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The effectiveness of staff training focused on increasing emotional intelligence and improving interaction between support staff and clients

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Background Recent research addressed the relationship between staff behaviour and challenging behaviour of individuals with an intellectual disability (ID). Consequently, research on interventions aimed at staff is warranted. The present study focused on the effectiveness of a staff training aimed at emotional intelligence and interactions between staff and clients. The effects of the training on emotional intelligence, coping style and emotions of support staff were investigated.Method Participants were 214 support staff working within residential settings for individuals with ID and challenging behaviour. The experimental group consisted of 76 staff members, 138 staff members participated in two different control groups. A pre-test, post-test, follow-up control group design was used. Effectiveness was assessed using questionnaires addressing emotional intelligence, coping and emotions.ResultsEmotional intelligence of the experimental group changed significantly more than that of the two control groups. The experimental group showed an increase in task-oriented coping, whereas one control group did not. The results with regard to emotions were mixed. Follow-up data revealed that effects within the experimental group were still present four months after the training ended.ConclusionsA staff training aimed at emotional intelligence and staff-client interactions is effective in improving emotional intelligence and coping styles of support staff. However, the need for more research aiming at the relationship between staff characteristics, organisational factors and their mediating role in the effectiveness of staff training is emphasised.

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... Consequently, the systematic review encompassed 17 studies for the final review. These studies included six randomised controlled trials (RCT) (Abbasi et al., 2018;Foji et al., 2020;Mao et al., 2021;Meng and Qi, 2018;Sharif et al., 2013;Zijlmans et al., 2015), three quasi-experimental with pre-test-post-test control designs (Erkayiran and Demirkiran, 2018;Fletcher et al., 2009;Kozlowski et al., 2018), three controlled before-after studies (Karimi et al., 2020;Tadmor et al., 2016;Zijlmans et al., 2011), and five non-randomised experimental designs (Non-RCT) (Frias et al., 2021;Partido and Stefanik, 2020;Ragab et al., 2021;Shahid et al., 2018;Sarabia-Cobo et al., 2017). The PRIMSA flowchart is presented in Figure 1. ...
... Participants in the qualified studies were recruited from a range of settings. Twelve studies focused on healthcare settings (Abbasi et al., 2018;Foji et al., 2020;Mao et al., 2021;Sharif et al., 2013;Zijlmans et al., 2015;Kozlowski et al., 2018;Karimi et al., 2020;Tadmor et al., 2016;Zijlmans et al., 2011;Frias et al., 2021;Shahid et al., 2018;Sarabia-Cobo et al., 2017), whereas five studies centred around educational institutions (Meng and Qi, 2018;Erkayiran and Demirkiran, 2018;Fletcher et al., 2009;Partido and Stefanik, 2020;Ragab et al., 2021). Within healthcare settings, participants hailed from various medical domains, including hospital nursing and resident contexts (Foji et al., 2020;Mao et al., 2021;Zijlmans et al., 2015;Kozlowski et al., 2018;Frias et al., 2021), residential care facilities (Karimi et al., 2020;Zijlmans et al., 2011), nursing homes (Sarabia-Cobo et al., 2017), intensive care units (Sharif et al., 2013), hematologyoncology departments (Tadmor et al., 2016), emergency departments (Abbasi et al., 2018), paediatric settings (Sharif et al., 2013), and intense care units (Sharif et al., 2013). ...
... Twelve studies focused on healthcare settings (Abbasi et al., 2018;Foji et al., 2020;Mao et al., 2021;Sharif et al., 2013;Zijlmans et al., 2015;Kozlowski et al., 2018;Karimi et al., 2020;Tadmor et al., 2016;Zijlmans et al., 2011;Frias et al., 2021;Shahid et al., 2018;Sarabia-Cobo et al., 2017), whereas five studies centred around educational institutions (Meng and Qi, 2018;Erkayiran and Demirkiran, 2018;Fletcher et al., 2009;Partido and Stefanik, 2020;Ragab et al., 2021). Within healthcare settings, participants hailed from various medical domains, including hospital nursing and resident contexts (Foji et al., 2020;Mao et al., 2021;Zijlmans et al., 2015;Kozlowski et al., 2018;Frias et al., 2021), residential care facilities (Karimi et al., 2020;Zijlmans et al., 2011), nursing homes (Sarabia-Cobo et al., 2017), intensive care units (Sharif et al., 2013), hematologyoncology departments (Tadmor et al., 2016), emergency departments (Abbasi et al., 2018), paediatric settings (Sharif et al., 2013), and intense care units (Sharif et al., 2013). Further information concerning the characteristics of the included studies is provided in Table 1. ...
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Background The healthcare sector is acknowledged as a complex and challenging field. Increasingly, research highlights the importance of healthcare workers’ internal social and emotional skills in managing their well-being and enhancing their capacity to provide patient care and support to colleagues. Emotional Intelligence (EI) has been identified as a key factor in improving the health and performance of healthcare workers, leading to the implementation of numerous programs aimed at enhancing EI. Objective This meta-analysis aims to evaluate the effectiveness of EI training interventions among healthcare workers, focusing on various intervention designs and their impact on EI improvement. Methods The review encompassed 17 longitudinal studies, each implementing EI training interventions for healthcare workers aged 18 and over. The studies employed a variety of research designs. Results All studies demonstrated an increase in EI following the intervention. However, methodological limitations within these studies might have led to an overestimation of the actual effects of the interventions. Conclusion While the reviewed studies indicate a positive trend in EI enhancement post-intervention, the potential overestimation of effects due to methodological flaws necessitates caution. The findings underline the need for future research to explore the optimal duration and delivery methods for EI training in healthcare settings. Systematic review registration The systematic review and meta-analysis have been pre-registered with PROSPERO [CRD42023393760]. Further details can be accessed at: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?ID=CRD42023393760.
... EI also helps individuals develop practical interpersonal skills to build workplace friendships (Irlbeck and Dunn, 2020;Ofoegbu and Akanbi, 2013). People with EI may be more successful in managing interpersonal interactions with peers, achieve better employee-customer interactions and be more easily recognized by leaders (Gill et al., 2015;Zijlmans et al., 2015). Emotionally intelligent leaders exhibit open relationships with subordinates in the context of China (Cui, 2021). ...
... Due to the importance of relational skills in individuals and organizational success and the lack of research on the influence of EI enhancement on interpersonal relationships, scholars call for more research into the role of EI training and ESC improvements in building quality relationships (Kotsou et al., 2019;Zijlmans et al., 2015). Since most studies on the subject are quantitative, qualitative research to examine the impact of EI training on relevant competencies development is meaningful (Hess and Bacigalupo, 2013). ...
... Moreover, employees' collaboration and teamwork were boosted by positive moods, which were shown in comments from many respondents as support, respect and comfort within their groups, a finding supports previously claim that the effect of EI training in increasing positive and relaxed emotional reactions among staff and clients (Zijlmans et al., 2015). Also, improved collaboration leads to better decisions, performance and teams. ...
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Purpose This paper aims to determine whether performing an emotional intelligence (EI) intervention improves employees’ self-perceived emotional–social competencies (ESC) to achieve relational outcomes in firms based in China. Design/methodology/approach Based on a qualitative, interpretive approach through purposive sampling, this paper explored the impacts the Strengths Deployment Inventory (SDI) 2.0 intervention might have upon Chinese employees regarding ESC and relational outcomes. Data was collected from 18 semi-structured interviews with Chinese executives and individual contributors. Findings The findings suggested that ESC could be developed and improved in Chinese employees. The SDI 2.0 intervention may effectively bring about positive EI shifts and relevant attitudinal and behavioral changes related to work relationships. Practical implications The developed ESC and relational outcomes provide practitioners with insight to better understand the role training plays in organizational effectiveness, as well as to implement the SDI 2.0 program in human resource practices of Chinese organizations to develop personnel and promote high-quality work relationships. Originality/value This study gains significance by highlighting the effectiveness of the SDI 2.0 intervention in enhancing respondents’ ESC with relational outcomes from the perspectives of Chinese firms. Thus, supporting the effectiveness of EI training in the Chinese workplace and introducing the EI training literature the SDI 2.0 tool.
