{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,17]],"date-time":"2026-07-17T12:44:35Z","timestamp":1784292275450,"version":"3.55.0"},"reference-count":65,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"1","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,22]],"date-time":"2025-12-22T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1766361600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"National Social Science Foundation Special Project on Ideology and Politics","award":["23VSZ119"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["23VSZ119"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["J. Intell."],"abstract":"<jats:p>Parental overprotection before adulthood can have enduring consequences for offspring, yet the mechanisms underlying its association with adult physical health are not fully understood. This study proposes trait emotional intelligence (trait-EI) as a pivotal mediating factor in this relationship. A sample of 459 university students (mean age = 22.42 years, SD = 1.43; 50.3% female, 49.7% male) completed measures assessing their recalled parental overprotection, trait-EI and physical health. Results from regression and mediation analyses revealed that parental overprotection was significantly negatively associated with both overall trait-EI and physical health. Critically, trait-EI was found to be a significant mediator, indicating that overprotective parenting impedes the development of trait-EI, which in turn translates into poorer health outcomes. Further analysis of the facets of trait-EI demonstrated that the intrapersonal and stress management dimensions were unique contributors to physical health, whereas interpersonal and adaptability skills were not. What\u2019s more, a moderated mediation analysis showed that gender significantly moderated the pathway from parental overprotection to trait-EI, with the negative effect of overprotection on trait-EI being substantially stronger for male than for female offspring. These findings underscore the role of trait-EI as a central psychological mechanism translating early parenting experiences into long-term physical health and point to the need for gender-sensitive approaches in preventive health interventions.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/jintelligence14010001","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,22]],"date-time":"2025-12-22T08:35:27Z","timestamp":1766392527000},"page":"1","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":2,"title":["The Mediating Role of Emotional Intelligence in the Relationship Between Parental Overprotection and Offspring\u2019s Physical Health in Adulthood"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"14","author":[{"given":"Huanhua","family":"Lu","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Marxism, China University of Geosciences (Beijing), Beijing 100083, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yawen","family":"Zhao","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Marxism, China University of Geosciences (Beijing), Beijing 100083, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Zaina","family":"Jianaer","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Marxism, China University of Geosciences (Beijing), Beijing 100083, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ruihan","family":"Chen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Marxism, China University of Geosciences (Beijing), Beijing 100083, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,22]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"586","DOI":"10.1037\/0278-6133.19.6.586","article-title":"Relationship of subjective and objective social status with psychological and physiological functioning: Preliminary data in healthy white women","volume":"19","author":"Adler","year":"2000","journal-title":"Health Psychology: Official Journal of the Division of Health Psychology"},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1641","DOI":"10.1001\/jama.2016.14058","article-title":"Addressing social determinants of health and health inequalities","volume":"316","author":"Adler","year":"2016","journal-title":"JAMA"},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"90","DOI":"10.1016\/j.soard.2019.10.020","article-title":"A test of the stress-buffering hypothesis of social support among bariatric surgery patients","volume":"16","author":"Ahlich","year":"2020","journal-title":"Surgery for Obesity and Related Diseases: Official Journal of the American Society for Bariatric Surgery"},{"key":"ref_4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jvb.2022.103739","article-title":"Precarious work and workplace dignity during COVID-19: A longitudinal study","volume":"136","author":"Allan","year":"2022","journal-title":"Journal of Vocational Behavior"},{"key":"ref_5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1010","DOI":"10.1007\/s10964-022-01723-0","article-title":"When too much help is of no help: Mothers\u2019 and fathers\u2019 perceived overprotective behavior and (Mal)adaptive functioning in adolescents","volume":"52","author":"Arslan","year":"2023","journal-title":"Journal of Youth and Adolescence"},{"key":"ref_6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"3296","DOI":"10.2307\/1131780","article-title":"Parental psychological control: Revisiting a neglected construct","volume":"67","author":"Barber","year":"1996","journal-title":"Child Development"},{"key":"ref_7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Barber, B. 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