THE EFFECTS OF PARENTAL ATTITUDE AND FAMILY FUNCTIONING ON EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE IN UNIVERSITY STUDENTS

Abstract

This research aims to examine the relationships between university students' emotional intelligence levels and parental attitudes and family functioning, which are familial factors, and to determine the effects of parental attitudes and family functioning on emotional intelligence. In the study, the family assessment device consisting of 60 items and seven subdimensions, the parental attitude scale with 40 items and three subscales, and the emotional quotient inventory consisting of 88 items and five dimensions were utilized for 505 university students. Regression analysis was applied to determine the relationships. The Newey–West algorithm was used to provide the assumptions in the regression model. According to the results of the regression analysis, if the perception of parental attitude increases by 1 unit, emotional intelligence will decrease by 0.187 units. If the perception of family functioning increases by 1 unit, emotional intelligence will decrease by 0.366 units. Family functioning was found to affect emotional intelligence more than parental attitude.  It was observed that a democratic parental attitude, which was regarded as a positive factor, only provided a basis for the formation of the ideal conditions required for the development of emotional intelligence in the family, but it was not adequate on its own. On the one hand, authoritarian and protective-demanding parental attitudes, which were regarded as negative factors, had a negative effect by interrupting the formation of even the basic conditions that would ensure the development of emotional intelligence in the family. On the other hand, it was determined that children’s emotional intelligence levels would increase as the open and direct communication in the family increased and the attitude developed in a positive direction. In future research, the study can be extended to different sample groups.