Abstract

Trait emotional intelligence (EI) has been consistently associated with academic achievement, yet most empirical work has used global EI scores rather than examining how its four dimensions (well-being, self-control, emotionality, and sociability) contribute differentially. The present study addresses this gap through a dimensional analysis of trait EI as a correlate of English language achievement in a sample of 666 Saudi undergraduate students. Participants completed the Short Form of the Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire (TEIQue-SF), and their final English course grades served as the measure of language achievement. Global trait EI correlated positively with achievement (r = 0.32), and the four dimensions jointly accounted for 16.6% of the variance, more than the 10.5% accounted for by the global score alone. Emotionality showed the strongest unique association with achievement (β = 0.35), followed by self-control (β = 0.13), while the well-being coefficient was negative in the unadjusted dimensional model (β = −0.14). After adjustment for gender, age, and academic major, emotionality and self-control remained the only significant EI dimension-level correlates of grade. Overall, the findings support reporting trait EI at both global and dimensional levels, with the strongest interpretation placed on emotionality and self-control.

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