Effects of Physical Exercise on Emotional Intelligence from Birth to Adolescence: A Systematic Review Protocol

Background: Emotional intelligence (EI) can be understood as a set of traits or abilities that may have an impact on academic, professional, or mental health. The aim of this protocol was to establish methodological guidelines for a systematic review and meta-analysis of the effects of acute and chronic physical exercise on EI from birth to 21 years (late adolescence). Methods: This protocol followed PRISMA-P guidelines and will be modified in PROSPERO after peer review. The review will include experimental randomized and non-randomized control studies involving physical exercise interventions. PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, and EBSCO will be utilized for study selection following the publication of the protocol. The risk of bias will be assessed using the ROBINS-I tool, ROB-2, and the GRADE approach will evaluate the certainty of evidence. Random effect meta-analyses will analyse the effect of physical exercise compared with control groups, using effect sizes measures (Hedges’ g), with a 95% confidence interval and prediction interval, for each EI outcome (perception, facilitation, understanding, regulation, and management of emotions). Potential moderators, such as exercise intensity, duration, and sociocultural factors, will be analysed. Heterogeneity will be assessed using the I² statistic, and sensitivity analyses will be performed to ensure result robustness. Subgroup analyses may be conducted based on age groups and specific EI dimensions. Conclusions: Publication bias will be assessed using Egger’s test and the trim-and-fill method. The future results aim to provide a foundation for analysing the impact of physical exercise on EI development, potentially guiding future interventions in health, educational, and related fields.