Can We Apply an Emotional Competence Measure to an Eastern Population? Psychometric Properties of the Profile of Emotional Competence in a Japanese Population

Researchers have repeatedly argued that it is important to determine whether the psychometric properties of an emotional competence measure hold in Eastern populations because there may be cultural variability in abilities linked with emotional competence. However, few studies have examined potential differences in an emotional competence measure in Eastern cultures. To fill this gap, we investigated the applicability of the Profile of Emotional Competence to a Japanese population. Results demonstrated measurement and structural invariance across our Japanese and the original Belgian data sets. As was found in the Belgian sample, this measure showed adequate convergent and criterion validity in the Japanese sample. Furthermore, the scores on this measure were stronger predictors of subjective health and happiness in the Japanese than Belgian population. This measure also showed incremental validity. Our results suggest that the Profile of Emotional Competence is applicable to the Japanese population, an Eastern society.