Nicola Tinkler

Research has suggested that coping under pressure could be rooted in the ability to identify and manage one’s emotions. In this study, we investigated this hypothesis using cross-sectional data obtained from a sample of South African national and university level female field-hockey players (N = 60, Mage = 21.57, SD = 3.65). A correlational research design was adopted of which a pen-and-paper survey containing the Emotional Intelligence Scale and Athletic Coping Skills Inventory-28 was used to collect the data. Descriptive results exposed players to yield higher than average levels of total emotional intelligence and coping ability in sport with significant differences noted between the national and university level players in terms of their ability to manage their own emotions (p = 0.018), utilise emotions (p = 0.007, d = 0.74), coping with adversity (p = 0.002, d = 0.84), coachability (p < 0.01, d = 3.17), and overall coping ability (p < 0.01, d = 1.00). After controlling for the level of participation, hierarchical linear regression analyses confirmed the relationship between the study variables exposing total emotional intelligence to be a significant predictor of players’ ability to cope with adversity (β = 0.55, p = 0.006), concentrate (β = 0.43, p = 0.044), maintain confidence and achievement motivation (β = 0.42, p = 0.027), as well as overall coping ability (β = 0.28, p = 0.023). It was concluded that emotional intelligence may be a worthy contributor in the psychological profiling of players and a plausible intervention mapping tool in sport psychology practice to potentially enhance the coping ability of female field-hockey players.

Emotional intelligence is often associated with higher psychological functioning, leading to an increase in the awareness of psychological skills application in sports. We examined the relationship between emotional intelligence and psychological skills application among a sample of senior-level South African female field-hockey players (n = 60). Participants completed the Emotional Intelligence Scale (EIS) and the Psychological Skills Inventory (PSI). We utilised bivariate correlations to assess the relationship between variables and linear regression to predict players’ level of psychological skills application from emotional intelligence scores. Results indicated several significant correlations between the dimensions of emotional intelligence and players’ psychological skills. Further, emotional intelligence seems to be a significant predictor of mental rehearsal and total psychological skill scores. Emotional intelligence appears to be a potential facilitator of psychological skills application in high level field-hockey participation and performance.