The Effects of Emotional Competences Training among Unemployed Adults: A Longitudinal Study

The Effectiveness of Health-Oriented Interventions and Health Promotion for Unemployed People-A Meta-Analysis

Background: Unemployment is known to have negative effects on mental and physical health. Yet, the effectiveness of interventions aimed at improving the health of unemployed people is unclear. Methods: We conducted a random-effects meta-analysis of extant intervention studies with at least two measurement points and a control group. A literature search in PubMed, Scopus, and PsycINFO in December 2021 identified 34 eligible primary studies with 36 independent samples. Results: For mental health, the average meta-analytic effect sizes for the comparison of the intervention group and the control group were significant and of small size after the intervention, d = 0.22; 95% CI [0.08, 0.36], as well as at follow-up, d = 0.11; 95% CI [0.07, 0.16]. Effects on self-assessed physical health status were small and marginally significant (p = 0.10) after the intervention: d = 0.09; 95% CI [-0.02, 0.20], and insignificant at follow-up. However, when job search training was not part of the intervention program (i.e., all available resources were used solely for health promotion), the average effect size for physical health was significant after the intervention, d = 0.17; 95% CI [0.07, 0.27]. Furthermore, the effects of physical activity promotion were significant and of small-to-medium size after the intervention, leading to increased levels of activity, d = 0.30; 95% CI [0.13, 0.47]. Conclusions: Population-based health promotion programs are recommended because even measures with small effect sizes can actually improve the health of a large group of unemployed people.

Mental health and unemployment: A systematic review and meta-analysis of interventions to improve depression and anxiety outcomes

BACKGROUND

Unemployment is associated with substantially greater depression and anxiety, constituting a considerable public health concern. The current review provides the most comprehensive synthesis to date, and first meta-analysis, of controlled intervention trials aimed at improving depression and anxiety outcomes during unemployment.

METHODS

Searches were conducted within PsycInfo, Cochrane Central, PubMed and Embase from their inception to September 2022. Included studies conducted controlled trials of interventions focused on improving mental health within unemployed samples, and reported on validated measures of depression, anxiety, or distress (mixed depression and anxiety). Narrative syntheses and random effects meta-analyses were conducted among prevention- and treatment-level interventions for each outcome.

RESULTS

A total of 39 articles reporting on 33 studies were included for review (sample sizes ranging from 21 to 1801). Both prevention and treatment interventions tended to be effective overall, with treatment interventions producing larger effect sizes than prevention interventions. The clearest evidence for particular intervention approaches emerged for prevention-level Cognitive Therapy/CBT, followed by prevention-level work-related interventions, although neither produced entirely consistent effects.

LIMITATIONS

Risk of bias was generally high across studies. Low numbers of studies within subgroups precluded any comparisons between long-term and short-term unemployment, limited comparisons among treatment studies, and reduced the power of meta-analyses.

CONCLUSIONS

Both prevention- and treatment-level mental health-focused interventions have merit for reducing symptoms of anxiety and depression among those experiencing unemployment. Cognitive Therapy/CBT and work-related interventions hold the most robust evidence base, which can inform both prevention and treatment strategies implemented by clinicians, employment services providers, and governments.

A Sequential Path Model Testing: Emotional Intelligence, Resilient Coping and Self-Esteem as Predictors of Depressive Symptoms during Unemployment

The unemployment rate has dramatically increased in southern Europe in the last decade. Although it is well-known that unemployment impairs mental health, the specific roles of personal resources like emotional intelligence (EI) and potential underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Prior studies have shown that resilience and self-esteem are mediators in the link between EI and mental health. The present study aims to bridge these gaps by testing a sequential path model. Specifically, we propose that EI is associated with lower depressive symptoms, which is explained by higher resilient coping strategies and a resulting increased self-esteem among unemployed individuals. A sample of Spanish unemployed persons completed measures of EI, resilience, self-esteem and depression. The results showed that higher levels of EI were positively associated with resilience and self-esteem and negatively related to depressive symptoms. Path analyses showed that resilience and self-esteem mediated the relation between EI and depression in sequence. These findings suggest that EI plays a key role in promoting mental health and provide preliminary evidence regarding potential mechanisms through which EI contributes to mental health during unemployment. Implications for assessing the absence of these positive resources in developing effective job search programs geared toward promoting mental health and re-employment are discussed.

