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Abstract
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This study's purpose was to explore the relationship between emotional intelligence (EI)
and motor competence (MC) in 540 children, adolescents, and young adults. Using the
Schutte Self-Report Emotional Intelligence Scale (SSEIT), participants were divided in three
groups of high, average, and low EI. The short form of Bruininks–Oseretsky Test for Motor
Proficiency – 2 (BOTMP-2SF) evaluated MC. Within each age and sex group, associations
between MC and a) EI as a global construct and b) the four subdomains of EI were overall
significant (with p < .01 for 85 out of 90 correlations) and very strong (with 66 correlations
> .60). A 3 (EI groups) x 3 (age groups) x 2 (sex) ANOVA on standardized overall MC scores
revealed that in all age groups, participants with higher EI outperformed their peers with
average and low EI with respect to MC (p < .001). Additionally, boys scored higher on MC
tests compared to girls (p < .001). A third-order interaction effect (p < .001) revealed that
boys’ superiority in MC generally decreased from childhood to adulthood, especially in
the low EI group. The outcomes of this study show a robust relationship between EI and
MC from childhood through early adulthood, suggesting a novel MC correlate throughout
the lifespan.
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