Ability-Based Emotional Intelligence Is Associated With Greater Cardiac Vagal Control and Reactivity

Ability-Related Emotional Intelligence: An Introduction

Emotionally intelligent people are thought to be more skilled in recognizing, thinking about, using, and regulating emotions. This construct has garnered considerable interest, but initial enthusiasm has faded and it is time to take stock. There is consensus that ability-related measures of emotional intelligence (EI) can be favored to self-report tests, in part because the resulting scores cannot be equated with personality traits. However, there are questions surrounding measurement as well as predictive value. Experts in the field were encouraged to chart new directions, with the idea that these new directions could reinvigorate EI scholarship. Special Issue papers speak to theory, mechanism, measurement, and training. In addition, these papers seek to forge links with research traditions focused on interpersonal perception, emotional awareness, and emotion regulation. As a result of these efforts, new insights into what EI is and how it works can be anticipated in upcoming years.

The feasibility of motivational interviewing on adherence to care practices, emotional intelligence, and dispositional optimism among patients with permanent pacemakers

AIMS

Motivational interviewing (MI) has been recognized as highly effective for treating chronic diseases and various conditions, with encouraging results demonstrating its effectiveness in promoting health behaviour change. The current study was proposed to evaluate the feasibility of MI on adherence to care practices, emotional intelligence (EI), and dispositional optimism among patients with permanent pacemakers.

METHODS AND RESULTS

This study was a parallel arm randomized controlled trial. Seventy clients with permanent pacemakers were randomly allocated to a six-session MI intervention (n = 35) or a waiting list control group (n = 35). A statistically significant improvement in the mean scores of adherence to care practices, EI, and dispositional optimism, along with a significant reduction in pessimism, was registered among the study group compared with the control group.

CONCLUSION

Following the intervention for 1- and 2-month follow-up measurements, there were statistically significant improvements in self-care practice adherence. After 1 month of intervention, there were statistically significant gains in EI and dispositional optimism, but at the 2-month follow-up measurement, this improvement had somewhat lessened. The findings suggest that MI may be a feasible and practical approach for improving adherence to care practices, EI, and dispositional optimism in patients with permanent pacemakers.

REGISTRATION

ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT05883514.

Exploring Emotional Intelligence and Sociodemographics in Higher Education; the Imperative for Skills and Curriculum Development

There is increasing interest in understanding the nature and impact of emotional intelligence (EI) in educational institutions and the workplace since EI is associated with academic performance, career success, job satisfaction, and management skills. Here we measured EI levels in students and employees at Qatar University and examined associations with sociodemographic variables. This cross-sectional study used the Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire-Short Form (TEIQue-SF) questionnaire to quantify EI. Of 517 respondents, 315 were students and 202 were employees. The mean global EI level across all participants was 4.80 ± 0.78, with EI highest in the well-being domain (5.43 ± 1.04). Overall, older respondents had higher EI than younger respondents. There was no significant effect of gender, marital status, or employment position on EI. However, there were significant two- and three-way interactions. As a standalone variable, age was the most important factor influencing EI development in our cohort. However, three-way interactions revealed complex effects between age, gender, and marital status and EI. Our findings support a need for workshops on EI for employees and integrating dedicated courses into existing curricula to equip students with effective interpersonal relationship skills that foster EI development. Developing such interpersonal skills could help to promote personal, professional, and academic success.

Neuroticism and Emotional Intelligence in Adolescence: A Mediation Model Moderate by Negative Affect and Self-Esteem

Different studies have revealed that high scores in neuroticism relate to feelings of guilt, flustering, low self-esteem, and insecurity in relationships with others. The main objective of this work is to analyze the relationship between neuroticism and emotional intelligence in the adolescent stage and try to go one step further in the study of that relationship through the formulation of a moderate mediation model in which negative affect participates as a mediating variable and self-esteem as a moderating variable. Method: The total number of adolescents amounted to 742, with a very similar sample in both sexes, 45.1% boys and 51.5% girls. They were between 13 and 19 years old (M = 15.63, SD = 1.244) and lived in the province of Almería, Spain. Results: First, our main results significantly reflected that the neuroticism personality trait increased negative affect as self-esteem decreased. Second, statistical analyzes showed that the effect of neuroticism on attention and emotional repair was mediated by negative affect, the effect being greater when self-esteem was lower. Therefore, negative affect was presented as a mediating variable in the relationship between neuroticism and attention and emotional repair, with self-esteem acting as a moderating variable in the model. Conclusions: These findings have implications for professional practice with adolescents, since they highlight the importance of carrying out interventions that contribute to the development of self-esteem in the prevention of neuroticism since these actions can help moderate the effect exerted by the negative affect on emotional attention and repair, improving the emotional intelligence of the adolescent and, therefore, their psychological health.

Measuring the Relation between Academic Performance and Emotional Intelligence at the University Level after the COVID-19 Pandemic Using TMMS-24

The outbreak of the global pandemic derived from COVID-19 in early 2020 has represented a huge loss of social contact for most young people. The extent of these effects is still unknown, so it is necessary to ask what the effect of this new, unforeseen, and prolonged situation on the management of emotional intelligence in university students is. This study aims to compare the academic performance, test anxiety (before and during the online exams), and emotional intelligence of 91 students in a university Master’s degree program after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. The emotional intelligence was measured by the TMMS-24, the academic performance was compiled in common subjects, and test anxiety was measured by self-assessment just after finishing each online exam. The comparisons between the variables were made through means difference contrasts using Mann–Whitney U, Kruskal–Wallis, and One-way ANOVA and Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient as a non-parametric test for correlational analysis. The results show that the COVID-19 pandemic has not modified how these three variables are related, so it can be concluded that the prolonged social isolation suffered by young people has not had negative repercussions on their emotional intelligence, anxiety before exams, and academic performance.

Sleep quality and duration are associated with greater trait emotional intelligence

OBJECTIVES

Prior work suggests that short sleep and total sleep deprivation are associated with reduced trait Emotional Intelligence (trait EI) but not reduced ability Emotional Intelligence (ability EI). To expand this knowledge base, we investigated the role of habitual sleep quality on trait and ability EI above and beyond the known effects of recent sleep duration.

METHODS

A large sample, comprising 477 healthy adults completed the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire (TEIQue; trait EI), and Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Scale (MSCEIT; ability EI).

RESULTS

Bivariate correlation and multiple linear regression showed that recent sleep duration and PSQI sleep quality each independently predicted higher trait EI scores, including Emotionality, Self-Control, Sociability, and Well-being, but were unrelated to ability EI scores.

CONCLUSIONS

In this large community sample, recent sleep duration and habitual sleep quality both independently associated with self-perceived dispositional aspects of EI (ie, trait EI). In contrast, recent sleep duration and PSQI score were unrelated to more crystalized aspects of EI performance, which encompass the general fund of emotional information and the ability to understand and reason about emotional concepts (ie, ability EI). In sum, greater self-perceived sleep duration and quality was associated with subjective perceptions of better emotional functioning, but was unrelated to performance-based metrics of emotional reasoning.