ADAPTATION AND VALIDATION OF THE EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE SCALE IN THE PHYSICAL EDUCATION AND SPORT ARABIC CONTEXT: A GENDER AND TYPE OF SPORT INVARIANCE ANALYSIS

Introduction: Cross-validity and cultural testing are crucial in ensuring the validity of psychological assessments, as language and cultural context can significantly influence the interpretation of test items and their outcomes. An estimated 400 million people speak Arabic with very little research specific on that population. Emotions are a cultural universal. Aim: This study examined the psychometric properties of the Arabic version of the Emotional Intelligence Scale (A-EIS) in Tunisian physical education and sport students, focusing on its latent structure, measurement invariance across gender and sport type, and reliability. Methods: Two samples of volunteer physical education and sport students (males, n= 369 and females, n= 282; Age range: 21.111.53 years and training experience: 7.184.18 years) completed the A-EIS. Translation involved forward-backward methods and a pilot study (n=35). Results: Exploratory factor analysis (n= 223, 34.25%) identified a five-factor model: appraisal of others’ emotions, appraisal of own emotions, regulation, social skills, and utilization of emotions. Confirmatory factor analysis (n= 428, 65.13%) confirmed the model’s fit (CFI= 0.98; TLI = 0.98; GFI = 0.97; RMSEA= 0.029). The structure showed measurement invariance across gender and sport type. Cronbach’s alpha exceeded 0.70, indicating good reliability. Invariance analysis results indicate that gender has no main effect on any of the variables. Conclusions: The A-EIS is a valid and reliable tool for assessing emotional intelligence in Arabic-speaking physical education and sport students.