The moderating impact of emotional intelligence on free cortisol responses to stress
Abstract
The construct of trait emotional intelligence (trait EI) refers to the individual differences in the perception, processing, regulation and utilization of emotional information. Several studies have found that trait EI was a significant moderator of subjective responses (e.g., mood deterioration, emotional intensity, action tendencies, bodily sensations) to both natural and laboratory stressors. The present study aims at extending these findings by examining whether trait EI also moderates the biological (i.e., cortisol) response to stress. To this end, 56 participants were assigned to either a neutral or a stressful condition (public speech task) and psychological and cortisol reactivity were examined. Results revealed that higher trait EI scores were associated with significantly lower reactivity to stress at both psychological (i.e., mood deterioration) and biological (i.e., salivary cortisol) levels. Additional analyses revealed that trait EI had incremental validity to predict stress reactivity over and above social desirability, alexithymia and the five-factor model of personality.
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Higher trait EI scores are associated with lower hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis reactivity in stressful situations.
“The few available studies show, as hypothesized, that higher trait EI scores are associated with lower hypothalamicpituitary-adrenal axis reactivity in stressful situations (Mikolajczak, Roy, Luminet, Fillée, & de Timary, 2007).”
From Developments in Trait Emotional Intelligence Research (2016) · cites this paper as Mikolajczak, Roy, Luminet, Fillée, & de Timary, 2007
Trait EI is linked to lower cortisol secretion in stressful situations.
“Trait EI is linked to lower cortisol secretion in stressful situations (Laborde, Lautenbach, Allen, Herbert, & Achtzehn, 2014; Mikolajczak, Roy et al., 2007),”
From Developments in Trait Emotional Intelligence Research (2016) · cites this paper as Mikolajczak, Roy et al., 2007
Trait EI is a significant moderator of responses to stress.
“Trait EI was also a significant moderator of responses to stress”
From Increasing emotional intelligence: (How) is it possible? (2009) · cites this paper as Mikolajczak, Roy, Luminet, Fillée, & de Timary, 2007
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References 60 · Cited by 267
- Authors
- Mikolajczak, M., Roy, E., Luminet, O., Fillée, C., & de Timary, P.
- Affiliations
- Fund for Scientific Research (BE)
- UCLouvain (BE)
- Cliniques Universitaires Saint-Luc (BE)
- Corresponding author
- Mikolajczak, Moïra
- Venue
- Psychoneuroendocrinology
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2007-09
- Volume
- 32
- Issue
- 8-10
- Pages
- 1000-1012
- ISSN
- 0306-4530 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2116128215
- Cited by
- 267
- References
- 60
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2025: 6 · 2024: 11 · 2023: 15 · 2022: 12 · 2021: 19 · 2020: 21 · 2019: 21 · 2018: 24 · 2017: 15 · 2016: 20 · 2015: 15 · 2014: 19 · 2013: 13 · 2012: 9
- FWCI
- 13.27
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Psychoneuroendocrinology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Digital Access to Libraries (Université catholique de Louvain (UCL), l'Université de Namur (UNamur) and the Université Saint-Louis (USL-B)) (submittedVersion)
- Dépôt institutionnel de l'Université libre de Bruxelles (Université Libre de Bruxelles) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- Cliniques Universitaires Saint-Luc
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Emotional Intelligence and Performance
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Behavioral Neuroscience › Stress Responses and Cortisol
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Emotion and Mood Recognition
- Keywords
- trait emotional intelligence, stress reactivity, salivary cortisol, cortisol response, moderator effects, incremental validity, alexithymia, five-factor model of personality, social desirability
- MeSH terms
- Adaptation, Psychological, Adult, Affect, Affective Symptoms, Emotions, Female, Humans, Hydrocortisone, Intelligence, Male, Personality, Saliva, Social Desirability, Stress, Psychological
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