isruptive levels of situational distress, the appearance of social ineptness, and negative evaluation by others. Intrapersonal variables such as increased self-focus, anxiety over one’s potential emotional responses, and inaccurate appraisals of one’s emotional displays figure prominently in cognitive appraisal models of social anxiety. As such, social anxiety is simply a trait with negative inter- and intrapersonal consequences. In “Trait Emotional Intelligence, Psychological Well-Being and Peer-Rated Social Competence in Adolescence”, Stella Mavroveli furthers this discussion of the relationship between low trait EI and social anxiety. She and other researchers studied the correlation between EI and four socioemotional criteria on a sample of Dutch adolescents. They found that trait EI was positively associated with adaptive coping methods and negatively associated with depressive thoughts and somatic complaints. Adolescents who perceived themselves as being in-tune with their emotions and able to regulate them reported fewer signs of depression and physical pain. In other words, high trait EI adolescents were seemingly less vulnerable to psychological disorders compared to their low trait EI peers. Trait EI bears on strategies which individuals employ to cope with everyday problems. The study demonstrates that high trait EI individuals have an advantage in terms of effective coping strategies. The researchers concluded that the “well-being” component of trait EI may be especially relevant in the adjustment process, since positive emotions are conducive to the development of those physical, intellectual, and social resources necessary for successful coping.>