AUTHOR=Zoghlami Wael , Hawani Aymen , Khiari Hyem , Mnedla Sofiene , Marsigliante Santo , Elloumi Ali , Muscella Antonella 

TITLE=The relationship between emotional intelligence, anxiety, and performance in physical education and sport students

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Psychology

VOLUME=14

YEAR=2023

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1236070

DOI=10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1236070

ISSN=1664-1078

ABSTRACT=<p>Emotional intelligence (EI) has been recently the main target in research on sports psychology. The objectives of this study were to investigate the relation between self-report measures of emotional intelligence, pre-competitive anxiety, and performance among students during the physical education exam of the high school final year. This cross-sectional study was conducted on a sample of 350 students attending the physical education exam in the year 2021–2022. Analysis of the correlations between the scores of Emotional intelligence and anxiety showed that self-confidence was positively correlated with all dimensions of Emotional intelligence (Beta = 0.524; <italic>p</italic> = 0.000). Multivariate linear regression analysis showed that the most related items to performance were self-confidence in a positive direction (<italic>r</italic> = 0.56; <italic>p</italic> = 0.000) and negatively with somatic anxiety (<italic>r</italic> = −0, 39; <italic>p</italic> = 0.000). Considering the Emotional intelligence subscales, hetero-emotional management was significantly positively associated with performance (<italic>p</italic> = 0.000) however emotional perception was negatively correlated with performance (<italic>p</italic> = 0.003). These results demonstrate the importance of social and emotional learning programs for improving self-confidence and better management of emotions during physical education and sports.</p>