Emotional intelligence, perceived social support, and psychological adjustment among secondary school going adolescents in Uganda and Kenya

Abstract

Adolescence is characterized by many challenges that are physical, personal or social in nature. These challenges require the adolescent to be in a constant state of change and adjustment as they try to adapt effectively while still functioning efficiently. The psychological adjustment of adolescents is affected by various factors such as their emotional intelligence, and the quality and quantity of their social resources. However, this has not been researched widely in Sub Saharan Africa. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between emotional intelligence, perceived social support and psychological adjustment of school going adolescents in Uganda and Kenya. A quantitative approach was used to collect data from a sample of 224 adolescents (48.7% female) in their second or third year of secondary school education. Self-report measures were used to assess for emotional intelligence, perceived social support, satisfaction with life, depression and anxiety. Data was analyzed using Pearson’s correlation, Process macro and ANOVA. Results showed significant relationship between emotional intelligence and satisfaction with life, perceived social support and satisfaction with life, depression and anxiety, and emotional intelligence and perceived social support. In conclusion, despite having moderate to high levels of emotional intelligence and perceived social support, 46.6% of adolescents still reported moderate to severe depression and 35.2% reported moderate to severe anxiety levels. Further research is needed to gain an in-depth understanding into the factors leading to high internalizing symptoms in this study population. Timely and effective interventions are recommended to support adolescents with poor psychological adjustment in order to alleviate their symptoms and improve their overall well-being.