... However, in the case of some of the interventions, changes in well-being were treated as a measure of the effectiveness of a learning intervention. Of the 41 studies, 12 did not seek to measure learning outcomes that were distinct from well-being, simply measuring the effectiveness of the learning intervention by its impact on well-being outcomes ( Vitzthum, Klapp, & Groneberg, 2015;Romanowska et al., 2011;Shonin, Van Gordon, Dunn, Singh, & Griffiths, 2014;Sutton, Williams, & Allinson, 2015;Taniguchi, Hirokawa, Tsuchiya, & Kawakami, 2007;Varekamp, Verbeek, de Boer, & Van Dijk, 2011;Williams, Brenner, Helms, & Williams, 2009;Zijlmans, Embregts, Gerits, Bosman, & Derksen, 2015). The rest of the studies measured both learning and well-being outcomes, although there was often a good deal of overlap between the two. ...
... One study evaluates a psychosocial intervention training programme for mental health staff with the expectation that this will improve professional practice and interaction with mental health service users and reduce burnout for staff (Redhead, Bradshaw, Braynion, & Doyle, 2011). Whilst it is hypothesized that the intervention will help staff to develop skills or resources to cope with stress, the primary focus is on professional development, and this is also the case in another intervention based on training to develop emotional intelligence (Zijlmans et al., 2015). This intervention focuses on staff working with people with intellectual disabilities and aims to better equip them to deal with challenging behaviour exhibited by individuals, by providing emotional intelligence training for staff. ...
... All, except one, studies (Butow et al., 2008) affected learning outcomes, although two studies did not distinguish between learning and well-being outcomes (Coogle et al., 2006;Zijlmans et al., 2015). This lack of distinction indicates that although this group of interventions was focussed on developing work competencies, there was overlap with wellbeingsome were well-being focussed, but sought to influence it by developing professional skills. ...
Article
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The view that learning is central to well-being is widely held and the workplace is an important setting in which learning takes place. Evaluations of the effectiveness of well-being interventions in work settings are commonplace, but to date, there has been no systematic review of the effectiveness of learning interventions with regard to their impact on well-being. The review synthesizes evidence from 41 intervention studies, and although no studies report a negative impact on well-being, 14 show no effect on well-being, with 27 studies having a positive impact. We classify the studies according to the primary purpose of the learning intervention: to develop personal resources for well-being through learning; to develop professional capabilities through learning; to develop leadership skills through learning; and to improve organizational effectiveness through organizational-level learning. Although there is an abundance of workplace learning interventions, few are evaluated from a well-being perspective despite the commonly held assumption that learning yields positive emotional and psychological outcomes. The evidence indicates an important gap in our evaluation of and design of workplace learning interventions and their impact on well-being, beyond those focusing on personal resources. This raises important theoretical and practical challenges concerning the relationship between learning and well-being in the context of professional capability enhancement, leadership capability and organizational learning.
... The ERCBS consists of four subscales, of which two assess positive emotions (cheerfulness/excitement and confident/relaxed) and two assess negative emotions (depression/anger and fear/anxiety). Until now, the ERCBS has been validated only in a limited number of countries and languages [31][32][33]. In Europe, Zijlmans et al. [31] translated the ERCBS into Dutch. ...
... Until now, the ERCBS has been validated only in a limited number of countries and languages [31][32][33]. In Europe, Zijlmans et al. [31] translated the ERCBS into Dutch. These authors reported Cronbach's alphas ranging from 0.69 to 0.79 across the four subscales of the measure. ...
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The Emotional Reactions to Challenging Behaviours Scale (ERCBS) was designed to evaluate the emotional states of support staff facing challenging behaviours from recipients. Employees working with People Exhibiting Intellectual Disability (PEIDs) are exposed to challenging behaviours. Exposure to challenging behaviours can affect the occupational well-being of these employees. It is thus important for investigators to have instruments assessing employees’ emotional reactions to challenging behaviours reliably and validly. In this study, we translated the ERCBS into Spanish and inquired into the psychometric and structural properties of the adapted instrument. We relied on a sample of 232 employees working with PEIDs. Confirmatory factor analysis indicated that the ERCBS was best modelled as a two-factor measure involving a negative emotion factor and a positive emotion factor. The two factors were highly correlated (0.547), suggesting that a distinction between “emotional” and “non-emotional” individuals might be relevant when using the ERCBS. Alpha and omega reliabilities were satisfactory. ERCBS scores did not differ between men and women. ERCBS scores correlated negatively with participants’ age and years of service with PEIDs. Our study suggests that the Spanish version of the ERCBS can be used to assess emotional reactions to challenging behaviours among employees working with PEIDs.
... For staff supporting individuals with ID, challenging behaviour can increase stress and decrease confidence due to the high emotional demand (Zijlmans et al. 2015). Self-efficacy refers to perceptions of one's skills in a particular domain (Cudr e-Mauroux 2011). ...
... The distinction between DA and other meetings and opportunities was congruent with previous findings which present DA as an opportunity to 'step back' from everyday work duties to question their actions (Webb 2017). Considering the negative emotional impact of working within this context (Zijlmans et al. 2015), it is important for staff to have a safe space to explore their relationship with the service user. DA also provided staff with a tangible goal to work towards compared to previous uncertainty of how to develop their interaction with the service user. ...
Article
Discovery awareness (DA) is an approach to using video within structured meetings to help staff become more mindful, aware and interested in a client they are supporting who has intellectual disabilities and challenging behaviour. The objective was to evaluate whether, and how, DA is helpful for staff in both inpatient and community settings, and whether it increases self-efficacy in working with people with challenging behaviour. A two-phase mixed method design was employed. For phase 1, forty staff who took part in one of seven single DA meetings completed the Challenging Behaviour Self-Efficacy Scale pre- and post-DA. In addition, post-DA, participants completed an Adapted Helpful Aspects of Therapy Scale (AHAT). For phase 2, six participants completed a follow-up Change Interview; 3–12 weeks after DA. Descriptive statistics reveal participants found events in the DA ‘greatly helpful’. The changes identified varied in whether they were expected or not, but were unlikely to occur without DA and ‘very important’. Statistical analysis showed no significant changes in self-efficacy following the DA. A thematic analysis on the qualitative data generated by the change interviews and AHAT identified three main themes: Impact on interaction; DA is unique and valuable; and the power of the process. The latter had three subthemes: a structure to facilitate change, making use of the content and reflective space to promote learning. Attendance at a single DA meeting does not increase staff perceptions of self-efficacy, however, staff find the process of DA helpful as it encourages reflection on their interactions with individuals with intellectual disability and challenging behaviour and attuning of their interactions, though further research is needed.
... The presence of the significant other emphasises the complexity of the role of supporters, families and friends in the lives of people with intellectual disabilities and relatively few studies consider this complexity (Hastings, 2010). Supporting significant others to be able to contribute to therapy processes is an area that requires further exploration (e.g., Zijlmans et al., 2015) and many of the considerations around including significant others identified by therapists raise issues of quality and consistency of support in services for people with intellectual disabilities (e.g., Bigby et al., 2014). It is notable that respondents would equally consider including either family or paid carers in therapy and did not generally discuss a difference in approach between involvement of family and paid carers or based upon how long the significant other had known the client. ...