Pathways from emotional intelligence to well-being and health outcomes among unemployed: Mediation by health-promoting behaviours

This study investigated whether health-promoting behaviours mediate the relationship between emotional intelligence (EI) and well-being and health outcomes in the unemployed population. Spanish unemployed (N = 530) completed questionnaires of EI, health-promoting lifestyles, subjective well-being and perceived health. Path-analytic results showed that EI predicted well-being and self-reported health. Health-promoting behaviours: spiritual growth, stress management and physical activity, partially mediated the link between EI and well-being and health outcomes. Findings are discussed in terms of the role that promoting health behaviours might play regarding to well-being and health outcomes after job-loss, and in developing of EI and health-promotion programmes for unemployed populations.

An outcome-wide analysis of bidirectional associations between changes in meaningfulness of life and health, emotional, behavioural, and social factors

The sense that one is living a meaningful life is associated with positive health outcomes, but less is known about the role of changes in sense of meaning. This outcome-wide analysis investigated bidirectional associations between changes in ratings of doing worthwhile things in life and 32 factors in 6 domains of human function in 5,694 men and women (M = 66.65 years) from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing. Participants rated the extent they felt that the things they did in life were worthwhile in 2012 and 2014. Analyses were adjusted for age, gender, education and social class, and were weighted for non-response. We found that health (e.g. few chronic diseases, no chronic pain), emotional wellbeing (e.g. few depressive symptoms, good sleep), greater physical activity, social factors (e.g. close relationships, friends, organizational membership, volunteering, cultural engagement), and economic factors (wealth, income), at baseline were associated with 2 year increases in worthwhile ratings. Conversely, increases in worthwhile ratings over 2 years were related to more favourable health, emotional, behavioural, and social changes between 2012 and 2016 independently of baseline levels. These bidirectional relationships highlight the importance of maintaining worthwhile activities at older ages.

Psychological distress among the unemployed: Do core self-evaluations and emotional intelligence help to minimize the psychological costs of unemployment?

BACKGROUND

Past research has shown that emotional intelligence (EI) and core self-evaluations (CSE) have a unique and independent role in the prediction of psychological maladjustment in the unemployed population. However, no one to date has examined the joint contribution of EI and CSE in predicting well-being and psychological distress among the unemployed. Our objective was to examine the main and interactive role of EI and CSE in the prediction of indicators for happiness, depression, stress, and anxiety beyond socio-demographics variables.

METHODS

A sample of 1796 unemployed participants completed a battery that included socio-demographic data and questionnaires of EI, CSE, happiness, depression, stress, and anxiety. We processed the data with SPSS and Hayes PROCESS macro.

RESULTS

Pearson correlation analyses showed significant associations between EI and CSE with different mental health outcomes. Moderation analyses revealed that, beyond the main effects, the interactive term EI × CSE increased the explained variance of the prediction of happiness, but not of depression, anxiety, or stress.

LIMITATIONS

The study comprised an incidental non-clinical sample of unemployed adults, so the results might not generalize to a clinical population. Also, the study was cross-sectional, and we relied only on self-report measures, which do not allow for establishing causal links and might include biases, such as social desirability and common method variance.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings highlight the need for developing more comprehensive models including the interaction of EI and dispositional traits as contributing factors in the prediction of positive outcomes among the unemployed. Also, future promotion programs should include dimensions related to EI and CSE for increasing well-being during unemployment.

Does Emotional Intelligence Matter in Tough Times? A Moderated Mediation Model for Explaining Health and Suicide Risk amongst Short- and Long-Term Unemployed Adults

This study contributes to knowledge on psychosomatic research by examining a moderated mediation model in which emotional intelligence (EI) is related to mental health, physical health and suicide risk through perceived stress, in samples of short-term (n = 364) and long-term (n = 594) unemployed individuals. The moderating effect of emotional intelligence on the relationships between perceived stress and mental and physical health and suicide risk was tested. The results showed that emotional intelligence was positively associated with mental and physical health and negatively associated with perceived stress and suicide risk. The proposed model only predicted mental health and suicide risk in the long-term unemployed sample. This suggests that emotional intelligence may act as a buffer against the negative impact of unemployment-related stress on mental health and suicide risk when unemployment is prolonged. Therefore, interventions targeting both the promotion of mental health and the prevention of suicide risk via the promotion of emotional abilities may consider length of unemployment.

Improving Emotional Intelligence: A Systematic Review of Existing Work and Future Challenges

Emotional intelligence (EI) can be defined as the ability to identify, express, understand, manage, and use emotions. EI has been shown to have an important impact on health, relationships, and work/academic performance. In this article, we present a systematic review of 46 EI intervention studies on adult populations in order to assess their outcomes. Overall, these findings provide some support for the efficacy of EI programs. However, important limitations in most of the studies restrict the generalizability of their results. We discuss the contributions and limitations of these studies and make recommendations for the development and implementation of future interventions.

