The Interplay of Personality Types, Emotional Intelligence, Coping Strategies, and Academic Decision-Making Among Gifted Adolescents in STEM Programs

Abstract

Background: Highly capable youth participating in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) programs experience challenging academic and emotional climbing that require them to use their SRL, adaptability, and decision-making efficiently. Knowledge of how personality traits and emotional intelligence may contribute to coping styles may be useful in achieving an understanding of their decision making in the academic environment.

Aim: It is the purpose of this study to explore how both personality types and emotional intelligence each implicitly and explicitly contribute to problem-focused and emotion-focused coping for gifted adolescents enrolled in STEM programs making academic decisions.

Method: A cross-sectional correlational study was carried out on 300 gifted students in the age range of 14–18 who studied at advanced STEM schools in three large cities. Measures employed included the Big Five Personality Inventory, Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test (MSCEIT), Brief COPE Inventory, and the Academic Decision-Making Scale. The effects are ascertained direct and mediating, with the SEM technique applied in the data analysis.

Results: The openness to experience and conscientiousness significantly predicted higher emotional intelligence and adaptive coping strategies (p < 0.01). Emotional intelligence was a significant mediator between traits of personality and good academic decisions (β =. 41, p < 0.001). Avoidant coping style was negatively related to quality of decision. The model accounted for 63% of the variance in academic decision-making decisions.

Conclusion: Personality factors and emotional intelligence are strong predictors on how gifted adolescents in STEM programs deal with stress as well as on the choices they make in school. Emotional skills interventions and personality-wised mentoring possibly can help to improve their decisions.

Keywords: Personality types, emotional intelligence, coping strategies, academic decision-making, gifted adolescents, STEM education.