PSYCHOMETRIC PROPERTIES OF THE TMMS-24 EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE SCALE IN PERUVIAN UNIVERSITY STUDENTS

Pablo Fernández-Berrocal¹Vilma Vilca-Pareja^2*Maria Elena Rojas Zegarra³Manuel Edmundo Hillpa- Zuñiga⁴Victor Ritchar Yana-Calla³Rosario Cabello^5*

• ¹Department of Basic Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, University of Málaga,, Malaga, Spain
• ²Escuela de Posgrado de la Universidad Católica de Santa María, Arequipa 040101, Perú, Arequipa, Peru
• ³Universidad Nacional San Agustín de Arequipa, Arequipa, Peru
• ⁴Escuela Profesional de Ingeniería Comercial, Facultad de Ciencias Económico Administrativas, Universidad Católica de Santa María, Arequipa 040101, Perú, Arequipa, Peru
• ⁵Department of Developmental and Educational Psychology, Malaga, Spain

This study investigates the psychometric properties of the Spanish-adapted version of the Trait Meta-Mood Scale in Peruvian university students. University life presents significant challenges that can negatively impact students' mental health, increasing the prevalence of anxiety and depression. Emotional intelligence (EI) has been identified as a crucial protective factor in this context. The TMMS-24 is a widely used self-report instrument that assesses individuals' perceptions of their own EI, encompassing three dimensions: emotional attention, emotional clarity, and emotional regulation. The findings confirmed high reliability and internal consistency, with Cronbach's alpha coefficients exceeding 0.80 for all three subscales. Test-retest reliability, a novel finding in the Peruvian context, was significant, indicating good temporal stability. Confirmatory Factor Analysis supported the original three-dimensional structure (Attention, Clarity, and Repair). Construct validity was evidenced by factor loadings ranging from 0.32 to 0.85, which is consistent with previous research. Regarding gender differences, males reported significantly higher scores in emotional clarity and repair, while no significant differences were found in emotional attention. A positive correlation between cognitive reappraisal and EI and a negative correlation between suppression and EI supported convergent and discriminant validity. Furthermore, significant positive correlations were observed between all TMMS-24 dimensions and personality traits (Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Neuroticism, and Openness). These results provide evidence for the reliability and validity of the TMMS-24 for assessing perceived EI in Peruvian university students. These findings have significant implications for researchers and educational interventions in Peru and their impact on mental health and academic success in this population.