The Role of Emotional Intelligence in Predicting Postpartum Depression

Breastfeeding self-efficacy in mothers: The body image and emotional intelligence perspective

BACKGROUND

Breastfeeding is a dynamic and complex process. Due to its complex nature, many reasons affect one another. Recent studies have focused on breastfeeding rates and factors that affect the early termination of breastfeeding. However, studies evaluating the relationship of body image and emotional intelligence concepts with breastfeeding self-efficacy have remained limited to date, resulting in a significant gap in the literature.

AIM

The present study was carried out to determine the relationship between breastfeeding self-efficacy, body image, and emotional intelligence of postpartum mothers.

METHODS

The descriptive and cross-sectional study was conducted with 400 mothers. The data were collected using the Descriptive Information Form, the Body Image Scale (BIS), Schutte Emotional Intelligence Scale (SEIS), and the Breastfeeding Self-Efficacy Scale (BSES). The data were evaluated with the SPSS program, using percentages, mean values, independent t-test,One-Way ANOVA, and Pearson's correlation and regression.

RESULTS

The mothers' mean age was 29.99±5.46 years. The mean total scores that mothers obtained from the scales were found to be 123.47±23.45 for the BIS, 144.46±13.11 for the SEIS, 51.81±9.46 for the BSES-SF. In the correlation analysis results, there was no correlation between the BSES-SF and SEIS. A statistically significant positive correlation was determined between the BIS and BSES-SF. Considering the regression analysis, it is seen that 7.4% of the change in mothers' breastfeeding self-efficacy is explained by body image (R^2 = 0.074) CONCLUSION: The study found that positive body image increases breastfeeding self-efficacy. There is a need for additional longitudinal research examining the body image and emotional intelligence perspective of breastfeeding self-efficacy.

The role of stress in perinatal depression and anxiety - A systematic review

Perinatal depression (PND) and anxiety affect around 20% of women, but available pharmacotherapy is not sufficiently effective in 20-60% of them, indicating a need for better understanding of these diseases. Since stress is a significant risk factor for PND, the aim was to examine the role of biological, environmental and psychological stress in PND and anxiety through a systematic literature search. Overall 210 studies were included, among which numerous rodent studies showed that perinatal stress induced depressive-like and anxious behavior, which was associated with HPA-axis alterations and morphological brain changes. Human studies indicated that the relationship between cortisol and perinatal depression/anxiety was not as clear and with many contradictions, although social and psychological stress were clearly positively associated with PND. Finally, oxytocin, synthetic neuroactive steroid and n-3 PUFA diet have been identified as potentially beneficial in the therapy of PND and anxiety, worth to be investigated in the future.

Effects of Emotional Intelligence Training on Symptom Severity in Patients With Depressive Disorders

Depressive disorders affect individual's thoughts, feelings, and social interactions. Enhancing emotional competencies of depressed individuals may alleviate their suffering. Purpose: This study aimed to compare depression severity and emotional intelligence before and after emotional intelligence training in patients with depressive disorders. Methods: A nonrandomized trial (one-group pretest-posttest) research design was applied to 69 patients purposively recruited. The patients' sociodemographic and clinical data were collected. The Beck Depression Inventory-II and Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire-Short Form were completed before and immediately after an 8-weeks of focused weekly group training. Results: A significant improvement in the scores of well-being, self-control, emotionality, and sociability; total emotional intelligence scores; and total depression scores was perceived after training (Z = 5.601, 4.398, 5.686, and 3.516; 4.943; and 2.387, respectively). Implications for Nursing Practice: As emotional intelligence can be learned; it may be a target for interventions when dealing with patients with depressive disorders by strengthening their emotional intelligence.

Factors affecting postpartum depression in Turkish women

AIM

To assess the effects of cognitive emotion regulation, emotional intelligence status and related factors on postpartum depression (PPD) in postpartum women.

DESIGN AND METHODS

This descriptive and cross-sectional study was conducted in 268 mothers with babies aged 1-12 months. The study was carried out between 01 November 2021 and 01 February 2022 in the pediatric outpatient clinic of the Medical Faculty Hospital of a province in the Central Anatolian Region of Turkey. Data were collected using the sociodemographic and obstetric data collection form, Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS), Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire-Short Form (CERQ), and Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire-Short Form (TEIQue-SF).

RESULTS

Seventy-one (26.5 %) mothers received scores above the cut-off point (>13) in the depression scale. Experiencing emotional violence, having cognitive emotion regulation difficulties, and low emotional intelligence characteristics affected the risk of developing postpartum depression by 16 % (F = 13.757, p < 0.001).

CONCLUSION

Exposure to emotional violence, cognitive emotion regulation, and emotional intelligence status reveal that they are important in identifying women at risk of PPD. These findings highlight the need for nurses to develop comprehensive cognitive emotion regulation and emotional intelligence traits assessment programs, including depression screening.

