Psychometric Properties of the Trait Meta-Mood Scale (TMMS-24) in the Chilean Child and Adolescent Population
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.56294/saludcyt20251376Keywords:
Emotional Intelligence, Emotional Attention, Emotional Clarity, Emotional Regulation, Children and AdolescentsAbstract
Introduction: The Chilean child and adolescent population have serious mental health problems. Therefore, the ability to regulate emotions becomes a critical skill. Objective: This study aimed to estimate the psychometric properties of the Trait Meta-Mood Scale (TMMS-24) in its abbreviated version in a Chilean child and adolescent population. Method: Cross-sectional validation was carried out on 636 Chilean children and adolescents. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) were performed to examine the scale's factor structure in this population. Results: Internal consistency showed robust results (α = 0.931; ω = 0.932) indicating high reliability. Using a Varimax rotation, exploratory factor analysis (EFA) identified three significant factors explaining 57.95% of the total variance. The results of the CFA suggested a good model fit with an RMSEA (0.061), CFI (0.934), and TLI (0.923). Parsimony indices indicated adequate fit PCFI (0.802) and PNFI (0.781). Convergent validity was also supported by significant correlations between the TMMS-24 dimensions and depression, anxiety, and stress factors measured with the DASS-21. Conclusion: These findings suggest that the TMMS-24 has adequate and validated psychometric properties, allowing its use as a reliable tool to assess the most relevant variables of emotional intelligence such as Emotional Attention (EA), Emotional Clarity (EC), and Emotional Regulation (ER) in Chilean children and adolescents in educational and mental health contexts.
References
1. Gaete J, Montero-Marin J, Valenzuela D, Rojas-Barahona CA, Olivares E, Araya R. Mental health among children and adolescents: Construct validity, reliability, and parent-adolescent agreement on the ‘Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire’in Chile. PLoS One. 2018;13(2):e0191809.
2. Viejo C, Gómez-López M, Ortega-Ruiz R. Adolescents’ psychological well-being: A multidimensional measure. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2018;15(10):2325.
3. World Health Organization. International Code of Conduct on Pesticide Management. Guidance on use of pesticide regulation to prevent suicide. World Health Organization; 2023.
4. Young KS, Sandman CF, Craske MG. Positive and negative emotion regulation in adolescence: links to anxiety and depression. Brain Sci. 2019;9(4):76.
5. Džida M, Babarović T, Brajša-Žganec A. The factor structure of different subjective well-being measures and its correlates in the Croatian sample of children and adolescents. Child Indic Res. 2023;16(5):1871–88.
6. Fonseca-Pedrero E, Díez-Gómez A, de la Barrera U, Sebastian-Enesco C, Ortuño-Sierra J, Montoya-Castilla I, et al. Suicidal behaviour in adolescents: A network analysis. Spanish Journal of Psychiatry and Mental Health. 2024;17(1):3–10.
7. Herd T, Kim-Spoon J. A systematic review of associations between adverse peer experiences and emotion regulation in adolescence. Clin Child Fam Psychol Rev. 2021;24(1):141–63.
8. Martínez-Líbano J, Yeomans-Cabrera MM. Depression, anxiety, and stress in the Chilean Educational System: children and adolescents post-pandemic prevalence and variables. Front Educ (Lausanne) [Internet]. 2024 Oct 18;9. Available from: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feduc.2024.1407021/full
9. Singh S, Roy D, Sinha K, Parveen S, Sharma G, Joshi G. Impact of COVID-19 and lockdown on mental health of children and adolescents: A narrative review with recommendations. Psychiatry Res. 2020;293:113429.
10. Ellis WE, Dumas TM, Forbes LM. Physically isolated but socially connected: Psychological adjustment and stress among adolescents during the initial COVID-19 crisis. Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science. 2020;52(3):177–87.
11. Martínez-Líbano J, Torres-Vallejos J, Oyanedel JC, González-Campusano N, Calderón-Herrera G, Yeomans-Cabrera MM. Prevalence and variables associated with depression, anxiety, and stress among Chilean higher education students, post-pandemic. Front Psychiatry. 2023;14.
12. Varela JJ, Sánchez PA, González C, Oriol X, Valenzuela P, Cabrera T. Subjective well-being, bullying, and school climate among Chilean adolescents over time. School Ment Health. 2021;13(3):616–30.
13. Valdés JM, Díaz FJ, Christiansen PM, Lorca GA, Solorza FJ, Alvear M, et al. Mental health and related factors among undergraduate students during SARS-COV-2 pandemic: A cross-sectional study. Front Psychiatry. 2022;13:833263.
14. Gómez-López M, Viejo C, Ortega-Ruiz R. Well-being and romantic relationships: A systematic review in adolescence and emerging adulthood. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2019;16(13):2415.
15. Tejada-Gallardo C, Blasco-Belled A, Torrelles-Nadal C, Alsinet C. How does emotional intelligence predict happiness, optimism, and pessimism in adolescence? Investigating the relationship from the bifactor model. Current Psychology. 2022;41(8):5470–80.
16. Megías-Robles A, Gutiérrez-Cobo MJ, Gómez-Leal R, Cabello R, Gross JJ, Fernández-Berrocal P. Emotionally intelligent people reappraise rather than suppress their emotions. PLoS One. 2019;14(8):e0220688.
17. Guerra-Bustamante J, León-del-Barco B, Yuste-Tosina R, López-Ramos VM, Mendo-Lázaro S. Emotional intelligence and psychological well-being in adolescents. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2019;16(10):1720.
