Stability of EQ-i 2.0? scores through the COVID-19 pandemic

We know you may have questions about the stability of the EQ-i 2.0? scores through the COVID-19 pandemic. We did too. That’s why we took the time to review the data we have in order to assess how stable EQ-i 2.0 scores have been over the past few years.??

MHS examined a comprehensive database of EQ-i 2.0 test-takers from 2017 to 2022. With this data, we were able to determine if EQ-i 2.0 scores had shifted significantly from the average scores found in our normative data collected approximately ten years ago. Further, we assessed if there were significant shifts in EQ-i 2.0 scores at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic that might necessitate the creation of new norms.?

What patterns did we find in EQ-i 2.0 scores over the past few years??

Our data reveals that EQ-i 2.0 scores have not significantly shifted. Customer data shows that EQ-i 2.0 scores (i.e., total, composite, and subscale scores) continue to have means close to 100 and standard deviations close to 15. On average, scores on the EQ-i 2.0 have remained stable over time, and we are not seeing substantial increases or decreases in average levels of the EQ-i 2.0 subscales.

What patterns did we find in EQ-i 2.0 scores during the COVID-19 pandemic?

You might expect that the challenges and changes that people experienced in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic may have resulted in changes in average EQ-i 2.0 scores. For example, you might expect average Flexibility scores to have increased, or perhaps average Optimism scores to have decreased. However, after analyzing the data of over 200,000 individuals that completed the EQ-i 2.0 from March 2020 to March 2022, we know that while there were slight shifts in the data, the magnitude of the changes did not reach statistically significant levels. In other words, there were no significant increases or decreases when we compared average EQ-i 2.0 scores that were collected pre-pandemic (e.g., the EQ-i 2.0 norms) with those that were collected during the height of the pandemic. The average scores on the EQ-i 2.0 during the pandemic continued to have means close to 100 and standard deviations close to 15. ?

So why did average EQ-i 2.0 scores remain unchanged, even during a disruptive event like COVID-19? Just like how some people view change as a risk while others view it as an opportunity, people’s perception of and approach to managing the impact of COVID-19 on their lives and businesses also varied. So, while at the individual level, your EQ-i 2.0 scores may have changed, especially if you put effort into developing a subscale (or were neglecting a particular skillset), across all users, these individual changes balanced each other out, resulting in averages that have not drastically altered.??

What does this mean for the current EQ-i 2.0 norms??

This analysis suggests that we have not observed significant shifts in how people score on the EQ-i 2.0 relative to the existing norms. Of course, other factors should be considered when thinking about a norm update, and this stability does not mean that we will not be updating the norms in the coming years. However, the stability of the current scores means that you can use the existing norms with confidence, knowing that the data and valuable insights that emerge from the EQ-i 2.0 continue to be reliable and valid.