills & Kroner, submitted; Mills, Loza, & Kroner, 2003). In other words, as

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a group, oenders who demonstrate the least amount of socially desirable responding have the greater risk of re-oence. This intuitively paradoxical nding suggests that these high-risk individuals would respond to other measures (i.e., EQ-i) with the same low degree of socially desirable responding. Taken together, this suggests that correcting for socially desirable responding in oender scores in the same manner as for non-oenders to produce corrected clinical scores will not yield comparable results. As suggested by Mills et al. (2003) it appears that the items might hold dierent meaning for oenders in the way that they see themselves and in the way they report that information. Although dierent results might be obtained using a larger sample, the failure of oender scores to reect those of the normative sample suggests the need for oender norms distinct from nonoender norms. In regard to the type of measure used, although self-report is the most common and arguably the preferred method of measuring emotion (Diener, 2000; Watson, 2000), it may be insucient to gauge the level of intelligence governing emotion. Alternative measures that do not rely purely on self-report could be less susceptible to socially desirable responding and thereby yield dierent results when applied to an oender population. Further research in testing competing models of emotional intelligence that account for the potential inuence of socially desirable responding is recommended.

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