The impact of emotional intelligence on depression among international students studying in China: The mediating effect of acculturative stress

Abstract Psychological resources such as emotional intelligence are claimed to act as protective factors against negative psychological adjustment outcomes of acculturative stress and depression for international students in their intercultural transition in the host country despite the dearth of substantial empirical evidence. With this in mind, the study was conducted to investigate the relationships between emotional intelligence, acculturative stress and depression. The study recruited international university students (N = 506) who were purposefully drawn from seven Chinese universities located in Wuhan. Participants completed three self-report questionnaires: Emotional Intelligence Scale, Acculturative Stress for International Students scale and Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale. The result of the study revealed that students with a higher level of acculturative stress were found to have greater depressive symptoms. The study also indicated that emotionally intelligent students were likely to experience a lower level of acculturative stress and fewer depressive symptoms. The finding of the study further suggested that students with a higher level of emotional intelligence were likely to experience a lower level of acculturative stress and consequently appeared less depressed. Findings of the present study may assist university communities to have an insight into the nature of emotional intelligence and its impact on acculturative stress and depression, and then make the best use of this insight to work on facilitating the psychological adaptation of international students in the new environment. Implications, limitations, and future research directions for the study are discussed.