Emotional intelligence, negative interpretation bias, and loneliness
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Date
2025-12
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Publisher
University of New Brunswick
Abstract
Chronically lonely individuals tend to experience worse health and mental health outcomes than their non-lonely counterparts. Deficits in emotional skills and cognitive biases are implicated in the development and maintenance of chronic loneliness. Two such factors, emotional intelligence (EI), and negative interpretation bias (NIB) have been shown to be associated with chronic loneliness such that those with more NIB and less EI tend to experience more chronic loneliness. However, how these constructs interact have not been investigated. The present study aimed to characterize the relationships between NIB and EI and whether EI moderates the relationship between NIB and chronic loneliness. The relationship between family loneliness and NIB was shown to be significantly moderated by the individual’s level of ability EI. This was not the case for social or romantic loneliness. Furthermore, trait EI did not moderate any of these relationships. Potential mechanisms and recommendations for future research are discussed.
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Keywords
negative interpretation bias, chronic loneliness, emotional intelligence, trait emotional intelligence, ability emotional intelligence, mental health outcomes