Low emotional intelligence as a predictor of substance-use problems

The Impact of Emotional Intelligence on Internet Addiction: A Case Study of Vietnamese Students

Internet addiction has attracted significant attention due to its adverse effects on humans, especially young people. This study is aimed at investigating the impact of emotional intelligence on Internet addiction. Data was collected from 744 Vietnamese students in Vietnam. SPSS 20.0 software was used for descriptive statistics, reliability testing, factor analysis, and regression. The empirical results showed that emotional intelligence had a negative influence on Internet addiction. Specifically, the components self-emotion appraisal (SEA), others’ emotion appraisal (OEA), and regulation of emotion (ROE) significantly affected Internet addiction. However, the effect of the component use of emotion (UOE) on Internet addiction was not found to be statistically significant. Overall, the results of the study indicate that improving emotional intelligence may reduce the extent of Internet addiction among Vietnamese students.

The relationship between trait emotional intelligence and problematic alcohol use among college students

Background: Problematic alcohol use among college students is a significant public health concern. Emotional intelligence (EI), or the ability to detect one's own and others' emotions and to use this information to direct behavior, is suggested to mitigate problematic alcohol use. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between EI and problematic alcohol use among college students while controlling for drug use covariates. Methods: This cross-sectional study utilized an online survey comprised of previously validated measures to determine EI, problematic alcohol use, and drug use among college students from a large, public university in the south-central United States. Regression modeling and independent samples t-test were used to determine the relationship between EI and problematic alcohol use. Results: Problematic alcohol consumption was reported among 27.3% of participants (n=587). In regression modeling, EI demonstrated a significant, protective effect on problematic alcohol use (b =-0.050, P <0.001, 95% CI: -0.076 - -0.023), when adjusting for important covariates. Independent samples t-test showed that students who screened positive for harmful alcohol use reported significantly lower EI values than those who did not (Mean difference=4.53, t =2.98, P =0.003, 95% CI: 1.54-7.51). Conclusion: The findings from this study show that problematic alcohol use is prevalent among college students and EI may provide a protective effect against this deleterious behavior. Given the findings observed in this study, university officials should incorporate EI training into the university curriculum, such as in onboarding courses for freshman and transfer students, to target prevention of potentially harmful alcohol consumption and associated negative health impacts.

Increasing knowledge about recovery-related life domains among pregnant and parenting women in comprehensive substance use disorder treatment: The Art of Addiction Recovery Program

BACKGROUND

Group treatments designed specifically for pregnant and parenting women with substance use disorders are lacking. This study provides a preliminary assessment of the Art of Addiction Recovery Program, a manualized group treatment imbedded within a comprehensive substance use disorder treatment program for pregnant and parenting women.

METHODS

The Program consists of 14 sessions, each focusing on a different topic, including health, social relationships, the recovery process, well-being, and introspection. Each session includes both the presentation of information by a facilitator, group discussions guided by the facilitator, and a creative project. A single-group pretest-posttest design provides an initial evaluation of the Art of Addiction Recovery Program.

RESULTS

Participants were 51 women with an average age of 28.7 (SD = 5.0) with most (69%) having a primary opioid use disorder and 82% reporting tobacco use. Significant (ps < 0.001) pre- to post-session increases in session-specific knowledge occurred for all 14 sessions with a measure of multivariate association indicating that these changes were substantial. Ratings of learning and effectiveness were generally high, with 19/28 means at 3.7 or above (maximum score = 4).

CONCLUSIONS

Findings suggest that The Art of Addiction Recovery Program was effective in conveying knowledge about substance use and recovery, and that participants increased their knowledge and generally strongly agreed that the sessions provided high levels of learning and were highly effective. The Art of Addiction Recovery Program provides an option for those seeking a manual-based group treatment program as an aid in the treatment process for this subpopulation.

Multimodal prediction of trait emotional intelligence-Through affective changes measured using non-contact based physiological measures

Inability to efficiently deal with emotionally laden situations, often leads to poor interpersonal interactions. This adversely affects the individual's psychological functioning. A higher trait emotional intelligence (EI) is not only associated with psychological wellbeing, educational attainment, and job-related success, but also with willingness to seek professional and non-professional help for personal-emotional problems, depression and suicidal ideation. Thus, it is important to identify low (EI) individuals who are more prone to mental health problems than their high EI counterparts, and give them the appropriate EI training, which will aid in preventing the onset of various mood related disorders. Since people may be unaware of their level of EI/emotional skills or may tend to fake responses in self-report questionnaires in high stake situations, a system that assesses EI using physiological measures can prove affective. We present a multimodal method for detecting the level of trait Emotional intelligence using non-contact based autonomic sensors. To our knowledge, this is the first work to predict emotional intelligence level from physiological/autonomic (cardiac and respiratory) response patterns to emotions. Trait EI of 50 users was measured using Schutte Self Report Emotional Intelligence Test (SSEIT) along with their cardiovascular and respiratory data, which was recorded using FMCW radar sensor both at baseline and while viewing affective movie clips. We first examine relationships between users' Trait EI scores and autonomic response and reactivity to the clips. Our analysis suggests a significant relationship between EI and autonomic response and reactivity. We finally attempt binary EI level detection using linear SVM. We also attempt to classify each sub factor of EI, namely-perception of emotion, managing own emotions, managing other's emotions, and utilization of emotions. The proposed method achieves an EI classification accuracy of 84%, while accuracies ranging from 58 to 76% is achieved for recognition of the sub factors. This is the first step towards identifying EI of an individual purely through physiological responses. Limitation and future directions are discussed.

