Scope and Method of Study: The purpose of this study was to determine the mediating effect of coping styles on the relationship of self-esteem and anxiety to emotional intelligence for juvenile delinquent males. Additionally, the relations between this variable set were explored. A total of 204 juvenile delinquent males between 15 and 18 years of age were utilized for this study. Data were analyzed using correlation and regression analyses.

Findings and Conclusions: This study suggests that there is a significant positive correlation between emotional intelligence and self-esteem; a positive correlation between emotional intelligence and task-oriented coping; a negative correlation between emotional intelligence and emotion-oriented coping; and that emotion-oriented coping partially mediates the relationship between emotional intelligence and self-esteem within a juvenile delinquent population. The findings of this study provide support to both the BarOn model of emotional intelligence as well as the BarOn measure of emotional intelligence.