BRIEF REPORT Psychometric Characteristics of the Emotional Quotient Inventory, Youth Version, Short Form, in Hungarian High School Students Bernadette Kun Eötvös Lora ´nd University and National Institute for Drug Prevention, Budapest, Hungary Ro ´bert Urba ´n Eötvös Lora ´nd University and Smoking Cessation Centre, Budapest, Hungary Borba ´la Paksi Corvinus University of Budapest Lujza Varga ´ne ´ Cso ´bor Zalaegerszeg County Hospital, Zalaegerszeg, Hungary Attila Ola ´h and Zsolt Demetrovics Eötvös Lora ´nd University Research on the psychometric characteristics, including factor structure, of measures assessing emotional intelligence improve our understanding of the manifest and latent dimensions of the construct. The factor structure of the Bar-On Emotional Quotient Inventory (Bar-On, 1997), despite the popularity of the measure, has been the subject of only a few studies, and there are no data available at all on its 30-item version. The aim of our study was the structural analysis of the Bar-On Emotional Quotient Inventory, Youth Version, Short Form (Bar-On & Parker, 2000). During the multiple-step statistical analysis, confirmatory and exploratory factor analyses and a combined method of these were executed on a sample of 2,380 adolescents (mean age: 17 years, 47.9 % male). The results confirmed the original 5-factor structure (Intrapersonal Emotional Quotient, Interpersonal Emotional Quotient, Stress Management, Adaptability, and Positive Impression). However, only 24 of the original 30 items could be considered as belonging to the scales. Elimination of 6 items resulted in a clearer and more coherent factorial structure, which makes the measure an adequate tool for the assessment of the emotional intelligence of adolescents and young adults in surveys of large-scale samples. Keywords: emotional intelligence, measurement, factor structure, exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis Emotional intelligence is a relatively new construct, receiving growing interest as it is associated with successful problem solv- ing, adaptive ways of coping, good academic results, extended interpersonal relationships, better physical and mental health, and moderate substance use (Kun & Demetrovics, 2010; Martinez- Pons, 1997; Mayer, Caruso, & Salovey, 1999; Parker, Summer- feldt, Hogan, Majeski, & Saklofske, 2004; Salovey, Bedell, Det- weiler, & Mayer, 1999; Tsaousis & Nikolaou, 2005). The construct was defined first by Salovey and Mayer (1989 –1990), who later modified their early concept to a four-branch model of emotional intelligence: (a) the perception, appraisal, and expres- sion of emotions; (b) the emotional facilitation of thinking; (c) understanding and analyzing emotions and employing emotional knowledge; and (d) the regulation of emotions (Mayer & Salovey, 1997). On the basis of this emotional intelligence model, several performance-based operationalizations were developed (e.g., This article was published Online First October 17, 2011. Bernadette Kun, Institutional Group on Addiction Research, Institute of Psychology, Eötvös Lora ´nd University, Budapest, Hungary, and National Institute for Drug Prevention, Budapest, Hungary; Ro ´bert Urba ´n, Depart- ment of Personality and Health Psychology, Institute of Psychology, Eöt- vös Lora ´nd University, and Smoking Cessation Centre, Budapest, Hun- gary; Borba ´la Paksi, Center of Behavior Research, Corvinus University of Budapest, Budapest, Hungary; Lujza Varga ´ne ´ Cso ´bor, Drug Outpatient Center, Zalaegerszeg County Hospital, Zalaegerszeg, Hungary; Attila Ola ´h, Department of Personality and Health Psychology, Institute of Psy- chology, Eötvös Lora ´nd University; Zsolt Demetrovics, Institutional Group on Addiction Research, Institute of Psychology, Eötvös Lora ´nd University. Bernadette Kun acknowledges the financial support of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor. Zsolt Demetrovics acknowledges the financial support of the Ja ´nos Bolyai Research Fellowship by the Hungarian Acad- emy of Sciences. This work was supported by the Hungarian Scientific Research Fund (Grant 83884). The project was also supported by the European Union and the European Social Fund under Grant Agreement TA ´ MOP 4.2.1./B-09/1/KMR-2010-0003. Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Zsolt Demetrovics, Eötvös Lora ´nd University, Institute of Psychology, Institu- tional Group on Addiction Research, P.O. Box 179, H-1580 Budapest, Hungary. E-mail: demetrovics@t-online.hu Psychological Assessment © 2011 American Psychological Association 2012, Vol. 24, No. 2, 518 –523 1040-3590/11/$12.00 DOI: 10.1037/a0026013 518 This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its allied publishers. This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly.