The present study aimed to investigate the association between trait emotional intelligence and heart rate variability (HRV) recovery responses of archers immediately after a shooting session. The sample included 87 novice archers ranging in age from 18 to 26. Participants first completed Schutte Emotional Intelligence Inventory. Then, they shot 10 arrows from 18 m to an 80-cm diameter target in four minutes. Afterward, participants' HRV recovery responses were measured during a four-minute recovery period. In this study, HRV was represented in terms of low frequency (LF), high frequency (HF), and LF/HF ratio. Results indicated a significant relationship between emotional intelligence and HRV recovery responses. A regression model containing emotional intelligence sub-dimensions was able to explain a significant amount of variance in HRV frequency domain parameters. Besides, high emotional intelligence archers were found to have higher-level LF and HF power but a lower LF/HF ratio than their low emotional intelligence counterparts. Taken together, the results observed in the present study indicated that emotional intelligence might give rise to more adaptive HRV recovery responses following a demanding arrow shooting session.
Keywords: archers; archery; heart rate variability; trait emotional intelligence.