Emotional intelligence: impact on post-secondary academic achievement

This research examined the simultaneous influences of emotional intelligence, adjustment to university, authoritative versus other parenting style, and high school average on first year university students’ grade point average (GPA) via structural equation modeling. The participants were 299 first year students from the social science faculty at Laurentian University, Canada. The sample was comprised of 86 males (28.7 %) and 213 females (71 %); most students (96.7 %) were between the ages of 17 and 23. The results showed that high school average had a direct influence on first year university GPA. Emotional Intelligence was not directly associated with first year university GPA, but it was significantly associated with adjustment to university which in turn was significantly associated with the first year GPA. This tends to suggest that the influence of emotional intelligence on academic achievement may be mediated by adjustment to university. Furthermore, parenting style (authoritative versus other) had a significant influence on adjustment to university but not on emotional intelligence and university GPA. Students who came from families with authoritative parenting styles tended to be better adjusted than students who came from families with other parenting styles (authoritarian and permissive). Problem behaviors such as alcohol use, academic dishonesty and academic procrastination were found to have a negative influence on university GPA and adjustment to university. In conclusion, emotional intelligence and an authoritative parenting style are influential in enhancing adjustment to university which in turns affects academic achievement in university.