Correlates of emotional intelligence among Lebanese adults: the role of depression, anxiety, suicidal ideation, alcohol use disorder, alexithymia and work fatigue

BACKGROUND

Relationship between emotional intelligence and emotional variables such as stress, depression, anxiety and mental health has been well documented in child and adult samples. New insights into the association between emotional intelligence and different components of mental health in one study (cognitive, emotional and behavioral dimensions) can help patients, therapists, relatives, and friends to understand, explain, and cope with symptoms. There have been no studies assessing the association between the emotional intelligence (EI) with various factors in Lebanon. This study principal aim was to evaluate how EI is related to mental health issues: social anxiety, depression, alcohol use disorders (AUD), work fatigue, stress and alexithymia in Lebanon.

METHODS

789 participants were enrolled in a cross-sectional study between November 2017 and March 2018. A cluster analysis was used to evaluate participants' profiles with the help of emotional intelligence subscales, to separate the Lebanese population into equal limited units with different characteristics using the K-mean technique.

RESULTS

Three clusters were computed dividing participants into low EI (cluster 1; 24.5%), moderate EI (cluster 2; 43.7%) and high EI (cluster 3; 31.7%) respectively. Fitting into the cluster 1 (low EI) was significantly associated with higher AUD, alexithymia, anxiety, depression, perceived stress, social phobia, emotional, mental and physical work fatigue, suicidal ideation compared to cluster 3 (high EI). Fitting into the cluster 2 (moderate EI) was significantly correlated with higher AUD, depression, alexithymia, anxiety, perceived stress, social phobia, mental work fatigue and suicidal ideation compared to cluster 3 (high EI).

CONCLUSION

This study results suggest that emotional intelligence is related to different variables, warranting interventions to limit/decrease alcohol abuse and mental/psychological illnesses as much possible.

Moderation effect of emotion regulation on the relationship between social anxiety, drinking motives and alcohol related problems among university students*

Background

Accumulated evidence suggests that individuals with social anxiety disorder (SAD) are at particular risk of developing alcohol use disorder (AUD). Yet, little is known about the mechanisms under this high comorbidity. This study aimed to elucidate the process of the development of alcohol related problems among individuals with elevated social anxiety. We investigated the moderation effect of difficulties in emotion regulation on the relationship between symptoms of social anxiety, coping and conformity motives and alcohol related problems.

Methods

In a sample of university students (N = 647) in South Korea, we examined whether cognitive (fear of negative evaluation), behavioral (social avoidance), and physiological symptoms (concerns over physiological symptoms) of social anxiety affect alcohol related problems with the mediation of coping and conformity motives. Furthermore, difficulties in emotion regulation were hypothesized to moderate each mediational path.

Results

Results showed that the fear of negative evaluation and concerns over physiological symptoms were associated with alcohol related problems with the mediation of conformity and coping motives, respectively. As hypothesized, each path was moderated by difficulties in emotion regulation.

Conclusions

Findings suggest that coping and conformity motives to cope with cognitive and physiological symptoms of social anxiety were related to alcohol related problems. In addition, individuals with high levels of difficulties in emotion regulation were prone to exhibit more alcohol related problems.

Habilidades de la inteligencia emocional en relación con el consumo de drogas ilícitas en adultos: una revisión sistemática

Introducción: La evaluación de la inteligencia emocional (IE) es centro de interés para profesionales de diversos campos de la salud y la educación. Objetivo: Identificar el estado del arte de las habilidades de la IE y las posibles relaciones con el consumo de drogas en adultos. Método: Se utilizó como guía la Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA). Se formuló la pregunta de investigación para dar respuesta al objetivo, se definieron los criterios de selección y, posteriormente, se buscaron artículos para el periodo 2007-2018 en las bases de datos PubMed, Scopus, EBSCO, Web of Science y OVID. Mediante el programa EndNote, se evaluaron los estudios para el análisis de los datos y sintetizarlos. Resultados: Se identificaron 1172 artículos a través de las bases de datos y se eligieron 15 estudios, de los cuales solo 3 cumplieron con los criterios de elegibilidad y calidad metodológica. Una baja IE da por resultado un consumo más intenso y frecuente de sustancias ilegales; por ende, una mayor dificultad en el manejo y regulación emocional. Conclusiones: La investigación de la IE y las adicciones son relativamente nuevas y se necesitan más estudios para comprender esta relación con mayor detalle.

Minimal emotional dysfunctions (MED) in personality disorders

The concept of minimal emotional dysfunctions (MED) refers to traditional psychopathology in order to describe, classify, and understand personality disorders. Emotional dysfunctions encompass disorders of affect predominance, production, expression, experience, modulation, and regulation. MED can explain the dimensional nature of personality disorders, their multidimensionality and problems with categorical classifications. It can stimulate research on the etiology of personality disorders in reference to modern developmental brain research and trauma psychology. It can guide new developments in pharmacotherapy and psychotherapy. It is suggested to focus on MED in future developments of the description and classification of personality disorders.

