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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Psychol.
Sec. Personality and Social Psychology
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1421484
This article is part of the Research TopicPersonal Competences in the Academic and Work Environment: Advancing Towards Psychological WellbeingView all 9 articles
HEXACO Traits, Emotional Intelligence, and Mental Health: Evidence from Chinese Music Education and Implications for Personality-Stress Interactions
Provisionally accepted- Fuyang Normal University, Fuyang, China
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This study examines the intricate relationship between HEXACO personality dimensions, specifically honesty-humility (H-H), emotional intelligence, stress, and mental health, within the context of music education in China. Utilizing the PROCESS Procedure for SPSS, developed by Andrew F. Hayes, we analyzed data from a sample of 746 music students aged 18 to 35 years, enrolled in undergraduate to graduate-level programs. The mediational model (Model 15) identified trait emotional intelligence as the mediator (M), with stress as the independent variable (X) and mental health as the dependent variable (Y), while considering honesty-humility as a moderating variable (W). Our findings demonstrate that trait emotional intelligence significantly mediates the effect of stress on mental health, with the H-H dimension moderating this mediation, thereby enhancing the protective effect of emotional intelligence against stress-induced negative mental health outcomes. These results suggest practical applications for music education, indicating that integrating emotional intelligence training into curricula could be beneficial for improving stress management and mental health among students. Furthermore, recognizing honesty-humility as a moderating factor highlights the importance of developing tailored support strategies to address the unique pressures faced by music students, thereby fostering a more supportive educational environment that is conducive to both academic achievement and personal growth.
Keywords: Hexaco personality traits, Emotional Intelligence, stress management, Mental Health, music education
Received: 22 Apr 2024; Accepted: 07 Apr 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Jing. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Jing Jing, Fuyang Normal University, Fuyang, China
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