Article
Background Talking therapy for people with intellectual disabilities is often specifically adapted. One adaptation is the involvement of significant others in therapy, however, there is no systematic description of the use of this adaptation in routine clinical practice. Method An online survey of UK psychologists regarding the inclusion of significant others in individual therapy with people with intellectual disabilities. Data were analysed using qualitative content analysis. Results Ninety‐five psychologists who work with people with intellectual disabilities provided responses to questions regarding the decision to include significant others in therapy, factors that make including significant others more or less likely and how the role of significant others is explained to them. Conclusions Psychologists consider a range of factors in deciding the involvement of significant others. We discuss implications for training of therapists working with people with intellectual disabilities, issues of consent and how the roles of significant others are understood.
... Some participants stated that as a staff member, feeling safe is a prerequisite for creating a sense of safety for service users, and this has also been argued in previous studies (Haugvaldstad and Husum, 2016;Verstegen et al., 2023). In order to manage negative emotions in staff members such as fear, organisations could start by raising staff's awareness of their own emotional responses, such as by facilitating reflection moments, mindfulness-based interventions or providing training on emotional intelligence and interacting with service users (Haugvaldstad and Husum, 2016;Zijlmans et al., 2015). In addition, individual coaching and training, such as aggression management and positive behavioural approaches, can enhance staff members' sense of safety by increasing their confidence in managing challenging behaviours (Davies et al., 2015;Martin and Daffern, 2006;Verstegen et al., 2022b). ...
Article
Background: This study focuses on what feeling safe means for people with mild intellectual disabilities and severe challenging behaviour, and which factors affect their sense of safety. Method: Thematic analysis was used to analyse data collected during (1) ethnographic longitudinal research and (2) interviews and focus groups among professionals and service users. Results: Feelings of safety can relate to three main themes: (1) a physical environment that reduces risks and temptations; (2) a reliable, predictable, and supportive environment; and (3) an accepting environment that enables service users to establish a normal life. An analysis of which factors affect service users’ sense of safety identified 20 themes (e.g. team climate) and 34 subthemes (e.g. interactions with other service users). Conclusions: A range of interconnected factors can affect service users’ feelings of safety. Future research should explore what organisations and external actors (e.g. the police) can do to promote those feelings.
... At present, however, there is little empirical evidence to support these contentions. With this in mind, research on integrating relationship competency in achieving effectiveness for team practice via qualitative methodology is useful (Hess & Bacigalupo, 2013;Zijlmans et al., 2015). ...
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This article aims to examine the impact of developing and applying relationship intelligence in team-based practice to provide a clear understanding of the role relationship intelligence plays in team productivity in mainland China. Relationship intelligence, a component of emotional intelligence, focuses on interpersonal interactions that are crucial in team-building but receives less attention. Exploratory qualitative research was undertaken, with emotional intelligence as the theoretical framework and the input-process-output criteria indicating group effectiveness. Data collection was based on semi-structured interviews with managers and staff of the private sector based in mainland China after utilizing the Strengths Deployment Inventory 2.0 as a learning tool. The findings identify three ways in which the integration of relationship intelligence positively affected team practice: high overall performance, a positive work climate, and improved attitudes toward coworkers and work-related tasks. The positive outcomes provide researchers and practitioners with valuable information on how relationship intelligence might be leveraged to enhance communication, collaboration, and overall team performance.
... On the other hand, customers who were not satisfied would be more challenging to handle. Thus, it would cause some negative emotional reactions, such as found in [17]. Bad customers' behavior as their expression of their dissatisfaction made employees afraid or even upset. ...
Article
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English is widely used in many areas of life, including business. This condition of using English as a lingua franca also exists in Indonesia. Employees must be prepared to embrace the English language while doing business with overseas companies or employing expats. As a result, employees may find themselves in need of English language training. English employee training is becoming more popular, and more firms are beginning to give it to their employees. Despite its growing popularity, few studies have examined the outcomes and effectiveness of such staff training. This case study investigates employees’ perspectives on English for business training to deepen studies on this subject, particularly in the Indonesian context. This qualitative study used one-on-one interviews with 30 participants from three English for Business training programs to collect data. The findings revealed that English for Business training had a favorable impact on employees and their work performance. This research could help businesses give and facilitate more English training to help their staff grow.
... These training programmes do focus on the behaviour of support staff and help them to attune their reactions to the behaviour of the client. Moreover, if support staff have more insight in their own emotional reactions, this will help them to react in a more favorable way towards clients with ID and CB (Zijlmans et al., 2015). By supervising and coaching (both in training and on the job), support staff becomes more aware of the subjective impact of CB on themselves (e.g. ...
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Aggressive behaviour is often displayed by people with intellectual disabilities (ID) in forensic healthcare settings. Research on the causal beliefs (i.e. attribu-tions) of aggressive behaviour are commonly studied from the perspective of support staff. As aggressive behaviour is mostly a product of interaction between the person showing it and their environment, it is valuable to include the perspective of people with ID as well. Four group interviews, consisting of a total of 20 people with mild ID or borderline intellectual functioning and forensic and/or psychiatric problems, were held to explore incidents of aggressive behaviour. The attributions were analysed using the Leeds Attributional Coding System. Clients almost equally distributed the causes of aggressive behaviour to themselves (intrapersonal domain; 48.0%) and to other persons (interpersonal domain; 45.7%). There is a distinction related to the attributions given between the client as agent (intrapersonal domain), being uncontrollable (72.1%) and global (68.9%), versus other persons as agent (interpersonal domain), being controllable (86.2%) and specific (56.9%). This analysis of attri-butions regarding aggressive behaviour given by clients resulted in information on causal beliefs of aggressive behaviour from the perspective of clients. Incorporating their views will possibly increase involvement and commitment in support and treatment.
... Second, although our findings showed correlational (and no causal) relations between staff characteristics and quality of life, they may point to the importance of training staff to increase their confidence, self-reflection skills and friendly behaviour. These staff characteristics are not only associated with better emotional well-being of individuals with intellectual disabilities and challeningbehaviours, but also to decreased stress and burnout(Zijlmans et al., 2015), which are major problems in the clinical field of intellectual disabilities(Finkelstein et al., 2018). Finally, our findings suggest that increased staff-individual ratios might not improve quality of life. ...
Article
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Background: This study aimed to examine the associations between individual staff and staff team characteristics and quality of life of individuals with intellectual disabilities and challenging behaviours. Method: With multilevel analyses, we examined educational level, experience, attitudes and behaviours of 240 staff members, in relation to their perception of quality of life of 152 individuals with intellectual disabilities and challenging behaviours they cared for. Results: Two individual staff characteristics were related to better quality of life: higher educational and self-reflection levels. Of the team characteristics, higher educational level, higher self-efficacy and more friendly behaviour were associated with better quality of life. Unexpectedly, higher staff-individual ratio was related to lower quality of life. Conclusions: Both individual staff and staff team characteristics are associated with quality of life, indicating the need to take staff team characteristics into account when examining quality of life.
... There has been a focus on improving outcomes for this vulnerable population within the tertiary care sector and within specialized intellectual disability/developmental disability (ID/DD) facilities through provider training (Kuriakose et al. 2018;Siegel et al. 2012;Siegel and Gabriels 2014). Research done in these settings has shown that specialized trainings for the ID/DD population have increased staff knowledge and confidence (McDonnell et al. 2008), altered staffs' coping methods and attributions of behavior (Berryman et al. 1994;Zijlmans et al. 2015), and decreased challenging behaviors (Allen et al. 1997;Smidt et al. 2007). While these results are encouraging, less attention has been paid to training staff in general medical settings, community settings, and child welfare systems (Brookman-Frazee et al. 2012;Dillenburger et al. 2016;McGonigle et al. 2014;Nicholas et al. 2016;Zwaigenbaum et al. 2016). ...
