Validation of the Arabic version of the Assessing Emotions Scale measuring emotional intelligence in a Lebanese sample

Abstract

<p>The objective of this study was to assess the psychometric characteristics of the Arabic version of the Assessing EmotionsScale (AES-Ar) among a sample of Lebanese young adults. A total of 402 Lebanese university students and their contacts were recruited for the study. A confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) investigated the structure of the scale. The CFA for investigating a four-factor solution using all items showed the fit indices were acceptable (<i>χ2/df</i>=1803.15/489=3.69; RMSEA=0.082 [0.078–0.086]; CFI=0.88; TLI=0.87) but the loading of the negatively worded items 5, 28 and 33 were low on their respective factors. When testing the four-factor model after removing items 5, 28 and 33, the results improved further with good fit indices of the model (<i>χ2/df</i>=1383.184/399=3.46, RMSEA=0.078 [0.074–0.0832], CFI=0.91and TLI=0.90) and good factor loading of each item on each factor, respectively. No measurement invariance was found between genders. The AES-Ar Cronbach’sαwas excellent (0.976). Higher Assessing Emotions Scale-Ar scores, based on the 30 positively worded items, were significantly associated with greater self-esteem (<i>r=</i>.547;<i>p</i>.001), and less depression (<i>r=</i>−.295;<i>p</i>.001). Our results suggest that the AES-Ar is appropriate for use to measure emotional intelligence in Arabic-speaking populations.</p>