Background: The Wong and Law Emotional Intelligence Scale (WLEIS)
is a self-report emotional intelligence scale based on the theoretical
framework of Mayer & Salovey (1997). The aim of this study was to
examine the psychometric properties of the Spanish version of the Wong
and Law Emotional Intelligence Scale (WLEIS; Wong & Law, 2002) in
a large sample of 1,460 adults (815 women and 645 men) ranging from
17 to 64 years old (M = 33.27, SD = 11.60). Method: The scale was
back-translated and participants completed a battery of questionnaires
including the Spanish WLEIS (WLEIS-S), perceived stress scale,
subjective happiness scale, life satisfaction scale, and suicide behavioural
questionnaire. Results: The results provided evidence of adequate
internal consistency and criterion validity consistent with the original
version. Confi rmatory factor analysis showed a four-factor structure with
good fi t. Finally, gender differences were found in the overall EI score and
on the appraising the emotion of others dimension, with women scoring
higher than men. Conclusions: Overall our results provide evidence that
the WLEIS-S might be a promising tool for the assessment emotional
intelligence in the Spanish context.
