Investigating The Psycholinguistic Link Between Multilingualism and Emotional Intelligence: A Case Study of Adult Patients at Drid Hocine Psychiatric Hospital

Abstract

Multilingualism has been shown to influence emotional awareness and regulation, yet its role in clinical contexts remains underexplored. This thesis investigates how the use of multiple languages affects emotional intelligence among patients in an Algerian psychiatric setting. Drawing on a self-report measure of trait emotional intelligence and semi-structured interviews, supplemented by computerized text analysis of patients’ spontaneous language use, the study reveals that switching to a non-native language tends to dampen emotional intensity, whereas returning to one’s mother tongue restores rich affective engagement. Furthermore, differences emerge across certain demographic groups that display particularly vivid emotional expressiveness. These findings highlight the dual function of multilingualism—enabling cognitive distance for emotion regulation and reactivating culturally anchored emotional schemas for authentic processing. Implications include integrating strategic language transitions into therapeutic practice and developing training programs that equip clinicians to identify multilingual emotional dynamics. Future research should broaden these insights using longitudinal designs and incorporate physiological measures to deepen understanding of the language–emotion relationship.