This study looked at 54 boys aged 8 to 12 years. There were three groups of 18: boys with ADHD, boys with high-functioning autism, and boys developing typically. The groups were matched on age, and all had a full-scale IQ above 85. Diagnoses were confirmed with the Conners-3 or the ADI-R. The children filled out questionnaires that measured trait emotional intelligence and resilience.
The three groups did not differ in any meaningful way. Their scores on the resilience measures were nearly identical, and their scores on overall emotional intelligence were close too. In other words, the boys with ADHD or autism looked much like the typical group on these traits.
What did differ was how emotional intelligence connected to resilience inside each group. In the ADHD group, higher overall emotional intelligence went with a stronger sense of relatedness (a strong link, r = 0.763). The same link showed up in the autism group (r = 0.752). The authors suggest emotional intelligence may be an area of strength for these children.
The study was small and included only boys. All the data came from the children's own self-reports, and only trait emotional intelligence was measured, not ability.
Source: McCrimmon A, Climie E, Huynh S. The relation between emotional intelligence and resilience in at-risk populations. Developmental Neurorehabilitation (2017). doi:10.1080/17518423.2017.1387873