Beyond Emotion: Social Awareness as a Key to Wellbeing and Reduced Violence Tendency in University Students

This investigation explored the relationships among emotional intelligence (EI), propensity for violence, and life satisfaction, with a focus on social awareness as a moderating factor. The study addressed a gap in the literature regarding the specific role of social awareness in these dynamics, particularly its moderating effect on the impact of EI on violence tendency and life satisfaction. A correlational and hierarchical regression analysis, including moderation tests, was conducted with 304 Turkish university students who provided demographic data and completed assessments of EI, social awareness, violent tendencies, and life satisfaction. Key findings showed a positive correlation between EI and life satisfaction, and a negative correlation between EI and violent behavior. Social awareness was negatively associated with violent tendencies and had a more pronounced direct influence on violent behavior compared to EI. While no direct correlation was found between social awareness and life satisfaction, further moderation analyses are anticipated to clarify this relationship. These results suggest that cultivating social awareness is crucial for reducing violent inclinations and enhancing general well-being, offering novel insights for understanding and intervening in student well-being and aggression within a Turkish university context. The study highlights the need for future research using longitudinal designs to establish causality and further explore underlying mechanisms and intervention strategies.