The Predictive Power of Emotional Intelligence in Cyberbullying among Jordanian University Students

Abstract

The present study aimed to identify the predictive power of emotional intelligence in cyber violence among Jordanian university students. The researcher constructed the Cyber Violence Scale and translated the Emotional Intelligence Scale developed by Richa Jain (2015). Both scales had the appropriate indices of validity and reliability. The study sample consisted of 444 university students who participated from eight different courses to fulfill the requirements of the general college at Al-Balqa' Applied University in Jordan during the first semester of the 2016-2017 academic year. After collecting and analyzing the data, the following results emerged: The calculated mean of cyber violence among students of Al-Balqa' Applied University was 2.74 with a standard deviation of 1.32, which indicates that the level of cyber violence is in the moderate range. The overall level of emotional intelligence as well as the secondary dimensions of emotional intelligence (social skills, self-awareness, self-motivation, emotional regulation, empathy) were in the high range among students of Al-Balqa' Applied University. There was a negative correlation between the overall level of emotional intelligence dimensions as well as the secondary dimensions of emotional intelligence (self-awareness, emotional regulation, self-motivation, empathy, social skills) and cyber violence. Emotional intelligence dimensions accounted for 18% of cyber violence. Self-motivation and emotional regulation were the two most significant predictors of cyber violence.