Article
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Caring for individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) can be complicated, especially when challenging behaviors are present. Providers may feel unprepared to work with these individuals because specialized training for medical and social service providers is limited. To increase access to specialized training, we modified an effective half-day ASD-Care Pathway training (Kuriakose et al. 2018) and disseminated it within five different settings. This short, focused training on strategies for preventing and reducing challenging behaviors of patients with ASD resulted in significant improvements in staff perceptions of challenging behaviors, increased comfort in working with the ASD population, and increased staff knowledge for evidence-informed practices. Implications, including the impact of sociodemographic characteristics on pre/post changes, and future directions are discussed.
... Interventions may also focus on the environment of the person with an ID. For example on the skills of direct support workers in trying to reduce, manage, or cope with the challenging behaviors (Cox et al. 2015, van Oorsouw et al. 2013, Stoesz et al. 2016, Zijlmans et al. 2015 or focus on the team climate (Knotter et al. 2016, Willems et al. 2016. ...
Article
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Introduction: People with an intellectual disability (ID) are at risk of developing challenging behavior. Although previous research provided important insights into how to support people with an ID and challenging behavior, it remains unclear what various stakeholders consider to be the most essential aspects to further improve their support. Method: Statements regarding aspects perceived necessary to improve the support to people with an ID and challenging behavior were collected in focus groups. Afterwards participants individually prioritized and clustered these statements, resulting in concept maps for people with an ID, direct support workers, and psychologists. Since only three relatives participated in the entire concept mapping procedure, no concept map could be composed based on their input. Results: Participants generated 200 statements. In the concept map of clients, statements were mentioned regarding relational aspects, providing clarity and structure, characteristics of support staff, and professional attitude of direct support workers. Direct support workers provided statements related to their own personal competencies, the necessity of feeling supported and appreciated, and a physical safe environment. Psychologists provided statements regarding their support for direct support workers, the support for the clients, the perspective on the client, and their role as psychologists. Conclusion: The results of this study may be a starting point to foster increased evidence based practice for the support for persons with an ID and challenging behavior. Moreover, it provides opportunities to create care founded on mutual attunement, based on listening to each other’s ideas and insight into perspectives and needs of various stakeholders.
... Support staff can have an important role in managing, but also in triggering and maintaining CB. Intrapersonal variables (e.g., emotions, attitude or attributions), interpersonal variables (e.g., behavior of clients) and environmental variables (e.g., team climate) influence the behavior of support staff (Randell et al., 2017;Shead, Scott, & Rose, 2016;Stoesz et al., 2016;Willems, Embregts, Hendriks, & Bosman, 2016;Williams, Dagnan, Rodgers, & Freeston, 2015;Wishart, Mckenzie, Newman, & Mckenzie, 2013;Zijlmans, Embregts, Gerits, Bosman, & Derksen, 2015). Support staff mostly are the key agent in the lives of people with ID and CB, as they have a supporting role for clients (e.g., Eagar et al., 2007) and often are key in delivering behavioral interventions (e.g., Allen, 1999). ...
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Introduction: As opposed to studies focusing on staffs’ attributions of challenging behavior (CB), relatively few studies have looked at how people with intellectual disabilities (ID) attribute such behaviors themselves, and a systematic overview is currently lacking. The aim of this review was to synthesize the evidence from qualitative studies on the attributions people with ID have concerning their own or other clients’ CB. Methods: A systematic literature search was conducted in Embase, Medline Ovid, Web of science, Cochrane CENTRAL, PsychINFO Ovid, and Google Scholar. Studies were included if they focused on people with ID who report on attributions of their own or other clients’ actual CB. The methodological quality of the studies was assessed using the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP) checklist. Result: A total of 10 studies were included. Three main types of factors subdivided in 13 sub-types were reported by clients as potential causes of CB: interpersonal factors (1 support staff, 2 other clients, 3 general, 4 life history), environmental factors (1 ward, 2 social exclusion, 3 situational factors) and intrapersonal factors (1 syndrome or diagnosis, 2 medical or physical symptoms, 3 psychological reasons, 4 emotions and feelings, 5 coping, 6 other). Conclusions: This thematic synthesis shows that clients with ID report a diverse range of attributions regarding their own or other clients’ CB. This spectrum can be used as a framework for interpreting CB and for the development of appropriate support systems for people with ID demonstrating CB.
... Multi-Health Systems [2] also showed EI increased from the teenage years and well into the sixties. Research has shown that EI can be increased through participation in training programs [15][16][17] as well as via workplace learning [18]. Workplace learning occurs when a worker or student performs the actual job in an authentic workplace. ...
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Background Emotional intelligence (EI) is a critical skill for healthcare practitioners. Minimal longitudinal research has tracked the changes in EI of therapy students over their final full-time clinical placements. Methods The Emotional Quotient Inventory (EQ-i2.0) measured the EI of 283 therapy students and 93 business students (control group who do no clinical placements) at three time points over a 16-month period, the same period that the therapy students participated in clinical placements. Results Analysis of the therapy students showed significant increases over the 16 months of the study in Total EI score, as well as nine other EI skills. However, large percentages of students reported declining scores in emotional-expression, assertiveness, self-expression, and stress tolerance, with some students reporting low EI scores before commencing full-time extended clinical placements. Conclusions The study contributes to new knowledge about the changing EI skills of therapy students as they complete their full-time, extended placements. Emotional intelligence in student therapists should be actively fostered during coursework, clinical placements and when first entering the workforce. University educators are encouraged to include EI content through the therapy curricula. Employers are encouraged to provide peer coaching, mentoring and workshops focused on EI skills to recent graduates.
... Training, especially at the level of emotional intelligence, translates into benefits for nurses, even on an individual basis, as their own health status (study E). The literature establishes benefits of post-graduate training (7)(8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18)21) and educational interventions (23) to the level of emotional intelligence of nurses. ...
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Objective to analyze the evidence on the factors that influence the emotional intelligence of intensive care nurses. Methods systematic review of the literature. We used the databases CINAHL Complete, Academic Search Complete, MedicLatina, Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection, MedLine with Full Text (via EBSCO HOST), MedLine Complete (via PubMed), SCOPUS and other sources, such as Google Scholar, clinical trial registration sites and manual/cross-references search. A total of 1,307 articles were published until April 2018, and nine were included in the study. Results the factors that influenced nurses’ emotional intelligence were age, sex, emotional experience, training and personality; and the impact of emotional intelligence was translated on a personal, professional and caring level. Conclusion the practice of nursing in intensive care units is influenced by the nurse’s emotional intelligence. This intelligence is affected by several factors and, because it is learned, must be stimulated in formative contexts.
... Therefore training is of benefit to both the trainees and the organisation itself. An example showing the possible effectiveness of training is that employees who use new technology take six times longer to become efficient in their task performance compared to their trained employees (Lall & Sharma, 2009); team building training enhances the understanding of each other and teaches skills needed to facilitate individuals to flourish (Peregin, 2013); a 10 year training program helped increase company annual growth from -65.44% to 276.66%, following a period of deficit, due to enhanced production (Ashok Kumar, 2013); and significant improvement was noted after an emotional intelligence and coping skill staff training (Zijlmans, Embregts, Gerits, Bosman & Derksen, 2014) Pinder (1998) writes that motivation can be seen as an energetic force originating either from the individual's environment or from within the individual to initiate behaviour which includes three components. These are the direction that one wants to take in their project, the effort or intensity that is being put into something, and finally the persistence to reach a specific aim (Pinder, 1998). ...
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The effectiveness of training depends on its efficiency in being transferred. One of the variables that may influence this is the motivation that a trainee has for a training session, which can be influenced by the personality of the trainee and the context that they are in. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationships between personality, different situational variables or the positions identified with, and the motivation for training within the Maltese context. In this study, a questionnaire consisting of the IPIP-NEO personality test and motivation questions was distributed among 106 students, volunteers and employees, with the results analysed by using SPSS. The findings suggest that openness to experience and extraversion are related to motivation for training, with correlation found between conscientiousness and motivation for
... Effectiveness of a staff training was assessed using questionnaires addressing emotional intelligence, coping and emotions. A pre-test, post-test and follow-up control group design was used (Zijlmans et al., 2015) 3.0 Factors Influencing the Transfer of Training Sofo (2007) indicates that high initial levels of motivation in all trainees, but a change in attitude toward their training once it has begun. Staff have less confidence in their ability to transfer the knowledge compared to their confidence before the program started. ...
