The Role of Emotional Intelligence in Predicting Peer Relationships in Adolescents

The aim of the research is to determine how much peer relationships are explained by emotional intelligence in adolescents. For this purpose, 539 (283 female+256 male) adolescent individuals participated in the study. “Personal Information Form”, “Trait Emotional Intelligence—Adolescent Questionnaire Short Form (TEIQue-ASF)” and “Friendship Qualities Scale” were used as data collection tools in the research. The data collected online were coded and transferred to the SPSS program, and descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation and Regression techniques were used in statistical analysis. In the study, the level of significance was taken as p < .001. According to the results of the analysis, it was determined that there was a positive, significant and low-level correlation between emotional intelligence and peer relationships (r = .283, p = .000). As a result of the regression analysis, in Model 1, TEIQue-ASF explained 7.8% of the total variance of Friendship Qualities; In Model 2, on the other hand, TEIQue-ASF explained 12.7% of the total variance regarding Friendship Qualities, the variables of gender and playing in the school team. As a result, it can be said that emotional intelligence is an important factor for peer relationships in adolescents.


Research Model
The research was designed with the "correlational survey model", which is one of the quantitative approaches. The correlational survey model is expressed as studies in which "the relationship between two or more variables is examined without intervening in any way" (Büyüköztürk et al., 2013).

Research Group
The research group consists of 539 (283 female + 256 male) adolescents determined by convenience sampling method. Information about the students is given in Table 1. When the demographic information of the participants whose percentage values were higher than the other groups were analyzed, it was determined that 52.5% were male, 32.4% were 13 years old, and 54.5% were in school teams.

Data Collection Tools
"Personal Information Form", "Trait Emotional Intelligence-Adolescent Questionnaire Short Form (TEIQue-ASF)" and "Friendship Qualities Scale" were used as data collection tools. Detailed information about data collection tools is given below. ISSN 2377-22632022

Personal Information Form
In order to determine some demographic information of the students, the "Personal Information Form" created by the researchers was used. In this form, it is aimed to reach information such as gender, age and digital game playing time of students.
In the analysis made within the scope of this research, information about the scale is given in Table 2. It is seen that the total average score of the participants from the TEIQue-ASF scale is 5.01. The Cronbach Alpha reliability coefficient of the scales was calculated as .70. The fact that the skewness and kurtosis values are in the range of ±1 provides the necessary prerequisite for the normal distribution.

Friendship Qualities Scale
Developed by Bukowski, Hoza, and Boivin (1994) and adapted into Turkish by Atik, Çoban, Çok, Doğam, and Karaman (2014), the Friendship Qualities Scale (FQS) consists of 22 items and five sub-dimensions (together, conflict, help, protection, closeness). The Cronbach Alpha internal consistency coefficient of the scale was found to be .85. The conflict sub-dimension is scored in reverse in the scale. It is highly scored. In the analysis made within the scope of this research, information about the scale is given in Table 3. ISSN 2377-22632022  It is seen that the total average score of the participants from the Friendship Qualities Scale (FQS) is 3.60. The Cronbach Alpha reliability coefficient of the scale was calculated as .84. The fact that the skewness and kurtosis values are in the range of ±1 provides the necessary prerequisite for the normal distribution.

Data Collection
The questions in the research were made ready by transferring them to the online environment via Google forms. At the beginning of the form, detailed explanations about the purpose and importance of the research were given, and a voluntary participation consent button was added. Data were collected from students who read the information given and voluntarily agreed to participate in the research. In order to collect the data, necessary permissions were obtained from the authorities and the parent consent form was filled.

Data Analysis
The data collected in the online environment were coded and transferred to the SPSS program and the normality distribution was examined. In the analyzes made, the skewness and kurtosis values of the data were taken into account and it was determined that the values obtained were in the range of -1, … +1. These values were accepted as suitable for normal distribution (Tabachnick & Fidell, 2013). Descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation and Regression technique were used in statistical analysis. In the study, the level of significance was taken as p < .001.

Results
In this part of the study, the relations between the variables were tested and the effects of the variables of emotional intelligence, gender and participation in sports in the school team on peer relations were examined.
The results of the correlation analysis performed to determine the relationships between the variables are given in the table below.  ISSN 2377-22632022 According to the results in Table 5, it was determined that there was a positive, significant and low-level relationship between FQS and TEIQue-ASF (r = .283, p = .000).

Journal of Educational Issues
A multiple regression analysis was conducted on how much the variables of TEIQue-ASF and playing in the school team explained FQS, and the results are given below.

Discussion
Considering the important role that peer relationships play in social and emotional development, emotional intelligence is thought to be important. The following results were obtained in the study examining the effect of emotional intelligence on peer relations.
It has been determined that there is a positive, significant and low level relationship between emotional intelligence and peer relations. When similar studies with our sample group were examined, a positive relationship was found between emotional intelligence and positive social qualities such as higher academic achievement, better peer relations, and leadership (Agnoli et al., 2012;Andrei et al., 2015;Banjac et al., 2016). It supported the utility of emotional intelligence in predicting criteria related to health and socio-emotional well-being in child, adolescent and adult samples (Andrei et al., 2014). Adolescents with low emotional intelligence show that they are more likely to be exposed to peer bullying (Baroncelli & Ciucci, 2014;Lamos et al., 2012). There are studies showing that emotional intelligence acts ISSN 2377-22632022 as a buffer against individuals who are exposed to peer bullying (Davis & Humphrey, 2012;Extremera et al., 2018). It has been determined that emotional intelligence can be a promising area for children's emotional problems and their relationships with their peers (Mateu-Martinez, 2017). A defining aspect of psychosocial adjustment in present and future life includes peer relationships (Domitrovich et al., 2017). Social acceptance and harmony among friends are associated with well-being, increased school performance, and high self-esteem (Wentzel et al., 2003). Yurdakavuştu (2012) found a significant difference in emotional intelligence levels according to the gender of the students, whether they participate in activities or not, and their socioeconomic status. A moderate, positive and significant relationship was found between emotional intelligence and social skills.

Journal of Educational Issues
Sports experiences are emotional in nature. Winning and losing, surpassing yourself through performance, or recovering from an injury can all lead to different emotions. Emotions are inherent in competition and significantly affect performance (Arribas-Galarraga et al., 2017;Magrum et al., 2019). Sports experience activates emotions and considering that individuals react differently to these experiences, it may be a possible mechanism for the development of emotional intelligence (Campo et al., 2016). Berry (2013), in his thesis study, which examined the four branches of the ability model of emotional intelligence (perceiving emotions, using emotions, understanding emotions and managing emotions), team commitment (task, social and general), and team performance disaggregated by gender, emotional intelligence was only classified according to gender. It has been determined that when arranged according to gender, it has a significant effect on social team commitment, other relationships are not statistically significant when arranged according to gender, and there is a significant relationship between emotional intelligence, team commitment and team performance.

Conclusion
As a result, it is thought that being on the school team has a predictive power on school adjustment and social acceptance, as well as on peer relations. The current study is thought to be important for the development of emotional intelligence, participation in the school team, gaining a sense of belonging and supporting peer relations. Emotional intelligence programs can encourage the development of one's own emotional understanding and peer relationships. More work could be done to more deeply understand the relationships between school team experience and emotional intelligence.