A Study of Emotional Intelligence of High-Performance Athletes in Sri Lanka

Abstract

Emotional intelligence is a powerful psychological factor of every athlete, and it is considered a determinant of sports performance. Thus, the aim of the present study was to examine the relationship between the emotional intelligence of high-performance athletes on emotional self-awareness, emotional expression, emotional awareness of others, emotional reasoning, emotional self-management, and emotional self-control. A quantitative inquiry method was applied to conduct the study. The field survey of highperformance pool athletes in Sri Lanka generated 45 (n = 45) valid responses (response rate = 75%). Pre-tested two standardized questionnaires captured the responses on a five-point Likert scale. One questionnaire was “Genos Emotional Intelligence Inventory” to measure the emotional intelligence variables, and the other one was the “Schutte Emotional Intelligence Scale” to measure the emotional intelligence of highperformance athletes. Descriptive, correlation, and regression analysis techniques were used to analyze the collected data while hypotheses testing was based on the result of the multiple regression analysis. The gathered data were analyzed by considering a confidence interval of 0.95. The results indicated that emotional intelligence of highperformance athletes has a positive relationship with emotional reasoning (B = 0.318; p < 0.003), emotional self-control (B = 0.301; p < 0.002), and emotional awareness of others (B = 0.282; p < 0.003). The implications of the findings were not addressed by the previous studies. Generally, the findings of the study will be beneficial to all sports organizations and sport-related personalities to identify the importance of improving training and development programs and to update the knowledge and good moral principles which are a good fit for the athletes who want to increase their performance.