The indirect association of emotional intelligence with self-reported performance-related outcomes through psychological resilience in athletes

The aim of this study is to examine the relationships between emotional intelligence and self-reported performance-related outcomes (psychological performance and subjective athletic performance satisfaction) in athletes, and to evaluate the indirect role of psychological resilience in these relationships. The research was conducted using a quantitative, cross-sectional design. A total of 403 national-team athletes aged between 18 and 38 years voluntarily participated.

Data were collected through self-report measures of emotional intelligence, psychological resilience, psychological performance, and aggression, together with a visual analog scale assessing subjective athletic performance satisfaction. Direct and indirect associations were estimated using path analysis with observed composite scores. Statistical inference was based on 95% bias-corrected and accelerated (BCa) bootstrap confidence intervals obtained from 10,000 resamples, with aggression included as an auxiliary covariate.

Emotional intelligence was positively associated with psychological resilience (β = 0.586, 95% BCa CI [0.495, 0.670]), and psychological resilience was positively associated with psychological performance (β = 0.469, 95% BCa CI [0.368, 0.559]) and subjective athletic performance satisfaction (β = 0.170, 95% BCa CI [0.054, 0.286]). The adjusted direct associations of emotional intelligence with psychological performance (β = 0.013, 95% BCa CI [-0.093, 0.121]) and subjective athletic performance satisfaction (β = 0.117, 95% BCa CI [-0.004, 0.231]) were not supported because their confidence intervals included zero. Significant indirect associations through psychological resilience were observed for psychological performance (β = 0.275, 95% BCa CI [0.205, 0.354]) and subjective athletic performance satisfaction (β = 0.100, 95% BCa CI [0.032, 0.176]).

After accounting for aggression as an auxiliary covariate, the findings indicate that psychological resilience is an important statistical pathway linking emotional intelligence with self-reported performance-related outcomes. Because the study was cross-sectional, the results should be interpreted as directional associations rather than causal effects. Because all outcomes were self-reported with satisfaction assessed by a single item and the psychological performance measure showing mixed confirmatory factor analysis fit these associations should be interpreted with caution.

The authors thank Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, for supporting this work; full funding details are provided under Funding below. This study acknowledges the fund support from Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University Researchers Supporting Project number (PNURSP2026R424), Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Atatürk University, Faculty of Sport Sciences, Erzurum, Turkey Karabük University, Hasan Doğan Faculty of Sports Sciences, Karabük, Turkey Department of Physical Education and Sport Science, Siirt University, Siirt, Turkey Department of Sport Management, Faculty of Sport Science, Batman, Turkey Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, P.O.

Box 84428, Riyadh, 11671, Saudi Arabia Center for Global Health Research, Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences, Saveetha Medical College and Hospitals, Saveetha University, Chennai, India Department of Physiology, School of Medical Sciences, University Sains Malaysia, Kubang Kerian, Kelantan, Malaysia Department of Higher Studies, Al-Qasim Green University, Babylon, Iraq College of Sport Science, University of Kalba, Kalba, Sharjah, UAE Department of Life Sciences, European University Cyprus, Nicosia, Cyprus Department of Physical Education and Sport Science, Democritus University of Thrace, Komotini, Greece The authors declare no competing interests. This study was evaluated by the Karabük University Social and Human Sciences Research Ethics Committee at its meeting dated 31 October 2025 and was approved unanimously in accordance with ethical principles by Decision No. 51 under Meeting No. 2025/10. During the data collection process, the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki were followed; participants were provided with detailed information regarding the purpose and scope of the research, and their rights were explained.