State of the Art in Interventions Assessing Trait Emotional Intelligence

Trait Emotional Intelligence (trait EI), also known as trait emotional self-efficacy, is a personality trait that consisting of a constellation of emotional self-perceptions grouped under four main factors: Emotionality, Self-Control, Sociability, and Well-being. Over the past 25 years, thanks to the leading instrument of trait EI – trait emotional intelligence questionnaire (TEIQue) - with several forms available for different purposes and developmental ages, the study of the construct has grown to investigate its possible protective role in the well-being of individuals, in several context (e.g., work, education, healthcare, clinical). Given the importance of the development and application of interventions for a positive change in individuals, we aim to provide an overview of the current literature on training plans/therapies aimed at increasing trait EI in individuals to promote mental health by conducting a scoping review following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. A search was conducted in PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, APA PsychArticles, and PsychINFO in February 2025, and 9 studies were identified. The studies reviewed provide evidence from many types of interventions and therapies, such as analytical psychodrama, a mindfulness intervention, wilderness therapy, psychotherapy and cognitive behavioural group approaches, for both adolescents and adults. While most studies showed that TEIQue scores increased after the interventions, a small number of studies did not show results to support this trend. The results will be discussed in detail with regard to the differences between the interventions under review, and possible directions for future application will be identified.