When feeling too much hurts: emotional intelligence profiles and their implications for mental health

Emotional intelligence (EI) has been consistently linked to mental health outcomes. Adequate attention to feelings, emotional clarity, and emotional repair characterize emotionally intelligent individuals. Whereas emotional clarity and emotional repair are positively associated with mental health and act as protective factors, the role of emotional attention remains less clear. Evidence suggests its relationship with mental health may depend on other emotional abilities, highlighting the need to examine EI profiles rather than isolated dimensions. This study explored the relationship between EI dimensions and mental health using a person-centered approach through cluster analysis. A total of 2578 Spanish adults (M age = 37.20; range = 18–79 years; 50.3% women) completed the TMMS and the MH-5 scale. Cluster analysis identified distinct EI profiles. Individuals with higher overall EI reported better mental health than those with lower overall EI. However, profiles characterized by high emotional attention appeared to be beneficial for mental health only when accompanied by high levels of emotional clarity and repair. These findings underscore the importance of balanced emotional competencies in prevention and intervention efforts.