THE ROLE OF EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE IN ENSURING CONSTRUCTIVE BEHAVIORAL STRATEGIES IN CONFLICT

Abstract

The article presents the results of an empirical study on the peculiarities of the relationship between the level of emotional intelligence development and an individual’s tendency to choose constructive behavioral strategies in conflict situations. The generalization of scientific approaches has confirmed that emotional intelligence is an integrative ability encompassing awareness, understanding, and regulation of emotions, which ensures the effectiveness of interpersonal interaction and adaptation. It has been empirically established that the overall level of emotional intelligence among the studied young men and women corresponds to a moderate level, indicating a sufficient development of basic emotional competencies. At the same time, the structure of emotional intelligence is uneven: intrapersonal components and empathy have been found to be the most developed, whereas emotional self-regulation and interpersonal interaction skills require further improvement. The analysis of conflict behavior strategies has shown that adolescence is characterized by the predominance of active response patterns, particularly a tendency toward competition, alongside an insufficient expression of strategies related to cooperation and flexibility (collaboration, compromise). This reflects age-related characteristics associated with self-assertion processes, identity formation, and the desire to defend one’s own position. The results of the correlation analysis have confirmed the presence of statistically significant relationships between components of emotional intelligence and conflict behavior styles. In particular, it has been revealed that higher levels of empathy, interpersonal emotional intelligence, and the ability to understand emotions are associated with a greater tendency to choose constructive strategies such as collaboration and compromise. In contrast, insufficient development of emotional self-regulation and intrapersonal emotional intelligence is associated with destructive response patterns, such as competition and avoidance, while a low level of emotional awareness is linked to a tendency toward accommodation. The proposed hypothesis has been empirically supported: the level of emotional intelligence development directly influences the choice of conflict behavior strategies in adolescence. A higher level of emotional intelligence determines an orientation toward constructive interaction models, whereas its insufficient development is associated with the use of less effective strategies.