Perfiles de Inteligencia Emocional y Competencias Sociales: Relación con el Desempeño Académico.

Most of the studies that analyze the relationship between emotional intelligence (EI), social competencies (SC) and academic performance use a variable-centered approach, but recently the person-centered approach--which enables a richer and more holistic understanding of the individual-- is gaining popularity. In this study, this person-centered approach was used with the goal of identifying and describing the EI and SC profiles of primary students and their characteristics, as well as of exploring their relationship with academic performance. The participants were 251 primary school students from Madeira, Portugal. Both EI and SC were evaluated through the Emotional Comprehension Test, the Emotional Quotient Inventory, the Social Intelligence Cognitive Test, and the Social Skills Assessment Test. A latent profile analysis identified six profiles with different skills and levels of self-perception competence of EI and SC. The profiles characterized by a minimum of emotional and social skills and a high self-perception of their competencies presented a better academic performance in Portuguese. These results underscore the importance of considering how both the students' skills and their self-evaluation of competencies are combined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]