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Training play an important roles in the process of shaping the employees towards achieving the KPI’s given to them by their respective organization. It is important for the employees to obtain the maximum knowledge or skills from the training that they attend. This meant that the transfer of training for the training must be in the highest state. Based on the findings from Grossman and Salas there are three dimensions for the transfer of training. Those dimensions aretrainee characteristics (cognitive ability, self-efficacy, motivation, perceived utility of training), training design (behavioral modeling, error management, realistic training environments) and the work environment (transfer climate, support, opportunity to perform, follow-up). By going through an extensive literature review, this paper suggests that there is a new dimension that should be added to the transfers of training dimensions. The new dimension is trainer characteristics (knowledge, qualification, experience, ability to conduct training). This paper also recommends that trainer characteristics play an important role in the process of transfer of training due to the fact that the knowledge itself must come from a reliable source. In the case of training program, the sources of the knowledge are the respective trainers. Hence, this paper suggest a research framework that integrates trainer characteristics as the fourth variable than mediate relationship between training dimension and training effectiveness.
... Literature shows that interventions focusing on knowledge, skills, and attitudes of support staff play a crucial role in enhancing the interactions between support staff and people with an ID and improving support staff behaviour (Allen & Tynan, 2000;Embregts, 2009Embregts, , 2011. Support staff training and coaching has been aimed at several domains, such as positive behaviour support (Lowe et al., 2007), stress management (van Oorsouw, Embregts, Bosman, & Jahoda, 2014), selfdetermination (Wong & Wong, 2008), and emotional intelligence (EI) (Zijlmans, Embregts, Gerits, Bosman, & Derksen, 2011, 2015. The support staff training developed by Zijlmans et al. (2011) regarding EI is also central to the current study: evaluating its effect on the interactional patterns between support staff and people with an ID by means of self-determination theory (SDT) (Deci & Ryan, 1985. ...
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Background: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of a training program focusing on improvement of emotional intelligence (EI) and support staffs’ awareness of their behaviour towards people with an intellectual disability based on interactional patterns. The support provided regarding the needs for autonomy, relatedness, and competence was observed in line with self-determination theory (SDT). Method: A pre-test–post-test control group design (N = 29) was used, with 17 support staff participating in the experimental group. For both groups, video recordings of interactions between staff and clients were analysed with an SDT-observation system. Results: The results showed that a training program focusing on EI and interactional patterns positively affected the support provided by staff with regard to clients’ needs for autonomy, relatedness, and competence. Conclusions: As most EI studies focus on insights and understanding of oneself, this study is an important first step in focusing on staff behaviour during daily interactions.
... These findings-EI and resilience may help improve clinical communication skills among nursing students undergoing their practicumhave significant implications for clinical practice and future research. It can help nursing educators and administrators develop intervention strategies to enhance students' clinical communication ability such as developing EI training (Zijlmans et al., 2015) and social-emotional training and training in cognitive reappraisal (Southwick and Charney, 2012). ...
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Objective: To examine the positive association between emotional intelligence and clinical communication ability among practice nursing students, and to determine whether resilience plays a moderating role in the relationship between emotional intelligence and clinical communication ability among Chinese practice nursing students. Methods: Three hundred and seventy-seven practice nursing students from three hospitals participated in this study. They completed questionnaires including the Emotional Intelligence Inventory (EII), Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC-10), and Clinical Communication Ability Scale (CCAS). Structural equation modeling was used to analyze the relationships among emotional intelligence, resilience, and clinical communication ability. Results: Emotional intelligence was positively associated with clinical communication ability (P<0.01). Resilience significantly affected clinical communication ability (P<0.01) and moderated the relationship between emotional intelligence and clinical communication ability (P<0.01). Conclusions: Emotional intelligence is positively related to clinical communication ability among Chinese practice nursing students, and resilience moderates the relationship between emotional intelligence and clinical communication ability, which may provide scientific evidence to aid in developing intervention strategies to improve clinical communication ability.
... There is evidence that emotional intelligence ( Bar-On, 2004) can be taught with effects lasting beyond the teaching period (Dugan, Weatherly, Girod, Barber, & Tsue, 2014;Zijlmans, Embregts, Gerits, Bosman, & Derksen, 2015). Improving emotional skills improves emotional coping, but also benefits individuals who meet people who learned emotional intelligence skills, as shown by the improvement in satisfaction among patients who encountered emotionally trained clinicians (Dugan et al., 2014). ...
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Background: During deployment and upon returning home, veterans experience emotional challenges that test their social and psychological adaptation and place them at risk for suicidal thinking. Individual variability in skill-based capacity to adaptively perceive, understand, correctly use, and manage emotions (called emotional competence) may play a role in the development of psychological suffering and suicidal thinking. Based on research in healthy and clinical samples, poor emotional competence was predicted to be associated with suicidal thinking among returning veterans. Method: Participants were selected from the W. F. Caveness Vietnam Head Injury Study (VHIS) registry, which in the late 1960s began prospectively assessing 1221 veterans). The study sample was composed of veterans examined between 2003 and 2006 and included 185 participants who at the time of assessment with the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) did (N= 46) or did not endorse (N= 139) suicidal thinking then or during the previous two weeks and received performance-based measures of emotional competence (Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test; MSCEIT, Version 2.0) and theory of mind. MSCEIT subtests and theory of mind tasks were condensed via principal component analysis: Component 1 (Emotion Processing) included use, understand, and manage emotions tasks, and Component 2 (Emotion Perception) included perceive emotions. Results: Veterans endorsing suicidal thoughts showed poorer emotion processing whereas emotion perception and theory of mind tasks did not show significant group effects. In addition, veterans who endorsed thoughts of suicide were deployed at a younger age, had lower education, and tended to report more negative experiences in social interactions upon return to the United States. Conclusions: The capacity to understand, use, and manage emotionally charged stimuli and situations may represent risk factors for suicidal thinking among veterans.
... However, a very high amount of self-reflection can take the form of rumination and dysfunctional self-absorption (Grant et al., 2002). Training staff to create insight in their emotional intelligence and mindfulness-based workshops have been proven to lead to positive effects on staff coping styles and emotions (Zijlmans, Embregts, Gerits, Bosman, & Derksen, 2015) and on staff behaviour, respectively (Singh et al., 2009). ...
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Background: Training support staff in dealing with challenging behaviour in clients with intellectual disabilities (ID) is needed. The goal of this study is to determine which elements need to be incorporated in a training on staff interactions with these clients, building upon a framework and an interpersonal model. As in functional analysis, this study tests the influence of client interpersonal behaviour, three types of staff reactions to challenging behaviour, two types of staff psychological resources and staff team climate on four styles of staff interpersonal behaviour. Method: A total of 318 support staff members completed a questionnaire on staff interpersonal behaviour for 44 clients with ID and challenging behaviour, as well as seven questionnaires on client interpersonal behaviour, staff emotions, attributions, self-efficacy, self-reflection, coping styles and team climate. The influence of these seven factors on four staff interpersonal behaviours was examined using multilevel multiple regression analysis. Results: Friendly-warm and dominant client interpersonal behaviour had a significant positive impact on friendly and assertive control staff behaviour, respectively. Also, there was a strong influence of staff negative and positive emotions, as well as their self-efficacy, on most of the staff interpersonal behaviours. Staff self-reflection, insight and avoidance-focused coping style had an impact on some staff interpersonal behaviours. Staff team climate only predicted higher support-seeking staff behaviour. Conclusions: In conducting a functional analysis of staff interpersonal behaviour, the results of this study can be used both as a framework in staff-client interaction training and in clinical practice for treating challenging behaviour. The emphasis in training and practice should not only be on the bidirectional dynamics of control and affiliation between staff and clients, but also - in order of importance - on the impact of staff emotions, self-efficacy, self-reflection and insight, coping style, team climate and attributions on staff interpersonal behaviour.