Impulsivity, Emotional Intelligence, and Alcohol Consumption in Young People: A Mediation Analysis

Alcohol consumption in young people is a public health problem. Due to the harmful consequences and the large population using alcoholic substances, it would be important to determine the biological, psychological, and social factors associated with alcohol use and abuse. The main object of this study is to explore which components of impulsivity, according to the main theoretical models, have predictive power regarding alcohol consumption in young people. A secondary objective is to determine if emotional intelligence has a mediating role between the components of impulsivity and alcohol consumption, and thus specifically contribute to the knowledge about the mediation processes between those variables that are involved in the initiation and maintenance of alcohol consumption. For this purpose, 384 participants were recruited (83.1% females, n = 319), with mean age of 20.46 years (SD = 1.90; range 18-25). All participants were alcohol consumers at the beginning of the study. Data collection was conducted via online survey; impulsivity was evaluated by several questionnaires (Sensation Seeking Scale Form V, Barratt Impulsivity Scales 11, and Sensitivity to Punishment and Sensitivity to Reward), and emotional intelligence was evaluated by the Trait Meta-Mood Scale. The results reveal that the dimension of disinhibition (a dimension of the sensation search scale) significantly has the highest predictive value on alcohol consumption. Moreover, our data show that the total effect and direct effect of disinhibition on frequency of alcohol consumption were both significant. The mediating role of emotional intelligence in this process was also significant. These findings show which variables should be considered to prevent alcohol consumption in young people.

Gender Differences in Negative Mood, Emotional Intelligence and Tobacco Use among Young Adults

Background: Tobacco use is recognized as a form of addiction and remains a significant health concern. Despite this well accepted problem, the various components associated with tobacco use across gender remain relatively unknown. Objectives: The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between tobacco use and negative moods (anxiety, depression, stress) between men and women. The relationship between emotional intelligence (EI) and attitudes about smoking was also investigated. Methods: A questionnaire was used to determine sociodemographic characteristics, negative moods, EI, smoking behavior, and tobacco-related attitudes (N = 350). Results: Amongst individuals who used tobacco products, women reported greater disturbances in stress and anxiety compared to men. In addition, both men and women who used tobacco products reported higher depression scores compared to nonsmokers, however, no gender differences were observed. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that higher EI scores explained negative attitudes about smoking in relation to health concerns. Lastly, women reported stronger attitudes for the restriction of cigarette sales and marketing of tobacco products. Conclusion: These findings support the literature by showing that mood dysregulation is an important factor associated with tobacco use among women. Additionally, we report that specific aspects of EI are psychological constructs closely linked with attitudes about smoking. Future studies elucidating the various components of tobacco use across gender might lead to more effective treatments for smoking.

Analysis of the emotional experiences of Japanese Alcoholics Anonymous members striving for sobriety

BACKGROUND

Japan's tolerance of alcohol consumption and intoxication pose extreme difficulties for community-dwelling alcoholics who wish to abstain from alcohol and maintain sobriety. Emotional problems triggered in daily life can easily lead to relapse, especially after abstinence. Alcoholics Anonymous places great emphasis on dealing with attendees' emotional experiences. However, the specific nature of this support is not well understood. Therefore, this study aimed to elucidate the emotional experiences of AA members who strive for sobriety while attending AA and to identify suggestions for new methods of support.

METHODS

The present study employed an interview method. Data were analyzed using the KJ Method, which was developed by Japanese cultural anthropologist Jiro Kawakita. Study participants were 36 men chosen from AA groups in the Kanto and Kyushu regions of Japan.

RESULTS

Long-term abstinence was achieved through the following process: 1) gaining objectivity, 2) striving to maintain an attitude of acceptance, and 3) remaining devoted to discipline for one's goals, thereby 4) recovering one's contradictory self. This was an unending process that unfolded as the individual tasks affected each other. To facilitate this process, AA members dealt with risk cues that destabilized post-cessation emotional balance while making daily efforts to regulate their own emotions.

CONCLUSIONS

To maintain sobriety, AA members strove to regulate their emotions. By doing so, they experienced personal growth and attained a life in which they did not require alcohol (i.e., sobriety). The present study indicated that Japanese nursing and health care workers should be willing to learn from AA members, such as by understanding the 12-step culture. The data also suggest the need to create environments conducive to AA activities, from which many alcoholics derive emotional support.

Coping strategies and their relationship with emotional intelligence in patients with epilepsy referred to Isfahan Epilepsy Society in 2017

INTRODUCTION

Epilepsy is a common neurological disorder, and the patients with epilepsy are heavily influenced by the psychological and social aspects of the illness. Therefore, patients try to use coping strategies to control their stress and tension in this situation. Given the importance of the issue of adaptation and coping with stress in patients with epilepsy, as well as the different factors affecting coping strategies in these patients, the present study aimed to investigate the relationship between coping strategies and emotional intelligence in patients with epilepsy.

METHODS

This descriptive-analytic study conducted on 134 male and female patients with epilepsy referred to the Epilepsy Society of Isfahan, Iran. The consecutive sampling method was applied in this study. The data collection tool included a three-section questionnaire: the Demographic information, the Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations (CISS), and the Bar-On Emotional Quotient Inventory (EQ-i).

RESULTS

The emotion-focused coping strategy was mostly used by 53.7% of the samples. The mean and standard deviation of the total score of emotional intelligence was 285.6 ± 39.5. Moreover, Pearson correlation test showed a significant difference between emotional intelligence variables and coping strategies (p < 0.001).

