Relationship between Anxiety and depression: The Moderating role of Emotional Intelligence

Anxiety and depression frequently coexist in the same individual, either concurrently or at different times. A close relationship between anxiety and depression has been acknowledged since ancient times, and numerous studies show that the presence of an anxiety disorder is the single strongest risk factor for development of depression. Emotional Intelligence (EI) is emerged as the ability to control the emotions of one. It carries out accurate reasoning about emotions and to use emotions and emotional knowledge to enhance thought. The present study is designed to examine the relationship among the study variables, and to examine the moderating effect of emotional intelligence on anxiety and depression relationship. Sample for the study consisted of 200 participants drawn from Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra. The participants were assessed with Emotional Intelligence Scale, Beck Anxiety Inventory and Depression Scale. Results showed that emotional intelligence has significantly negative relationship with anxiety and depression. Anxiety is found to have positive relationship with depression. Hierarchical regression analysis revealed that emotional intelligence yielded significant moderating effect on the relationship of anxiety and depression.