... Some research has explored carer emotional intelligence, defining it as 'an array of non-cognitive capabilities, competencies, and skills that influence one's ability to succeed in coping with environmental demands and pressures' (Bar-On 1997). Evidence suggests that carer emotional intelligence is related to adaptive coping with tasks and stress (Gerits et al. 2004;Zijlmans et al. 2014) and may have some limited influence on interactive behaviour with service users (Willems et al. 2014). However, emotional intelligence is an extremely wide concept; empathy is one of 15 components described by Bar-On (1997). ...
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Background: This study aimed to develop a self-report measure of paid caregivers' empathy towards people with intellectual disabilities. Materials and methods: Following questionnaire develop-ment, 194 staff working in services for people with intellectual disabilities completed self-report questionnaires, including the new empathy measure. The measure's factor structure and psychometric properties were investigated. Results: A three factor solution suggested two key processes in empathizing: experiencing commonality between one's own and people with intellectual disabilities' psychological experiences and efforts to attune to their internal worlds. The final factor represented whether carers find it challenging to empathize. Correlations with beliefs about the self and others in caregiving relationships provided initial evidence of validity, although further investigation is needed. Conclusions: The most salient processes in empathizing with people with intellectual disabilities may be different from empathy in other contexts. Establishing determinants of carer empathy may facilitate the development of psychological interventions to promote and enhance this important quality.
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The hospitality industry has fallen into the subcategory of emotional intelligence as it deals with customer satisfaction. Therefore, the implications of self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy, and social skills need to be explored from service perspectives. This chapter highlights a “Zone of Tolerance Model” by using psychological measurements, which trigger an understanding of customer behavior and employee service performance in the field of hospitality. In addition, hotel culture, workforce diversity, and employee demographic characteristics have been analyzed to evaluate employee performance and organizational objectives. Findings suggested that the satisfaction level of an employee in the hospitality sector depends on financial and non-financial benefits. In this sense, effective emotional intelligence management is a caveat that bridges the gap between customers and service providers, stemming from dissatisfaction.
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Orientation: The study focuses on emotional intelligence (EI) training, which is known to promote socio-emotional competencies and behaviours for business success.Research purpose: The study seeks to illuminate the extent to which the Minnaar EQ Dynamics Self-Awareness Programme facilitates transformative learning in EI including its spill-over effects in the workplace.Motivation for the study: Qualitative illuminative research on the transformative learning effect of EI training, and especially its spill-over effect into the workplace, is scant.Research approach/design and method: The study employed a retrospective qualitative case study design with semi-structured interviews as guided by an illuminative evaluation methodology. The ATLAS.ti software programme was utilised to analyse the data collected from nine training programme participants employed in a mining company situated in Gauteng.Main findings: The findings illuminated transformative learning pertaining to intrapersonal and interpersonal domains of EI which positively spilled over to social interactions in the working environment. Some aspects of the training methodology appeared to have contributed to the transformative learning effects.Practical/managerial implications: The findings attest to the value of investing in evidence-based EI training programmes that facilitate transformative learning.Contribution/value-add: The findings underscore the role of transformative EI training in fostering personal growth and development, positive relationships, effective communication and a conducive work environment for organisational success.
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Recent systematic reviews have shown that emotional competencies can be improved through training. In the workplace, such training has become increasingly popular over the last decade. These programs aim to enhance emotional intelligence, empathy or emotion regulation. This study wants to assess the training effects and potential moderators of these workplace interventions. To our knowledge, this is the first systematic review that focuses on the workplace context and integrates emotional intelligence, empathy, and emotion regulation training interventions. This study has been preregistered with PROSPERO and a protocol has been published before the review was conducted (CRD42021267073). We conducted a systematic literature search using Embase, PsycInfo, PSYNDEX, Web of Science and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials. The included studies were analyzed in two metaanalyses. In the primary analysis, we analyzed standardized mean changes in emotional competencies before and after the training for 50 included studies, depending on (a) training construct and (b) participants’ profession (teachers, health professionals, managers, and others). To determine the efficacy of the trainings, we conducted a separate metaanalysis of controlled trials only (k = 27). Both metaanalyses yielded moderate overall effect sizes that also persisted more than three months after the training end: (1) SMDpre-post = 0.44 (95% CI [0.29, 0.59]), (2) SMDEG-CG = 0.46 (95% CI [0.30, 0.63]). All professions benefited equally from the interventions and we observed no significant differences in the effectiveness of emotional intelligence, empathy, and emotion regulation trainings. Overall, our results suggest that workplace interventions effectively train emotional competencies, regardless of profession or specific training focus. Limitations are the high heterogeneity and the low methodological quality of the studies analyzed. Our study shows the need for more high-quality studies, like randomized controlled trials. Additionally, companies may consider incorporating emotional competence training into their employee and leadership development programs routinely. This study was preregistered on PROSPERO (CRD42021267073). Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s40359-024-02198-3.
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This scoping review fills the gap on key characteristics of interventions and trainings for direct support workforce (DSW) of adults across disabilities and aging adults. We included quantitative and qualitative studies examining the impact of interventions in home and community-based settings in the United States or internationally and published in English since 1990. We initially identified 2,551 titles and completed final data extraction on 65 articles. Most of the studies were quantitative. The interventions reviewed were diverse, including Active support, Positive Behavior Support, and DSW stress reduction. We concluded that there is a need to conduct high-quality research focused on DSW well-being and their feeling of being valued to inform the field on how to best select and retain them.
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This article discusses the significance of emotional intelligence (EI) in the professional development of teachers and the function that it plays in that development. The purpose of this paper is to explain the relationship between EI and three important factors named Stress Coping Strategies, Social Self-efficacy, and Decision-Making Styles among higher education teachers and its impact on teaching quality. It proposes a conceptual model for improving teaching equality by improving workplace social interactions, decision-making and reducing teacher attrition rates. This article also examines some prior research studies on emotional intelligence and the three above mentioned variables that contribute to the formation of the conceptual framework. Domain knowledge in this area can improve teaching quality by reducing teacher attrition rates through better stress coping, better decision-making in the classroom, and improved morale from better social self-efficacy. This study also provides justification for considering EI as an assessable component during the teacher recruitment process.KeywordsEmotional IntelligenceTeacher PerformanceCoping StrategiesSocial Self-EfficacyDecision-Making Styles
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Children with disabilities grow up and become adults. In Singapore and the rest of the world, there is a lack of research on adults. In 2017, the National Council of Social Services (NCSS) in Singapore, conducted and piloted a study about the Quality of Life for adults with disabilities. It was conducted employing the WHOQOL (World Health Organisation Quality of Health) assessment to better understand the needs of vulnerable adults, including persons with disabilities. In this study, 1,000 persons (adults) with disabilities aged 18 and above were surveyed. It was found in this study that persons with disabilities want to feel enabled and to live their lives as independently as possible. These adults that were surveyed also conveyed that they wanted easier and seamless access to information and pertinent services, including receiving appropriate social support and developing the confidence of participants as active members of society.
