Structural Relationships of Antisocial Behaviors with Emotion Regulation Strategies, the Mediating Role of Moral Intelligence in Men

Introduction: The more the people are capable of perceiving and regulating their emotions, the more their intellectual and moral habits help them tame their antisocial behaviors. Objective: The aim of the present study was to modeling the structural link between emotion regulation-mediated antisocial behaviors and moral intelligence in men. Methods: The research employed a descriptive-correlational design, and the statistical population included managers, coaches, and athletes engaged with futsal across Iran from 1401 to 1402. A total of 385 individuals were selected using the stratified sampling method. Togarso et al.’s antisocial behavior questionnaires (2020), Link & Keel moral intelligence scale (2005), and Gross & John (2003) emotion regulation questionnaire were used to collect data, and Pearson correlation and structural equation analysis were used to analyze the data in SPSS (version 21) and AMOS (version 24) software. Results: The results showed an inverse significant correlation between antisocial behavior and cognitive reappraisal emotion regulation strategy (r=-0.43) and moral intelligence (r=-0.46), while suppression emotion regulation strategy was positively associated with antisocial behavior (r= 0.41, P<0.01). The results of structural equations analysis showed that cognitive reappraisal emotion regulation strategy through the mediatory role of moral intelligence exerted a negative effect on antisocial behaviors, while the significant positive effect of suppression emotion regulation strategy on antisocial behaviors was mediated by moral intelligence (P<0.01). Conclusion: Based on the results, it can be said that being aware of emotion regulation strategies can mitigate men’s antisocial behaviors through the mediating role of moral intelligence. Therefore, antisocial behaviors in men can be controlled by paying attention to these strategies and strengthening moral intelligence.