How Efficient Are Emotional Intelligence Trainings: A Meta-Analysis

This multilevel meta-analysis examines whether emotional intelligence (EI) can be enhanced through training and identifies training effects’ determinants. We identified 24 studies containing 28 samples aiming at increasing individual-level EI among healthy adults. The results revealed a significant moderate standardized mean change between pre- and post-measurement for the main effect of EI training, and a stable pre- to follow-up effect. Additionally, the type of EI model, dimensions of the four branch model, length, and type of publication turned out to be significant moderators. The results suggest that EI trainings should be considered effective interventions.

Deficits in recognizing disgust facial expressions and Internet addiction: Perceived stress as a mediator

Studies have examined social maladjustment among individuals with Internet addiction, but little is known about their deficits in specific social skills and the underlying psychological mechanisms. The present study filled these gaps by (a) establishing a relationship between deficits in facial expression recognition and Internet addiction, and (b) examining the mediating role of perceived stress that explains this hypothesized relationship. Ninety-seven participants completed validated questionnaires that assessed their levels of Internet addiction and perceived stress, and performed a computer-based task that measured their facial expression recognition. The results revealed a positive relationship between deficits in recognizing disgust facial expression and Internet addiction, and this relationship was mediated by perceived stress. However, the same findings did not apply to other facial expressions. Ad hoc analyses showed that recognizing disgust was more difficult than recognizing other facial expressions, reflecting that the former task assesses a social skill that requires cognitive astuteness. The present findings contribute to the literature by identifying a specific social skill deficit related to Internet addiction and by unveiling a psychological mechanism that explains this relationship, thus providing more concrete guidelines for practitioners to strengthen specific social skills that mitigate both perceived stress and Internet addiction.

Interventions to reduce the impact of unemployment and economic hardship on mental health in the general population: a systematic review

BACKGROUND

Job loss, debt and financial difficulties are associated with increased risk of mental illness and suicide in the general population. Interventions targeting people in debt or unemployed might help reduce these effects.

METHOD

We searched MEDLINE, Embase, The Cochrane Library, Web of Science, and PsycINFO (January 2016) for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of interventions to reduce the effects of unemployment and debt on mental health in general population samples. We assessed papers for inclusion, extracted data and assessed risk of bias.

RESULTS

Eleven RCTs (n = 5303 participants) met the inclusion criteria. All recruited participants were unemployed. Five RCTs assessed 'job-club' interventions, two cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) and a single RCT assessed each of emotional competency training, expressive writing, guided imagery and debt advice. All studies were at high risk of bias. 'Job club' interventions led to improvements in levels of depression up to 2 years post-intervention; effects were strongest among those at increased risk of depression (improvements of up to 0.2-0.3 s.d. in depression scores). There was mixed evidence for effectiveness of group CBT on symptoms of depression. An RCT of debt advice found no effect but had poor uptake. Single trials of three other interventions showed no evidence of benefit.

CONCLUSIONS

'Job-club' interventions may be effective in reducing depressive symptoms in unemployed people, particularly those at high risk of depression. Evidence for CBT-type interventions is mixed; further trials are needed. However the studies are old and at high risk of bias. Future intervention studies should follow CONSORT guidelines and address issues of poor uptake.

Attenuating the Negative Impact of Unemployment: The Interactive Effects of Perceived Emotional Intelligence and Well-Being on Suicide Risk

A growing body of research has demonstrated that deficits in well-being may be related to increased suicide risk, but there is only a limited number of studies that have focused on specific protective factors that can serve as a buffer against suicidal ideation and behaviours. Given that unemployment may be a factor leading to increased risk for suicide, this study assessed whether perceived EI might be a potential moderator in the relationship between life satisfaction/happiness and suicidal behaviours in a relatively large sample of unemployed individuals. Participants were 1125 unemployed (506 men and 619 women) who completed satisfaction with life and happiness questionnaires, the Suicidal Behaviours Questionnaire and the Wong and Law Emotional Intelligence Test. Consistent with the interaction hypothesis, lower scores in life satisfaction and happiness were associated with higher levels of current suicidal behaviours, and perceived EI scores moderated these relationships. Interventions targeting well-being via the promotion of emotional abilities may be useful in the prevention of suicidal ideation in the unemployed. The implications for these findings for research and practice are discussed.