CONCLUSION

According to the relationship between emotional intelligence and coping strategies, it is suggested to consider ways to improve the emotional intelligence of patients with epilepsy in order to use more adaptive coping strategies.

The Mediating Role of Health Consciousness in the Relation Between Emotional Intelligence and Health Behaviors

The goals of this study were to identify groups of health-related behaviors among young adults (N = 314, Mage = 21.94, SD = 6.53), gauge the relation between emotional intelligence and health behaviors in this population, and assess health consciousness as mediator of said relation. Latent class analysis identified two mutually exclusive health behavior groups, which according to response patterns were labeled as Healthy and Unhealthy. The Healthy group (56%) was composed of individuals who had a healthy diet (i.e., low fat and high fiber), exercised regularly, and who frequently engaged in behaviors that prevent oral and skin-related diseases. In contrast, the Unhealthy group (44%) rarely engaged in these health-promoting behaviors. Using structural equation modeling we found a negative relation between emotional intelligence and unhealthy behaviors relative to health-promoting ones. Mediation analyses indicated that the mechanism explaining said relation was through increments in health consciousness, with large standardized indirect effects ranging between -0.52 and -0.78. As health behaviors during early adulthood are salient predictors of health outcomes in old age, the results have clear implications for the inclusion of emotional intelligence training in programs seeking to raise health awareness and cultivate health promoting behaviors in young adults, in so much as to seek to reduce the risk of chronic ailments later in life.

Trait Emotional Intelligence Profiles of Parents With Drug Addiction and of Their Offspring

This study examines the relationship between trait emotional intelligence (trait EI) and general health (General Health; GHQ-28) in two samples of Greek parents with (n = 52; Mage = 39.78; SDage = 6.68; 41 men and 11 women) and without (n = 51; Mage = 43.53; SDage = 4.61; 40 men and 11 women) addiction problems. In addition, it compares the trait EI scores of their offspring (N = 81; Mage = 11.71; SDage = 2.15; 51 boys and 30 girls). Results showed that parents with drug addiction exhibited lower levels of trait EI and poorer general health than peers. In addition, global trait EI and two of its subscales, Well-being and Emotionality, had stronger correlations with depression in the addiction than in the comparison group. Well-being was a significant predictor of general health and its subscales (Somatic symptoms, Anxiety/insomnia, Social dysfunction, and severe depression) in both groups. No differences were found between the offspring of the two groups.

The Relationship between Emotional Intelligence and Nicotine Dependence in Lebanese Adults

Emotional intelligence (EI) is known to be a risk factor for several types of addiction. The purpose of this study was to investigate, in a cross-sectional design, the presence of a relationship between the level of EI and nicotine dependence in a sample of Lebanese adults. A self-administered questionnaire was used to determine the sociodemographic characteristics, the level of nicotine dependence, and the level of EI in a sample of 142 Lebanese participants from the community. The sample was 51.4% women, with a mean age of 33.9 years. There was no difference in EI level between smokers and non-smokers (p = 0.66), and there were no associations between EI level and the level of nicotine dependence (p = 0.59). However, EI was positively correlated with age (p = 0.023). Due to the fact that smokers have been dependent on nicotine for many years and that EI is known to increase with age, findings suggest that low EI may be a risk factor for initiation, rather than maintenance, of nicotine dependence.

Developments in Trait Emotional Intelligence Research

Trait emotional intelligence (“trait EI”) concerns our perceptions of our emotional abilities, that is, how good we believe we are in terms of understanding, regulating, and expressing emotions in order to adapt to our environment and maintain well-being. In this article, we present succinct summaries of selected findings from research on (a) the location of trait EI in personality factor space, (b) the biological underpinnings of the construct, (c) indicative applications in the areas of clinical, health, social, educational, organizational, and developmental psychology, and (d) trait EI training. Findings to date suggest that individual differences in trait EI are a consistent predictor of human behavior across the life span.

The Effect of Group Therapy With Transactional Analysis Approach on Emotional Intelligence, Executive Functions and Drug Dependency

OBJECTIVES

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of group psychotherapy with transactional analysis (TA) approach on emotional intelligence (EI), executive functions and substance dependency among drug-addicts at rehabilitation centers in Mashhad city, Iran, in 2013.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

In this quasi-experimental study with pretest, posttest, case- control stages, 30 patients were selected from a rehabilitation center and randomly divided into two groups. The case group received 12 sessions of group psychotherapy with transactional analysis approach. Then the effects of independent variable (group psychotherapy with TA approach) on EI, executive function and drug dependency were assessed. The Bar-on test was used for EI, Stroop test for measuring executive function and morphine test, meth-amphetamines and B2 test for evaluating drug dependency. Data were analyzed using multifactorial covariance analysis, Levenes' analysis, MANCOVA, t-student and Pearson correlation coefficient tests t with SPSS software.

RESULTS

Our results showed that group psychotherapy with the TA approach was effective in improving EI, executive functions and decreasing drug dependency (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

The result of this study showed that group psychotherapy with TA approach has significant effects on addicts and prevents addiction recurrence by improving the coping capabilities and some mental functions of the subjects. However, there are some limitations regarding this study including follow-up duration and sample size.

