Emotional competence and family affluence in European adolescent mental health
Abstract
Background: Socioeconomic conditions and emotional competence have both been proposed as relevant factors for adolescent mental health. The SUNRISE baseline assessment provides an opportunity to study both aspects in a large European adolescent sample.
Methods: Data from 1,978 adolescents aged 10–18 years across nine European regions were analysed. Pearson correlations and multivariable linear regression models were used to assess how emotional competence and family affluence related to mental wellbeing and perceived stress.
Results: Emotional competence showed stronger associations with mental wellbeing and perceived stress than family affluence. Adolescents with higher emotional competence reported higher wellbeing (r = .632, p < .001) and lower perceived stress (r = -.370, p < .001). Family affluence was also related to higher wellbeing and lower stress, although the associations were small (r = .112 and r = -.079, respectively; both p < .001). Lower wellbeing was observed among adolescents with higher perceived stress (r = -.541, p < .001), older participants (r = -.349, p < .001), and girls compared with boys (50.85 vs. 55.44; Cohen’s d = .51).
Conclusions: These findings suggest that emotional competence should be considered alongside social and demographic factors in adolescent health promotion. Emotional skills may represent a relevant and potentially modifiable dimension for supporting wellbeing and stress management during adolescence. Differences by age and gender indicate that adolescent health promotion strategies may need to be adapted to specific groups.
EU funded (101136829)
Key messages: • Emotional competence showed the strongest link with adolescents’ wellbeing and stress.
• Family affluence mattered, but age, gender and emotional competence were more clearly related to mental health.
Related
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- Marital satisfaction and parent-reported emotional competence in Chinese preschoolers: serial indirect associations through mindful parenting and parental involvement
- The European Anthropological Association (EAA) position statement on anthropometry: education, competence, and scientific authority
- Latent Profiles of Maternal Parenting Stress Moderate the Relationship Between Overparenting and Young Children's Social-Emotional Competence.
- Pathways from adverse childhood experiences to parenting competence: the roles of cognitive emotional regulation and social support.
BibTeX
@article{velezdelburgo2026emotional,
title = {{Emotional competence and family affluence in European adolescent mental health}},
author = {A Vélez-del-Burgo and M Barasoain and M Ferentinou and P Serrano and N Nicoara and N Kiselev and I Mallo and M Manso and A Triantafyllidis and E Arana-Arri},
journal = {The European Journal of Public Health},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1093/eurpub/ckag169.819},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1093/eurpub/ckag169.819},
note = {CC BY-NC 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Emotional competence and family affluence in European adolescent mental health
AU - A Vélez-del-Burgo
AU - M Barasoain
AU - M Ferentinou
AU - P Serrano
AU - N Nicoara
AU - N Kiselev
AU - I Mallo
AU - M Manso
AU - A Triantafyllidis
AU - E Arana-Arri
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/01
JO - The European Journal of Public Health
DO - 10.1093/eurpub/ckag169.819
UR - https://doi.org/10.1093/eurpub/ckag169.819
AB - Background: Socioeconomic conditions and emotional competence have both been proposed as relevant factors for adolescent mental health. The SUNRISE baseline assessment provides an opportunity to study both aspects in a large European adolescent sample. Methods: Data from 1,978 adolescents aged 10–18 years across nine European regions were analysed. Pearson correlations and multivariable linear regression models were used to assess how emotional competence and family affluence related to mental wellbeing and perceived stress. Results: Emotional competence showed stronger associations with mental wellbeing and perceived stress than family affluence. Adolescents with higher emotional competence reported higher wellbeing (r = .632, p < .001) and lower perceived stress (r = -.370, p < .001). Family affluence was also related to higher wellbeing and lower stress, although the associations were small (r = .112 and r = -.079, respectively; both p < .001). Lower wellbeing was observed among adolescents with higher perceived stress (r = -.541, p < .001), older participants (r = -.349, p < .001), and girls compared with boys (50.85 vs. 55.44; Cohen’s d = .51). Conclusions: These findings suggest that emotional competence should be considered alongside social and demographic factors in adolescent health promotion. Emotional skills may represent a relevant and potentially modifiable dimension for supporting wellbeing and stress management during adolescence. Differences by age and gender indicate that adolescent health promotion strategies may need to be adapted to specific groups. EU funded (101136829) Key messages: • Emotional competence showed the strongest link with adolescents’ wellbeing and stress. • Family affluence mattered, but age, gender and emotional competence were more clearly related to mental health.
SN - 1101-1262
SN - 1464-360X
ER -