The relationship between emotional intelligence, perfectionism, and anxietyemotional anxiety

Abstract

This paper is dedicated to determine the relationship between emotional intelligence, perfectionism and trait anxiety by conducting relevant research and analyzing the issue. The paper provides definitions of the concepts of emotional intelligence, perfectionism and trait anxiety; especially, their role in human life and professional career, the factors which affect them and the connection between them, etc.
Emotional intelligence is especially important when dealing with various stressful situations and changes. In such situations, perfectionists constantly experience a sense of tension. despite this, perfectionists still strive
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for difficult or unattainable goals. They measure their self-esteem by productivity and achievements. Empathy, the ability to understand and share the feelings of others, is an important component of emotional intelligence. Perfectionists intense to focus on their own achievements and shortcomings can inhibit their ability to empathize.
Also, perfectionists tend to set unrealistically high standards for themselves, which can lead to chronic self-criticism and dissatisfaction. The constant pursuit of perfection destroys their emotional well-being. Instead of acknowledging and accepting their emotions, perfectionists often deny or suppress them, just to avoid the discomfort of feeling imperfect. Perfectionists often put pressure on themselves to achieve unrealistic goals, which often leads to frustration and anxiety.
Due to the modern lifestyle, everyone experiences anxiety on a daily basis. But anxiety, which is excessive, exceeds the individual’s resources and becomes impossible to cope with, becomes a problem that can impair the individual’s ability to act.
The purpose of the present study was to determine the relationship between emotional intelligence (personality trait model), trait anxiety, adaptive and maladaptive factors of perfectionism. The research is quantitative and used the correlation method. 111 people, whose age ranged from 19 to 55 years, took part in the research.
The study found that maladaptive perfectionism was positively correlated with trait anxiety and negatively correlated with both, the global indicator of emotional intelligence and its four factors. Adaptive perfectionism did not have a reliable correlation with trait anxiety and the emotionality factor of emotional intelligence. Also, the study confirmed the hypothesis, according to which, trait anxiety is negatively correlated with both, the global indicator of emotional intelligence and its four factors. The study also found that only two factors of emotional intelligence (self-control; well-being) negatively predicted personal anxiety. The maladaptive factor of perfectionism positively predicted trait anxiety.