Alexithymia and Addiction: A Review and Preliminary Data Suggesting Neurobiological Links to Reward/Loss Processing

Alexithymia, characterized by impairments in emotional awareness, is common among individuals with substance use disorders. Research on alexithymia suggests that it is a trait that may contribute to substance dependence. This paper will review alexithymia as it relates to substance use and substance use disorders, considering its potential role in the maintenance and treatment of these disorders. We will then describe how neural correlates associated with alexithymia may shed light on how alexithymia relates to addiction. Finally, we present preliminary fMRI data that examines how alexithymia may relate to the neurobiological correlates of reward/loss processing in individuals with cocaine dependence. While preliminary, these findings suggest a role of alexithymia in reward anticipation in cocaine-dependent individuals.

The Role of Intelligence Quotient and Emotional Intelligence in Cognitive Control Processes

The relationship between intelligence quotient (IQ) and cognitive control processes has been extensively established. Several studies have shown that IQ correlates with cognitive control abilities, such as interference suppression, as measured with experimental tasks like the Stroop and Flanker tasks. By contrast, there is a debate about the role of Emotional Intelligence (EI) in individuals' cognitive control abilities. The aim of this study is to examine the relation between IQ and EI, and cognitive control abilities evaluated by a typical laboratory control cognitive task, the Stroop task. Results show a negative correlation between IQ and the interference suppression index, the ability to inhibit processing of irrelevant information. However, the Managing Emotions dimension of EI measured by the Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test (MSCEIT), but not self-reported of EI, negatively correlates with the impulsivity index, the premature execution of the response. These results suggest that not only is IQ crucial, but also competences related to EI are essential to human cognitive control processes. Limitations and implications of these results are also discussed.

Difficulties with Emotion Regulation and Psychopathology Interact to Predict Early Smoking Cessation Lapse

There is little knowledge about how emotion regulation difficulties interplay with psychopathology in terms of smoking cessation. Participants (n = 250; 53.2 % female, M_age = 39.5, SD = 13.85) were community-recruited daily smokers (≥8 cigarettes per day) who self-reported motivation to quit smoking; 38.8 % of the sample met criteria for a current (past 12-month) psychological disorder. Emotion regulation deficits were assessed pre-quit using the Difficulties with Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS; Gratz and Roemer in J Psychopathol Behav Assess 26(1):41-54, 2004) and smoking behavior in the 28 days post-quit was assessed using the Timeline Follow-Back (TLFB; Sobell and Sobell in Measuring alcohol consumption: psychosocial and biochemical methods. Humana Press, Totowa, 1992). A Cox proportional-hazard regression analysis was used to model the effects of past-year psychopathology, DERS (total score), and their interaction, in terms of time to lapse post-quit day. After adjusting for the effects of gender, age, pre-quit level of nicotine dependence, and treatment condition, the model revealed a non-significant effect of past-year psychopathology (OR = 1.14, CI_{95 %} = 0.82-1.61) and difficulties with emotion regulation (OR = 1.01, CI_{95 %} = 1.00-1.01) on likelihood of lapse rate. However, the interactive effect of psychopathology status and difficulties with emotion regulation was significant (OR = 0.98, CI_{95 %} = 0.97-0.99). Specifically, there was a significant conditional effect of psychopathology status on lapse rate likelihood at low, but not high, levels of emotion regulation difficulties. Plots of the cumulative survival functions indicated that for smokers without a past-year psychological disorder, those with lower DERS scores relative to elevated DERS scores had significantly lower likelihood of early smoking lapse, whereas for smokers with past-year psychopathology, DERS scores did not differentially impact lapse rate likelihood. Smokers with emotion regulation difficulties may have challenges quitting, and not having such difficulties, especially without psychopathology, decreases the potential likelihood of early lapse.

Emotional intelligence components in alcohol dependent and mentally healthy individuals

Objective. Emotional intelligence might play an important role in the onset and persistence of different psychopathologies. This study investigated the relationship between emotional intelligence and alcohol dependence. Methods. In this case-control study, participants included alcohol dependent individuals and mentally healthy inpatients. Each group consisted of 40 individuals (male/female: 1). The diagnosis was based on the criteria of the DSM-IV-TR using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV (SCID-IV). All the participants completed Bar-On emotional intelligence test. Results. 20 males and 20 females were included in each group. Mean age of alcohol dependent participants and controls was 31.28 ± 7.82 and 34.93 ± 9.83 years in that order. The analyses showed that the alcohol dependent individuals had a significant difference compared with the control group and received lower scores in empathy, responsibility, impulse control, self-esteem, optimism, emotional consciousness, stress tolerance, autonomy, problem-solving, and total score of emotional intelligence components. Conclusion. Patients with alcohol dependence have deficits in components of emotional intelligence. Identifying and targeted training of the individuals with lower scores in components of emotional intelligence may be effective in prevention of alcohol dependence.

Integrating emotion regulation and emotional intelligence traditions: a meta-analysis

Two relatively independent research traditions have developed that address emotion management. The first is the emotion regulation (ER) tradition, which focuses on the processes which permit individuals to influence which emotions they have, when they have them, and how they experience and express these emotions. The second is the emotional intelligence (EI) tradition, which focuses—among other things—on individual differences in ER. To integrate these two traditions, we employed the process model of ER (Gross, 1998b) to review the literature on EI. Two key findings emerged. First, high EI individuals shape their emotions from the earliest possible point in the emotion trajectory and have many strategies at their disposal. Second, high EI individuals regulate their emotions successfully when necessary but they do so flexibly, thereby leaving room for emotions to emerge. We argue that ER and EI traditions stand to benefit substantially from greater integration.