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Developmental support agencies support many adults with intellectual disabilities in the community. Unfortunately, these adults often exhibit high rates of challenging behaviour, which present significant pressures on these service providers. Agencies need to develop effective means of increasing their capacity to provide quality support. Previous systematic reviews found that training staff in positive behaviour supports can improve outcomes; however, the factors facilitating training’s effects, long-term effectiveness, and outcomes for service users have yet to be determined. We conducted a scoping review of 98 journal articles and book chapters to develop a model for fostering capacity development drawing from Organizational Behaviour Management and Knowledge Translation theories. Some relevant factors include features of the inner and outer organizational contexts, training approaches (e.g., behavioural skills training & in-situ coaching), ongoing support and feedback. This model may lead to more effective and enduring treatment programs and improved support for adults with intellectual disabilities.
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Background Emotional intelligence training relieves stress and promotes resilience among nurses. Previous studies have not sufficiently explored the effect of emotional intelligence training among nurses on the experience of inpatients under their care. Objective To explore the effects of emotional intelligence training on emotional intelligence, resilience, and perceived stress among nurses and examine how training affects inpatient experience. Design Randomized controlled trial. Setting A tertiary general hospital in Changsha, China. Participants A total of 103 nurses were randomly selected from 20 wards. Methods The wards were randomized into two groups. The intervention group (n = 53 nurses) received emotional intelligence training in two phases: Phase I—system training phase, twice a week for one month; Phase II—a consolidated learning phase, once a week for 11 months. The control group (n = 50) received daily briefings in meetings between head nurses, which were held regularly to discuss specific problems. There was no emotional intelligence training conducted with the control group. Data were collected at baseline and after the intervention. Results Emotional intelligence training improved emotional intelligence, resilience, and stress in the intervention group. The control group scored lower on the Wong and Law's Emotional Intelligence Scale and all subscales, showed stability in the scores on the Connor–Davidson Resilience Scale and its subscales, and very little change in stress scores. Repeated measures analysis of variance showed significantly greater beneficial changes in the intervention group on all but the optimism subscale. There were suggestive differences in the predicted direction between the emotional intelligence training wards and the control wards at post-test on the patient experience scale and the four subscales. Conclusion Our study suggests that emotional intelligence training improves emotional intelligence, resilience, and stress among nurses and leads to improvements in inpatient experience. Emotional intelligence training should be part of nurse education to improve the quality of care nurses provide and their ability to work without increased stress.
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The impact assessment of emotional education programs is a relevant topic to argue the necessity of including participants in different life cycles and contexts. This study shows the impact assessment of a program for the development of emotional skills in mexican women. The intervention was organised around ten sessions and the results of prior and latter evaluations are included. The socioemotional skills inventory (EQi-SF), the adult resilience scale (RSA), and the anxiety inventory (IDARE) were applied to evaluate the impact. he results show a significant decrease in anxiety, an increase in personal and social competence and family cohesion on the resilience scale, as well as stress management skills and the generation of positive mood in terms of the social-emotional competence inventory.
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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.
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Human resource practitioners place value on selecting and training a more emotionally intelligent workforce. Despite this, research has yet to systematically investigate whether emotional intelligence can in fact be trained. This study addresses this question by conducting a meta-analysis to assess the effect of training on emotional intelligence, and whether effects are moderated by substantive and methodological moderators. We identified a total of 58 published and unpublished studies that included an emotional intelligence training program using either a pre-post or treatment-control design. We calculated Cohen's d to estimate the effect of formal training on emotional intelligence scores. The results showed a moderate positive effect for training, regardless of design. Effect sizes were larger for published studies than dissertations. Effect sizes were relatively robust over gender of participants, and type of EI measure (ability v. mixedmodel). Further, our effect sizes are in line with other meta-analytic studies of competency-based training programs. Implications for practice and future research on EI training are discussed.
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Emotional intelligence (EI) is a critical skill for occupational therapy, physiotherapy, and speech pathology students (therapy students). This article reports the findings from an analysis of interviews with therapy students (n = 24) to determine the aspects of clinical placements that therapy students perceived as influencing the changes in EI scores. This article reports the findings of the qualitative phase of a longitudinal, retrospective mixed methods design. Interviewees were selected using purposive sampling. Of those interviewed, 95% agreed that clinical placements had a significant impact on a range of EI skills with changes being both positive and negative. Content analysis showed that students perceived their EI skills had changed because of the following aspects of clinical placements: student-supervisor interactions, student interactions with patients in emotional distress and being encouraged to reflect and hear feedback on their EI skills. To support and enhance student’s EI skills, interprofessional facilitators and profession-specific supervisors are recommended to utilise the following strategies with interprofessional cohorts. Supervisors and facilitators should be emotionally in-tune with students and trust students to work autonomously with patients experiencing emotional distress, pain and loss, especially those with complex needs. Importantly, interprofessional facilitators and direct supervisors should encourage students to reflect on their EI skills both individually and as a group. Supervisors should frequently evaluate and provide feedback to students on their EI skills, at the same time as providing feedback on their practical and clinical reasoning skills.
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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.
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Objective: This study aimed to investigate whether healthcare professionals' emotional intelligence (EI) is associated with self-perceived provision of patient-centered care (PCC), taking into account the potential mediating effect of general self-efficacy (GSE). Methods: A sample of 318 healthcare professionals, recruited in 2015 among four hospitals in Italy, completed the Provider-Patient Relationship Questionnaire, the Emotional Intelligence Scale, and the General Self-Efficacy scale. A structural equation model was tested with GSE mediating the relationship between EI and self-perceived provision of PCC. Groups of participants based on gender, profession, and work setting were also compared on the study variables. Results: EI had direct effects on the self-perceived provision of PCC dimensions. GSE partially mediated only the relationship between EI and involving the patient in care. Healthcare professionals in rehabilitation units showed higher self-perceived provision of PCC than those in acute care or ambulatory services. Conclusion: Self-perceived provision of PCC seems to have the potential to be improved by EI and to be distinguishable from GSE. Practice implications: Since EI can be developed, findings of this study have potential implications for improving PCC through continuing education interventions for healthcare professionals.
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To assist educators considering expanding their use of social-emotional education, the article summarises key findings from the Self-Science programme and provides and overview of how it is implemented. Self-Science is a comprehensive approach to developing social and emotional skills. The article discusses the program's goals,features, core processes, research findings, and recommendations from over 35 years of practice. While emphasising Self-Science, the lessons and critical practices are valuable while implementing any kind of SEL programme.
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Four studies on the psychometric properties of the Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations (CISS) are reported. Study 1 examined the factor structure of the CISS in samples of 832 college students and 483 adults. Strong support was found for the multidimensionality of the CISS, suggesting that the scale independently assesses 3 basic dimensions: task-, emotion-, and avoidance-oriented coping. Study 2 further investigated the construct validity of the CISS by comparing it with 2 measures of basic coping styles. Study 3 also examined the construct validity of the CISS by comparing it with various measures of psychopathology. Study 4 investigated the concurrent validity of the CISS by studying the relationship between coping style (assessed by the CISS) and situation-specific coping responses used in 2 different stressful situations. Overall, the results of the 4 studies suggest that the CISS is a valid and reliable measure of basic coping styles.
