Measuring emotional intelligence in Moroccan Arabic: the Wong and Law Emotional Intelligence Scale / Medidas de la inteligencia emocional en árabe marroquí: la escala de inteligencia emocional de Wong y Law

Abstract

Abstract Emotional intelligence is a widespread concept that has been analysed in different countries. However, it has been barely measured in African-Arab societies’ cultures due to their scarce tradition in validating instruments. In Morocco, the mere translation of instruments is a common practice that should be avoided to incorporate cultural and linguistic singularities. Thus, the aim of our study was to culturally adapt the Wong and Law Emotional Intelligence Scale to Morocco. This version could be widely used in other Arab North African countries and among immigrants in hosting countries. Two hundred and seventy-three Arab undergraduates (178 women and 95 men; age M = 22.17, SD = 4.09) from Morocco completed a questionnaire adapted to their culture following the back translation method. To determine construct validity, data were analysed by means of confirmatory factor analysis. The final scale resulted in a second-order factorial model with four first-order factors compounded by 16 items. This structure supports the original for Moroccan Arabic and other countries in which Arabic is spoken. Likewise, the results confirm an adequate criterion validity of the instrument.