An Examination of Emotion Regulation and Alcohol Use as Risk Factors for Female-Perpetrated Dating Violence

Dating violence is a serious problem among college students. Research indicates that females perpetrate as much, if not more, psychological and physical aggression against their dating partners relative to their male counterparts. Unfortunately, there is considerably less research on risk factors for female-perpetrated dating violence, hindering efforts aimed at preventing violence in their relationships. This study examined 2 risk factors for female-perpetrated dating violence, namely alcohol use and emotion regulation, within a sample of undergraduate female college students (N = 379). Using structural equation modeling, results demonstrated that emotion regulation was associated with psychological aggression perpetration, and this was partially mediated by alcohol use. Moreover, a 2-chain mediation was present, such that emotion regulation deficits predicted alcohol use, which in turn predicted psychological aggression, which finally predicted physical aggression. These findings are consistent with theoretical models of dating violence and indicate that intervention programs should focus their efforts on increasing adaptive emotion regulation, decreasing alcohol use, and reducing psychological aggression.

Personality disorder, emotional intelligence, and locus of control of patients with alcohol dependence

AIM

To assess personality disorder (PD), emotional intelligence (EI), and locus of control of alcohol dependent (AD) patients and its comparison with normal controls.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Based on purposive sampling technique, 33 AD patients were selected from the De-Addiction Ward of Ranchi Institute of Neuro-Psychiatry and Allied Sciences (RINPAS) and 33 matched normal subjects were selected from Ranchi and nearby places. Both the groups were matched on various sociodemographic parameters, that is, age, gender, and socioeconomic level. All participants were assessed with Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory-III, Mangal EI Inventory, and Locus of Control scale. Obtained responses were scored by using standard scoring procedures and subsequently statistically analyzed by using Chi-square test.

RESULTS

AD patients have more comorbid pathological personality traits and disorders in comparison to their normal counterparts. Depressive, narcissistic, and paranoid PDs were prominent among AD group; followed by schizotypal, antisocial, negativistic, dependent, schizoid, sadistic, masochistic, and borderline PD. In comparison to normal participants, AD patients were significantly deficient in almost all the areas of EI and their locus of control was externally oriented.

CONCLUSION

Patients with AD have significantly higher PDs, low EI, and an external orientation on the locus of control. Identification and management of these comorbid conditions are likely to improve the management and outcome of AD.

Relationship between emotional processing, drinking severity and relapse in adults treated for alcohol dependence in Poland

AIMS

Growing data reveals deficits in perception, understanding and regulation of emotions in alcohol dependence (AD). The study objective was to explore the relationships between emotional processing, drinking history and relapse in a clinical sample of alcohol-dependent patients.

METHODS

A group of 80 inpatients entering an alcohol treatment program in Warsaw, Poland was recruited and assessed at baseline and follow-up after 12 months. Baseline information about demographics, psychopathological symptoms, personality and severity of alcohol problems was obtained. The Schutte Self-Report Emotional Intelligence (EI) Test and Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS) were utilized for emotional processing assessment. Follow-up information contained data on drinking alcohol during the last month.

RESULTS

At baseline assessment, the duration of alcohol drinking was associated with lower ability to utilize emotions. Patients reporting more difficulties with describing feelings drank more during their last episode of heavy drinking, and had a longer duration of intensive alcohol use. A longer duration of the last episode of heavy drinking was associated with more problems identifying and regulating emotions. Poor utilization of emotions and high severity of depressive symptoms contributed to higher rates of drinking at follow-up.

CONCLUSIONS

These results underline the importance of systematic identification of discrete emotional problems and dynamics related to AD. This knowledge has implications for treatment. Psychotherapeutic interventions to improve emotional skills could be utilized in treatment of alcohol-dependent patients.

Experimental and clinical usefulness of crossmodal paradigms in psychiatry: an illustration from emotional processing in alcohol-dependence

Crossmodal processing (i.e., the construction of a unified representation stemming from distinct sensorial modalities inputs) constitutes a crucial ability in humans' everyday life. It has been extensively explored at cognitive and cerebral levels during the last decade among healthy controls. Paradoxically however, and while difficulties to perform this integrative process have been suggested in a large range of psychopathological states (e.g., schizophrenia and autism), these crossmodal paradigms have been very rarely used in the exploration of psychiatric populations. The main aim of the present paper is thus to underline the experimental and clinical usefulness of exploring crossmodal processes in psychiatry. We will illustrate this proposal by means of the recent data obtained in the crossmodal exploration of emotional alterations in alcohol-dependence. Indeed, emotional decoding impairments might have a role in the development and maintenance of alcohol-dependence, and have been extensively investigated by means of experiments using separated visual or auditory stimulations. Besides these unimodal explorations, we have recently conducted several studies using audio-visual crossmodal paradigms, which has allowed us to improve the ecological validity of the unimodal experimental designs and to offer new insights on the emotional alterations among alcohol-dependent individuals. We will show how these preliminary results can be extended to develop a coherent and ambitious research program using crossmodal designs in various psychiatric populations and sensory modalities. We will finally end the paper by underlining the various potential clinical applications and the fundamental implications that can be raised by this emerging project.