The effect of an emotional intelligence component program on happiness in patients with epilepsy

Emotional intelligence is a psychological component that may affect happiness level in patients with epilepsy. Given the high prevalence of depression in patients with epilepsy, as well as the limitations of studies in this regard in Iran, the aim of this study was to investigate the effect of an emotional intelligence component program on happiness in patients with epilepsy.

METHODS

This randomized clinical trial study conducted on 70 patients with epilepsy who were randomly divided into two experimental and control groups of 35 patients. Emotional Intelligence Training Based on Bar-On Combined Model was provided in eight 90-minute sessions for eight weeks. Data were collected using a two-part questionnaire: demographic data and the Oxford Happiness Questionnaire (OHQ).

RESULTS

The mean age of the subjects was 33.3 ± 10.4 years in the intervention group and 34.4 ± 9.3 years in the control group. The independent t-test results showed no significant difference between the two groups before the intervention (p = 0.195). The Mann-Whitney test results showed a significant difference between the two groups after emotional intelligence training (p < 0.001).

CONCLUSION

Overall, the findings of this study showed that emotional intelligence training led to improvement of happiness in patients with epilepsy. According to the results of the study, it is suggested that training based on emotional intelligence components be used as an approach to improve happiness level in patients with epilepsy.

Enterprise social network (ESN) systems and knowledge sharing: what makes it work for users?

Purpose

Enterprise Social Network (ESN) systems have emerged as the technology of choice to bolster and support organizational efforts for harnessing embedded knowledge. However, a lack of understanding about it limits the optimization of its potential. Hence, this paper aims to assess the role of hedonic motivation, network externalities (NE) and top management support in conjugation with the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology theory to understand ESN’s usage for knowledge sharing.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected from 187 ESN users through a survey questionnaire and subsequently analyzed using variance-based structural equation modeling using the partial least squares method.

Findings

ESNs are used both for utilitarian and hedonic purposes. Furthermore, the results also bring out the importance of externalities arising from an extensive network of users and complimentary services, as well as support regarding resources and recognition from the top management toward reinforcing the benefits of using ESNs.

Research limitations/implications

This study advances earlier knowledge by assessing the actual usage of ESNs for knowledge sharing. It takes into consideration multiple input variables, namely, performance expectancy, effort expectancy, NE amongst others to best resonate with the key factors driving its adoption and usage by an individual. However, because of the cross-sectional research design, causality can only be inferred.

Practical implications

The organizations are recommended to have in place the measures for attaining optimal usage of ESNs, and in turn, witness knowledge moves around in ways unfathomable. Steps should be taken to develop tools and ecosystems to provide users affordances for both increasing productivity, as well as opportunities for gaining pleasure.

Originality/value

This study is one of its kind effort to synthesize the knowledge about the ESNs in an Indian context. It provides fascinating insights into the determinants of intention and usage of ESNs for knowledge sharing.

Ability emotional intelligence in young people and older adults with and without depressive symptoms, considering gender and educational level

Background

There is little research on differences in Emotional Intelligence (EI) ability at different stages of adult development. The few published studies tend not to use older adult samples. Previous studies on EI ability and age have shown contradictory results. Our main objective was to evaluate results in EI ability across different stages of adult development, taking into account gender, depressive symptoms, and educational level.

Methods

We interviewed 166 participants (108 women), 66 of whom were aged 18–30 years, 53 aged 31–60 years, and 40 aged 61–76 years. All were either working or enrolled in colleges at the time of the study. The assessment tools used were the Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test (MSCEIT), a test that assesses performance-based EI, and the Centre for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression (CES-D) scale, a tool to evaluate depressive symptoms.

Results

Young people, women, and participants with a higher educational level achieved higher scores on the MSCEIT. Additionally, depressive symptomatology was only partially associated with the MSCEIT (i.e., with the using emotions branch). However, a subsequent joint analysis of the independent effects of variables age, gender, educational level, and depressive symptomatology and their interactions on MSCEIT total suggests that only educational level and depressive symptomatology were associated with EI ability, with the direct relationship between age and gender with MSCEIT disappearing. Additionally, our study indicated an interaction effect between age and depressive symptoms, showing that participants in age cohorts 18–30 and 31–60 and without depressive symptoms have a higher EI ability.

Discussion

Our study suggests that the direct effects of age and gender on EI ability across adult development, using a wide age range, can change or disappear when effects of educational level and depressive symptomatology, and their interactions, are controlled for. Our results also suggest that EI ability is a protective factor against depression in some age cohorts. This novel aspect of our study does not appear in the previous literature. However, prospective studies are needed to verify these findings and examine whether other psychological variables could determine the relations between age, gender and EI ability across adult development.