How Does Social Support and Emotional Intelligence Enhance Life Satisfaction Among Adolescents? A Mediational Analysis Study

INTRODUCTION: The decline in life satisfaction throughout adolescence has led research to focus on variables that facilitate life satisfaction, such as social support and trait emotional intelligence. However, the relationship dynamics between the main sources of social support (family, friends and teachers), trait emotional intelligence (emotional attention, clarity and repair), and life satisfaction have yet to be elucidated. OBJECTIVE: Therefore, the aim of this study is to test and compare a set of structural models that integrate these three variables. METHODS: A sample of 1397 middle school students (48% males, 52% females) with age range 12–16 years (M = 13.88, SD = 1.27) was selected. RESULTS: The data showed that trait emotional intelligence significantly mediated the effect of the social support network on life satisfaction, highlighting the greater contribution of family support, emotional clarity, and emotional repair as enabling factors of adolescent well-being. DISCUSSION: Psychoeducational and social implications of these results are discussed.