Mental state decoding and mental state reasoning in recently detoxified alcohol-dependent individuals

Impaired social cognition has been associated with interpersonal problems and with the development of and relapse into alcohol abuse. In the present study, self-reported trait empathy, decoding of complex mental states and cognitive and affective mental state reasoning were assessed in alcohol-dependent participants, and the association with executive function and psychopathological characteristics was investigated. Twenty recently detoxified alcohol-dependent patients and 20 matched healthy controls were assessed with an abbreviated German version of the interpersonal reactivity index, the revised reading the mind in the eyes test, the faux pas story test, the trail making test and the letter-number-sequencing test. Patients were impaired relative to controls with regard to mental state decoding on the eyes test and showed reduced faux pas detection and impaired mental state reasoning reflected by lower faux pas understanding and faux pas empathy scores. There were no group differences regarding self-reported trait empathy. Performance on the sociocognitive measures was related to executive functioning and the severity of depressive symptoms. Although self-report measures might not always reliably detect impairments of social cognition, behavioural measures suggest pronounced impairments of mental state decoding and mental state reasoning in association with alcohol dependence. Findings ought to be incorporated into current treatment strategies.

Multicultural personality questionnaire: development of a short form

This study reports on the development of the Multicultural Personality Questionnaire-Short Form among 511 participants. Using a split-sample scale validation design, Study 1 (N = 260) employed a principal component analysis and rigorous item selection criteria to extract a 40-item short form (MPQ-SF) from the original 91-item Multicultural Personality Questionnaire (MPQ; van der Zee & van Oudenhoven, 2000, 2001). In Study 2 (N = 251), the MPQ-SF was subjected to confirmatory factor analysis and resulted in a reasonably good fit to the data (comparative fit index = .94; root mean squared error of approximation = .066). Satisfactory coefficient alphas and high correlations with the original scales were found. Moreover, relationships with related scales were largely in the predicted direction. Specific directions for follow-up research are posited.

Deficits in emotion-regulation skills predict alcohol use during and after cognitive-behavioral therapy for alcohol dependence

OBJECTIVE

As emotion regulation is widely considered to be a primary motive in the misuse of alcohol, our aim in the study was to investigate whether deficits in adaptive emotion-regulation skills maintain alcohol dependence (AD).

METHOD

A prospective study investigated whether emotion-regulation skills were associated with AD and whether these skills predicted alcohol use during and after treatment for AD. Participants were 116 individuals treated for AD with cognitive-behavioral therapy. Emotion regulation and severity of AD symptoms were assessed by self-report. Alcohol use during treatment was assessed by Breathalyzer and urine analysis for ethyl glucuronide; alcohol use during the 3-month follow-up interval was assessed by self-report.

RESULTS

Pretreatment emotion-regulation skills predicted alcohol use during treatment, and posttreatment emotion-regulation skills predicted alcohol use at follow-up, even when controlling for other predictors potentially related to emotion regulation. Among a broad range of specific emotion-regulation skills, the ability to tolerate negative emotions was the only skill that negatively predicted subsequent alcohol consumption when controlling for the other skills. Individuals in the AD sample reported significantly larger deficits in emotion-regulation skills than did those in a nonclinical control sample but significantly less than did those in a sample of individuals exclusively meeting criteria for major depressive disorder.

CONCLUSIONS

Enhancement of general emotion-regulation skills, especially the ability to tolerate negative emotions, appears to be an important target in the treatment of AD.

Emotional Intelligence: An Untapped Resource for Alcohol and Other Drug Related Prevention among Adolescents and Adults

Alcohol and Other Drug abuse in adolescents and adults continues to be a major public health problem in the United States. Care in intervention programs aimed at high risk populations identified occurs after the maladaptive behavioral delinquency has occurred, and only then is an individual afforded the opportunity to join an intervention program. The focus of this paper is to illustrate and highlight the value of prevention programs which emphasize altering maladaptive behavior before the behavior becomes problematic. Emotional Intelligence is not only an indicator of alcohol and other drug abuse, but is linked to emotional competence, social and emotional learning, the development of healthy and life promoting behavior, and has been proven to reduce some of the risk factors associated with alcohol and other drug abuse in adolescents and adults. This paper seeks to recognize the significance of Emotional Intelligence as a desirable health promoting attribute and to establish the importance of its conceptual use in a prevention based model for reducing associated high risk behaviors.

Emotional competence and quality of life of children with asthma: The mediating effect of coping strategies

This study explored the mediating effect of coping strategies on the relationship between emotional competence (EC) and quality of life (QOL) among children with asthma. Participants were 87 children (M age = 11.72, SD = 2.58) with controlled and partially controlled asthma, undergoing everyday treatment. They filled in questionnaires assessing EC, coping strategies and QOL. Results showed that the association between some ECs and the QOL of children with asthma was fully mediated by two maladaptive cognitive coping strategies. Among children with asthma, a greater ability to differentiate their emotions, a reduced attention to bodily signals of emotions and a reduced analysis of their current emotional state were related to decreased engagement in two coping strategies ('Ignoring Asthma' and 'Worrying about Asthma'), which in turn increased their QOL. These findings show that EC has an indirect effect on QOL through very specific coping strategies. They also emphasise the importance of screening EC in children with asthma and the importance of developing and using multidisciplinary interventions for them.

Impaired conditional reasoning in alcoholics: a negative impact on social interactions and risky behaviors?

