The modified Chinese version of Wong and Law Emotional Intelligence Scale for measurement of emotional health: revision and psychometric evaluation

doi:10.12122/j.issn.1673-4254.2025.10.15

Abstract

Abstract:

Objective To revise and evaluate the psychometric properties of the Chinese version of the Wong and Law's Emotional Intelligence Scale (WLEIS). Methods The 11 items of the original WLEIS were modified to form the WLEIS-CR, with the Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale (GAD-7), 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), and Flourishing Scale (FS) as the validity criteria. A total of 1546 adult participants were evaluated using all these scales, and a retest was conducted among 192 college students to assess the item discrimination, reliability, validity and measurement invariance of the modified WLEIS-CR. Results All the 16 items of the modified WLEIS-CR demonstrated good discriminative power (r=0.570 -0.764, P<0.001). The structural equation model from a confirmatory factor analysis showed excellent fit indices (χ²/df=4.610, GFI=0.965, PGFI=0.674, RMR=0.028, NFI=0.975, CFI=0.980, RMSEA=0.048). The criterion-related validity of the modified WLEIS-CR with FS, GAD-7, and PHQ-9 was 0.674, -0.347, and -0.368, respectively (P<0.001). The internal consistency (Cronbach's α) was 0.913 for the total scale and ranged from 0.867 to 0.916 for the subscales. The split-half reliability was 0.956 for the total scale and 0.865-0.924 for the subscales. Test-retest reliability was 0.701 for the total scale and 0.610-0.684 for the subscales. Normative interpretation criteria were established: 7.6% of participants had "low", 19.3% had "below average", 22.3% had "moderate", 34.3% had "above average", and 16.5% had "very high" emotional intelligence. The scale demonstrated a good measurement invariance across gender, identity, and age groups. Conclusion The modified WLEIS-CR has good reliability, validity and measurement invariance, and is suitable for evaluating emotional intelligence of Chinese adults to assess their emotional health.

Key words: emotional health, emotional intelligence, Wong and Law's Emotional Intelligence Scale, reliability, validity, measurement invariance

Rong XIAO, Xia LÜ. The modified Chinese version of Wong and Law Emotional Intelligence Scale for measurement of emotional health: revision and psychometric evaluation[J]. Journal of Southern Medical University, 2025, 45(10): 2191-2198.

Figures/Tables 9

References 44

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Item	Item score (n=1546)	Low score group (n=458)	High score group (n=589)	t	Correlation with total score
Q1	3.76±0.75	3.07±0.67	4.25±0.5	32.664***	0.731***
Q2	3.82±0.77	3.07±0.73	4.34±0.51	33.052***	0.764***
Q3	3.87±0.77	3.18±0.75	4.36±0.54	28.471***	0.727***
Q4	3.95±0.76	3.32±0.77	4.38±0.52	25.303***	0.679***
Q5	3.9±0.72	3.33±0.73	4.34±0.54	24.854***	0.685***
Q6	3.86±0.82	3.27±0.79	4.37±0.59	25.049***	0.637***
Q7	3.83±0.83	3.29±0.8	4.29±0.64	22.051***	0.570***
Q8	3.76±0.81	3.16±0.73	4.27±0.63	26.454***	0.645***
Q9	3.41±0.91	2.71±0.71	4.01±0.71	29.145***	0.634***
Q10	3.53±0.92	2.75±0.76	4.17±0.63	32.372***	0.702***
Q11	3.61±0.9	2.83±0.74	4.21±0.66	31.909***	0.694***
Q12	3.8±0.81	3.1±0.76	4.29±0.6	28.365***	0.698***
Q13	3.68±0.82	2.92±0.66	4.25±0.57	35.059***	0.743***
Q14	3.7±0.83	2.93±0.72	4.29±0.55	34.673***	0.755***
Q15	3.6±0.86	2.91±0.72	4.18±0.63	30.344***	0.677***
Q16	3.6±0.86	2.86±0.7	4.21±0.61	33.122***	0.717***

Item	Item score (n=1546)	Low score group (n=458)	High score group (n=589)	t	Correlation with total score
Q1	3.76±0.75	3.07±0.67	4.25±0.5	32.664***	0.731***
Q2	3.82±0.77	3.07±0.73	4.34±0.51	33.052***	0.764***
Q3	3.87±0.77	3.18±0.75	4.36±0.54	28.471***	0.727***
Q4	3.95±0.76	3.32±0.77	4.38±0.52	25.303***	0.679***
Q5	3.9±0.72	3.33±0.73	4.34±0.54	24.854***	0.685***
Q6	3.86±0.82	3.27±0.79	4.37±0.59	25.049***	0.637***
Q7	3.83±0.83	3.29±0.8	4.29±0.64	22.051***	0.570***
Q8	3.76±0.81	3.16±0.73	4.27±0.63	26.454***	0.645***
Q9	3.41±0.91	2.71±0.71	4.01±0.71	29.145***	0.634***
Q10	3.53±0.92	2.75±0.76	4.17±0.63	32.372***	0.702***
Q11	3.61±0.9	2.83±0.74	4.21±0.66	31.909***	0.694***
Q12	3.8±0.81	3.1±0.76	4.29±0.6	28.365***	0.698***
Q13	3.68±0.82	2.92±0.66	4.25±0.57	35.059***	0.743***
Q14	3.7±0.83	2.93±0.72	4.29±0.55	34.673***	0.755***
Q15	3.6±0.86	2.91±0.72	4.18±0.63	30.344***	0.677***
Q16	3.6±0.86	2.86±0.7	4.21±0.61	33.122***	0.717***

Fator	Total Score	SEA	OEA	UOE	ROE
SEA	0.833***	1
OEA	0.714***	0.515***	1
UOE	0.805***	0.563***	0.382***	1
ROE	0.811***	0.586***	0.379***	0.578***	1

Fator	Total Score	SEA	OEA	UOE	ROE
SEA	0.833***	1
OEA	0.714***	0.515***	1
UOE	0.805***	0.563***	0.382***	1
ROE	0.811***	0.586***	0.379***	0.578***	1

Item	Total score	SEA	OEA	UOE	ROE
Well-being	0.674***	0.553***	0.348***	0.669***	0.552***
Anxiety	-0.347***	-0.345***	-0.084***	-0.289***	-0.376***
Depression	-0.368***	-0.350***	-0.079***	-0.360***	-0.370***