A Comparative Study of Identity, Emotional Intelligence, and Self-Esteemin Students of Performing Arts and Students of Other Fields of Art

ABSTRACT: The purpose of the present research was to study the identity, emotional intelligence, and self-esteem of students of performing arts and students of other fields of art.The present research is a survey. The population consists of all the students of arts in the Faculty of Fine Arts (University of Tehran) and thestudents of performing artsin drama schools of Tehran. The students of arts were randomly selected from those in the fields of painting, photography, graphic design, and sculpting with original opuses. The instruments include Objective Measure of Ego Identity Status (OMEIS), Bar-On’s Emotional Quotient Inventory (EQ-i), and Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory (CSEI). From 150 questionnaires that were collected, 76 were deemed acceptable and thus the participants were divided into a performing arts groupand a non-performing arts group. The two groups did not show any significant relationship in terms of identity formation and its subscales as well as the total score of emotional intelligence and its subscales. However, there was a significant difference between performing artists and non-performing artists in emotional intelligence profile scores and self-esteem scores with 95% reliability. Except for family self-esteem, the mean self-esteem of the performing artists was higher than that of the non-performing artists with 99% reliability. The mean self-esteem and emotional intelligence profile scores of performing artists were higher than the scores of non-performing artists. Except for family self-esteem, the mean self-esteem of the performing artists was higher than that of the non-performing artists.The difference between the two groups is mainly associated with the emotional intelligence profile scores rather than each individual component. This difference requires the attention of educational planners, experts, and administrators in order to promote mental health.