AIMS

To study the 'social brain' in alcoholics by investigating social contract reasoning, theory of mind and emotional intelligence.

DESIGN

A behavioral study comparing recently detoxified alcoholics with normal, healthy controls.

SETTING

Emotional intelligence and decoding of emotional non-verbal cues have been shown to be impaired in alcoholics. This study explores whether these deficits extend to conditional reasoning about social contracts.

PARTICIPANTS

Twenty-five recently detoxified alcoholics (17 men and eight women) were compared with 25 normal controls (17 men and eight women) matched for sex, age and education level.

MEASUREMENTS

Wason selection task investigating conditional reasoning on three different rule types (social contract, precautionary and descriptive), revised Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test, Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire (modified version) and additional control measures.

FINDINGS

Conditional reasoning was impaired in alcoholics. Performance on descriptive rules was not above chance. Reasoning performance was markedly better on social contract and precautionary rules, but this performance was still significantly lower than in controls. Several emotional intelligence measures were lower in alcoholics compared to controls, but these were not correlated with reasoning performance.

CONCLUSIONS

Conditional reasoning, including reasoning about social contracts and emotional intelligence appear to be impaired in alcoholics. Impairment seems to be particularly severe on descriptive rules. Impairment in social contract reasoning might lead to misunderstandings and frustration in social interactions, and reasoning difficulties about precautionary rules might contribute to risky behaviors in this population.

A meta-analytic investigation of emotional intelligence and alcohol involvement

The relationship between emotional intelligence (EI) and alcohol involvement has been investigated by numerous studies. The present meta-analysis analyzed the findings of these studies. The meta-analysis, based on 16 effect sizes from 11 studies with a total of 2,271 participants, showed that lower EI was significantly related to higher alcohol involvement, r = -.18. Lower EI was significantly associated with both alcohol-related problems, r = -.32 and level of alcohol use, r = -.10, but the association was significantly higher with alcohol-use-related problems. The results suggest that future research would most profitably examine the role of EI in alcohol consumption-related problems.

Is there a gender difference in associates of adolescents' lifetime illicit drug use in Tehran, Iran?

INTRODUCTION

Information regarding gender differences in drug use of adolescents is essential for designing gender-specific drug prevention policies. This study was conducted in high school students in Tehran, Iran, in 2007. Here, we report the gender differences in lifetime prevalence as well as psychosocial associates of drug use.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

This was a gender analysis of the data collected in a drug use survey conducted in a random sample of high school adolescents (573 boys and 551 girls) in Tehran, Iran, 2007. Demographic characteristics, parental and peers' substance use, school performance, religious beliefs, attachment, self-esteem and emotional intelligence (EI) were entered in logistic regression analyses to predict the lifetime illicit drug use in boy and girls, separately.

RESULTS

Boys were more likely to report lifetime illicit drug use than girls (10.1% vs. 6.4%, p = 0.023). Differences in the risk profile associated with lifetime illicit drug use by gender included history of substance use in the family, higher score of attachment, and having an employed mother as predictors of substance use in boys, but not girls.

CONCLUSIONS

Understanding this gender difference in predictors of lifetime use of illicit drugs in high school adolescents facilitates the design of gender-sensitive drug use preventive programmes. It seems that family variables may have more value in prevention of illicit drug use in male adolescents.

Emotional intelligence and addictions: a systematic review

Since the millennium, an expanding number of research articles have examined the relationship between emotional intelligence (EI) and physical and mental health. The relationship between EI and addictive disorders has, however, remained relatively well-hidden. We therefore systematically reviewed and critically evaluated the literature on this relationship. We identified 51 articles on the topic of which 36 fulfilled our inclusion criteria. Results indicate that a lower level of EI is associated with more intensive smoking, alcohol use, and illicit drug use and two components of EI play a key role in addictions: "decoding and differentiation of emotions" and "regulation of emotions."

Is emotional intelligence impaired in ecstasy-polydrug users?

Previous findings report use of the drug ecstasy (MDMA) to be associated with lower emotional intelligence (EI), and compromised functioning in brain areas responsible for emotion. This study explored the relationship between ecstasy use, EI, mood and parenting styles. Questionnaire measures of drug use, lifestyle, parenting style and EI were obtained, with separate IQ measures for fluid intelligence (Ravens matrices) and pre-morbid intelligence [National Adult Reading Test (NART)]. Current mood measures were obtained from an adjective checklist. The sample comprised 78 ecstasy/polydrug users, 38 cannabis only users and 34 non-drug users. Drug use was categorised at three levels (non-user, cannabis-only user and ecstasy-polydrug user). Factorial ANOVA using drug use as an independent variable showed no significant group effects in EI. EI showed significant correlations with current mood that were positive for arousal and negative for both anxiety and depression. EI was also significantly and positively correlated with the perceived degree of parental control. Regression analyses showed that these relationships remained significant after controlling for differences in IQ, age, gender, and ecstasy use. Adverse mood effects specifically associated with ecstasy use were significantly related to lower EI, and were independent of IQ, age and gender. Higher EI was significantly associated with ecstasy-related precautions used when taking this drug. Contrary to earlier findings, ecstasy-polydrug users did not differ from non-users on EI. However, self-reported ecstasy-related mood disturbances were related to lower EI, with the compromising of orbitofrontal cortical functioning being possible here.