Emotional intelligence predicting ego integrity in healthy older adults.

Objectives: A characteristic task in aging is the process of reevaluating and reflecting on one's life in order to give it meaning. The successful resolution of this task is defined as ego-integrity, and it is related to various psychological phenomena that foster the person's adaptation to change. The objective was to adapt an ego-integrity scale in a sample of older adults and study the relationships between emotional intelligence, coping strategies, and mood to find out whether they are predictors of ego-integrity.

Methods: The sample included 401 healthy older adults (241 women; ages 65-95,  = 73.69, SD = 6.83). Statistical analyses included structural equation models. Northwestern Ego-integrity Scale 9-item was tested showing that a structure with two unrelated factors fitted the data well. The internal consistency was satisfactory (.82 integrity and .72 despair).

Results: Emotional intelligence positively predicted problem-focused adaptive coping strategies (problem solving and positive reassessment) and negatively predicted state of mind (depression and hopelessness), whereas adaptive coping positively predicted integrity, and mood predicted it negatively.

Conclusion: Emotional intelligence skills, adaptive coping strategies, and mood largely determine the successful resolution of the ego integrity conflict and are relevant resources in successful aging.