Prevalence of Emotional Intelligence Among Junior High Students: Implications for Guidance and Counseling

Abstract

Emotional intelligence plays a vital role in shaping adolescents’ personal, social, and academic adjustment, influencing their capacity to recognize, manage, and express emotions effectively. Despite its importance, research exploring the prevalence of emotional intelligence among junior high school students in Indonesia remains limited. Addressing this gap, this study offers baseline descriptive data on the level of emotional intelligence in the Indonesian junior high school context. The study aims to describe the emotional intelligence levels among students at a public junior high school in Yogyakarta City. A descriptive quantitative design was employed to provide an overview of students’ emotional intelligence prevalence. The population in this study consisted of all students at the selected school, while the sample comprised 270 students aged 12 to 15 years. The sample size was determined using the Slovin formula, and participants were selected using the Simple Random Sampling technique to ensure equal representation. Data were collected using an emotional intelligence scale developed based on Goleman’s theoretical framework and analyzed through descriptive statistics, categorized according to Azwar’s standard deviation formula. The findings revealed that most students demonstrated a moderate level of emotional intelligence, highlighting the need for further emotional development efforts in school settings. These results provide empirical insights for guidance and counseling practitioners to design contextual and preventive programs that foster students’ emotional growth and interpersonal competence