Substance use and mental health outcomes in children and adolescents exposed to household dysfunction: mediating role of emotional intelligence

BACKGROUND: Household dysfunction represents one of the most prevalent adverse childhood experiences worldwide, and has been previously associated with an increased risk for mental health problems. However, little is known about the protective role of emotional intelligence in this association. AIMS: To explore whether emotional intelligence mediates the relationship between household dysfunction and (a) substance use (age at first use and severity index) and (b) psychopathological status (behavioural/emotional problems, global functioning and number of lifetime psychiatric diagnoses and pharmacological treatments). METHOD: A simple mediation model was employed. A total of 187 children and adolescents aged 7-17 years, from the multicentre EPI-Young-Stress Project, were included in the study. Household dysfunction was assessed following the validated Tool for Assessing the Severity of Situations in which Children are Vulnerable (TASSCV) criteria and emotional intelligence was evaluated with the Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire for Children Short Form (TEIQue-CSF) parent version. RESULTS: There is an indirect-only mediation effect of emotional intelligence on the relationship between household dysfunction and children's and adolescents' age at first substance use (proportion mediated: 31.40%, 99% CI -0.53 to -0.02) and severity index (proportion mediated: 23.69%, 99% CI 0.50-0.34), as well as the number of lifetime psychiatric diagnoses (proportion mediated: 45.38%, 99% CI 0.19-0.60) and psychiatric drugs prescribed (proportion mediated: 48.75%, 99% CI 0.19-0.57). A complementary mediation effect of emotional intelligence was found between household dysfunction and emotional/behavioural problems (proportion mediated: 56.37%, 99% CI 0.32-0.80), as well as global functioning (proportion mediated: 54.20%, 99% CI -0.72 to -0.28). CONCLUSIONS: Emotional intelligence emerges as a putative protective factor against the negative consequences of household dysfunction on mental health and substance use. Emotional intelligence should be considered a primary target in preventing and promoting the health of youth exposed to household dysfunction.