18. Jiang L, Yuan K, Hart CH, Liang L, Yang C, Wang Z, et al. Longitudinal associations between emotion regulation strategies and subjective well‐being in migrant and non‐migrant adolescents in urban China. International Journal of Psychology. 2023;58(3):187–95.
19. Bru-Luna LM, Martí-Vilar M, Merino-Soto C, Cervera-Santiago JL. Emotional intelligence measures: A systematic review. In: Healthcare. MDPI; 2021. p. 1696.
20. Trigueros R, Aguilar-Parra JM, Cangas AJ, Bermejo R, Ferrandiz C, López-Liria R. Influence of emotional intelligence, motivation and resilience on academic performance and the adoption of healthy lifestyle habits among adolescents. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2019;16(16):2810.
21. Bailen NH, Green LM, Thompson RJ. Understanding emotion in adolescents: A review of emotional frequency, intensity, instability, and clarity. Emotion Review. 2019;11(1):63–73.
22. Salovey P, Mayer JD, Goldman SL, Turvey C, Palfai TP. Emotional attention, clarity, and repair: Exploring emotional intelligence using the Trait Meta-Mood Scale. 1995;
23. Fernández-Berrocal P, Extremera N, Ramos N. Validity and reliability of the Spanish modified version of the Trait Meta-Mood Scale. Psychol Rep. 2004;94(3):751–5.
24. Valdivia Vazquez JA, Rubio Sosa JCA, French BF. Examination of the Spanish trait meta-mood scale–24 factor structure in a Mexican setting. J Psychoeduc Assess. 2015;33(5):473–82.
25. Calero A. VersiÃ3n Argentina del TMMS para adolescentes: Una medida de la inteligencia emocional percibida. Cuadernos de Neuropsicología/Panamerican Journal of Neuropsychology. 2013;7(1).
26. Vaquero-Diego M, Torrijos-Fincias P, Rodriguez-Conde MJ. Relation between perceived emotional intelligence and social factors in the educational context of Brazilian adolescents. Psicologia: Reflexão e Crítica. 2020;33:1.
27. Ravens-Sieberer U, Kaman A, Erhart M, Devine J, Schlack R, Otto C. Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on quality of life and mental health in children and adolescents in Germany. Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2022;31(6):879–89.
28. Orgilés Amorós M, Espada Sánchez JP, Delvecchio E, Francisco R, Mazzeschi C, Pedro M, et al. Anxiety and depressive symptoms in children and adolescents during COVID-19 pandemic: A transcultural approach. Psicothema. 2021;
29. Ato M, López-García JJ, Benavente A. Un sistema de clasificación de los diseños de investigación en psicología. Anales de Psicología/Annals of Psychology [Internet]. 2013 [cited 2022 Aug 7];29(3):1038–59. Available from: https://doi.org/10.6018/analesps.29.3.178511
30. Lovibond P, Lovibond S. The Structure of Negative Emotional States: Scales (DASS) [Internet]. Vol. 33, Behaviour research and therapy. 1995 [cited 2022 Aug 8]. p. 335–43. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1016/0005-7967(94)00075-U
31. IBM C. IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows [Internet]. NY; 2017. Available from: http://www-01.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?uid=swg21476197
32. Rodríguez-rodríguez J, Reguant-álvarez M. el coeficiente alfa de Cronbach. REIRE Revista d’Innovació i Recerca en Educació. 2020;3:1–13.
33. Arbuckle JL. Amos. Chicago: IBM SPSS; 2014. p. version 23.
34. Lloret-segura S, Ferreres-traver A, Hernández-baeza A, Tomás-marco I. Exploratory Item Factor Analysis: A practical guide revised and updated. Anales de Psicología [Internet]. 2014 [cited 2025 Jan 14];30:1151–69. Available from: http://dx.doi.org/10.6018/analesps.30.3.199361
35. Souza AC de, Alexandre NMC, Guirardello E de B. Psychometric properties in instruments evaluation of reliability and validity. Epidemiologia e servicos de saude [Internet]. 2017 [cited 2025 Jan 14];26:649–59. Available from: https://doi.org/10.5123/S1679-49742017000300022
36. Matud MP, López-Curbelo M, Fortes D. Gender and psychological well-being. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2019;16(19):3531.
37. Extremera N, Fernández-Berrocal P. Emotional intelligence as predictor of mental, social, and physical health in university students. Span J Psychol. 2006;9(1):45–51.
38. Fuentes AMM, Kahn JH, Lannin DG. Emotional disclosure and emotion change during an expressive-writing task: Do pronouns matter? Current Psychology. 2021;40(4):1672–9.
39. González AEM, Piqueras JA, Linares VR. Inteligencia emocional en la salud física y mental. Electronic journal of research in educational psychology. 2010;8(2):861–90.
40. PRADO-GASCO V, Villanueva L, Górriz Plumed AB. Trait emotional intelligence and subjective well-being in adolescents: The moderating role of feelings. 2018;
41. Cejudo J, Losada L, Feltrero R. Promoting social and emotional learning and subjective well‐being: Impact of the “aislados” intervention program in adolescents. Int J Environ Res Public Health [Internet]. 2020;17(2). Available from: https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85078256226&doi=10.3390%2fijerph17020609&partnerID=40&md5=72161c4e7ac787bc91364797897a9bbf
42. Miller LJ. Developing norm-referenced standardized tests. Routledge; 2020.
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Jonathan Martínez-Líbano , María-Mercedes Yeomans-Cabrera , Axel Koch Serey, Nicolás Santander Ramírez, Valentina Cortés Silva, Roberto Iturra Lara (Author)

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
The article is distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License. Unless otherwise stated, associated published material is distributed under the same licence.