Emotional intelligence and calling among police cadets: Cross-sectional indirect associations through emotion regulation and psychological well-being

Grounded in Conservation of Resources (COR) theory, this study examined whether emotion regulation (ER) and psychological well-being (PWB) statistically accounted for indirect associations between emotional intelligence (EI) and calling among 529 Chinese police cadets. Using cross-sectional survey data and structural equation modeling, EI was positively associated with calling directly and indirectly through ER, through PWB, and through the hypothesized ordering of ER and PWB. The PWB-only indirect estimate was numerically the largest, and the direct association remained significant.

Because all variables were assessed at one time point, these indirect associations do not establish temporal ordering or causality. The pattern is consistent with a COR-based account in which higher EI co-occurs with greater reported ER, PWB, and calling. These findings identify emotional competencies, well-being, and occupational meaning as candidate targets for future longitudinal and intervention research in police-academy settings.

The authors thank the Police Cadets who volunteered to participate. This research was supported by the Beijing Police College (Grant No. 2025JZD02 to W.L.), the Youth Project of Humanities and Social Sciences Research, Ministry of Education of China (Grant No. 25YJCZH013 to X.C.), and Northwest Normal University (Grant No. NWNU-LKQN2025-25 to X.C.).

Kai Bao and Shicun Xu contributed equally to this work. Teaching Section of Police Sports, Beijing Police College, Beijing, 102202, China Kai Bao, Weicai Li, Yingwei Song, Xinfeng Liu, Qingxin Ning & Yinan Li Section of Police Sports, Henan Police College, Zhengzhou, 450046, China College of Physical Education, Northwest Normal University, Lanzhou, 730070, China The authors declare no competing interests. Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

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To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. Bao, K., Xu, S., Li, W. et al. Emotional intelligence and calling among police cadets: Cross-sectional indirect associations through emotion regulation and psychological well-being.