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Reports 4 studies on the psychometric properties of the Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations (CISS). Study 1 examined the factor structure of the CISS in samples of 832 college students and 483 adults. Strong support was found for the multidimensionality of the CISS, suggesting that the scale independently assesses 3 basic dimensions: task-, emotion-, and avoidance-oriented coping. Study 2 further investigated the construct validity of the CISS by comparing it with 2 measures of basic coping styles. Study 3 also examined the construct validity of the CISS by comparing it with various measures of psychopathology. Study 4 investigated the concurrent validity of the CISS by studying the relationship between coping style (assessed by the CISS) and situation-specific coping responses used in 2 different stressful situations. Overall, the results of the 4 studies suggest that the CISS is a valid and reliable measure of basic coping styles. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
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Explores the prospects for establishing emotional intelligence (EI) as a novel explanatory construct in stress research. The authors attempt to delineate and evaluate some potential research strategies for conceptualizing and validating the EI concept within the stress domain. The authors outline 3 complementary ways in which EI might be established as a scientifically useful construct akin to general intelligence. First, there might be some master process that controls how adaptively the person copes with stressful transactions. Second, there may be pre-existing individual difference constructs, such as personality variables, that play a critical role in controlling adaptive outcome. Third, EI might relate to the individual's ability to transfer competencies for handling stress to novel situations. The authors conclude by summarizing the difficulties that each of the approaches to conceptualizing EI must overcome. The authors focus primarily on the application of EI to studies of stress and coping, but given the centrality of handling negative emotions to EI in general, their analysis is relevant to the wider EI construct. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
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In this paper we describe a study on emotional intelligence. The hypothesis is that emotional intelligence can be trained. 106 managers took part in a 6 day training in emotional intelligence (TrEIn), spread over a period of 6 months. The Bar-On EQ-I, a well-known and validated measure for emotional capabilities, was used to assess the effect of the training. As a comparison group, 59 managers were assessed without being trained. The average score in the training group was 100.03 before the training and 111.85 at the follow-up (M = 100, SD = 15). The comparison group scored 108.27 before and 111.75 at the follow-up. The hypothesis was supported by the study. Your EQ can increase if you take part in the TrEIn. The Bar-On EQ-I is a self-report measure, in the future we can learn more about the trainability of Emotional Intelligence if we use a 360-degrees-measure.
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The construct of emotional intelligence (EI) refers to the individual differences in the perception, processing, regulation, and utilization of emotional information. As these differences have been shown to have a significant impact on important life outcomes (e.g., mental and physical health, work performance and social relationships), this study investigated, using a controlled experimental design, whether it is possible to increase EI. Participants of the experimental group received a brief empirically-derived EI training (four group training sessions of two hours and a half) while control participants continued to live normally. Results showed a significant increase in emotion identification and emotion management abilities in the training group. Follow-up measures after 6 months revealed that these changes were persistent. No significant change was observed in the control group. These findings suggest that EI can be improved and open new treatment avenues.
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A systematic review of the literature. To investigate community participation of persons with an intellectual disability (ID) as reported in empirical research studies. A systematic literature search was conducted for the period of 1996-2006 on PubMed, CINAHL and PSYCINFO. Search terms were derived from the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health. Three investigators assessed the relevance of the initially identified studies using predefined content and methodological selection criteria. Included domains of community participation were: (1) domestic life; (2) interpersonal interactions and relationships; (3) major life areas; and (4) community, civic and social life. Of 2936 initial hits, 23 quantitative studies eventually met the selection criteria and were included in the study. Only two studies are based on a theoretical framework. Research instruments were various and were most often ad hoc and not validated. The average number of persons in the social network of people with ID appears to be 3.1, one of them usually being a professional service staff member. People with ID are 3-4 times less employed than non-disabled peers; they are less likely to be employed competitively and are more likely to work in sheltered workshops or in segregated settings than those with other disabilities. People with ID are less likely to be involved in community groups, and leisure activities are mostly solitary and passive in nature. Most of the people with ID had been accompanied in an activity by training/therapeutic staff. It can be concluded that on the basis of empirical evidence, within the time frame of this literature search, little is known about community participation of people with ID. Many researchers did not clearly define community participation and were concerned with limited areas of community participation; research is seldom based on a theoretical framework. Most studies focus on people with mild ID, and there are few reports of the subjects' sample. However, one conclusion can consistently be drawn from the review: people with ID living in community settings participate more than people living in a segregated setting, but their participation level is still much lower than non-disabled and other disability groups.
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Information collected in the context of a survey of all people with learning disabilities and challenging behaviour in a single metropolitan borough indicated: (1) care staff report that a significant proportion of their colleagues usually display such emotional reactions as sadness, despair, anger, annoyance, fear and disgust to episodes of challenging behaviour; (2) respondents reported that the most significant sources of stress associated with caring for someone with challenging behaviour centred upon the 'daily grind' of caring, their difficulty in understanding the person's behaviour, the unpredictability of the behaviour and the apparent absence of an effective way forward; (3) care staff attribute the causes of the person's challenging behaviour to a diversity of internal psychological, broad environmental, behavioural and medical factors. These results are discussed in relation to their implications for staff-seeking and implementing external advice regarding the management of challenging behaviour.
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The present survey explored stress in direct-care staff working with people who have learning disabilities and challenging behaviour. A total of 78 (82.7% response rate) staff working in 14 small community houses participated. Houses were selected on the basis of 'expert' (Head of Psychology Services) knowledge of houses where residents were known to display challenging behaviour and houses where there was no known history of challenging behaviour. Residents were assessed by key workers for adaptive behaviour, challenging behaviour and mental health using partially validated questionnaires. Staff completed self-report questionnaires on job demands, anxiety and depression, staff support, and information on the presence/absence of challenging behaviour in their home. Staff working in houses with residents who showed challenging behaviour were significantly more anxious than staff working in houses with no challenging behaviour; they also reported feeling significantly less supported, were less clear about the identification of risk situations and had lower job satisfaction. No differences were found on measures of job demands and depression. Regression analyses exploring the relationships between these variables are discussed along with the implications of the findings.
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The purpose of the present study was to investigate effects of a training package on appropriate and inappropriate behaviors of residents with mental retardation with internalizing or externalizing behavior problems and the responses of staff to these behavior problems. The training procedure included resident training with video feedback and self-management procedures and staff training with video and graphic feedback. A multiple baseline design across residents was used. Results show increased appropriate social behavior for residents with internalizing behavior problems and decreased inappropriate social behavior for residents with externalizing behavior problems. The provision of video and graphic feedback also successfully improved performance of direct-care staff members. Recommendations are made for further investigation of variables related to behavior change of staff and residents.
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A supportive social network is crucial for facilitating social inclusion. The social networks of people with intellectual disabilities (ID) are often small and typically include very little contact with friends and acquaintances who do not have ID. Professionals can play an important role in strengthening and expanding the social networks of clients. In this study, experiences with interventions aimed at doing this were examined. Six group interviews were held with a total of 27 professionals. The results showed interventions to strengthen social networks (e.g. attention to the maintenance of contact with network members) and interventions to expand social networks (e.g. participation in leisure time activities and working with volunteers). However, a large number of impeding factors was mentioned, such as the limited size of the social networks, characteristics of the client, different perceptions and clients falling between the cracks when it comes to leisure time. The large number of impeding factors shows the strengthening and expansion of social networks to be complicated in actual practice. Recommendations are thus made to strengthen and expand the social networks of clients in an innovative manner which also takes these impeding factors into account. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Article
Background: Hastings (2010) has recently emphasised 3 aspects in the training of staff who serve clients with mild to moderate intellectual disability and challenging behaviour (CB): Staff attitudes, self-awareness, and clients' perspectives. This study investigates whether programs include these aspects. Method: A systematic search yielded 11 relevant articles. Results: Generally, all programs aimed to improve staff knowledge and skills. Client variables concerned frequencies and severities of CB. None of the studies included clients' perspectives or staff attitudes and self-awareness. Conclusions: The fact that staff attitudes and awareness or clients' perspectives were not among the main goals of the training studies suggests that recent views of effective treatment of CB are not yet the object of scientific study. Given the acknowledgment of these aspects, it is warranted that future research focuses upon these recent insights.
Article
Background: Hastings (2010) has recently emphasised 3 aspects in the training of staff who serve clients with mild to moderate intellectual disability and challenging behaviour (CB): Staff attitudes, self-awareness, and clients' perspectives. This study investigates whether programs include these aspects. Method: A systematic search yielded 11 relevant articles. Results: Generally, all programs aimed to improve staff knowledge and skills. Client variables concerned frequencies and severities of CB. None of the studies included clients' perspectives or staff attitudes and self-awareness. Conclusions: The fact that staff attitudes and awareness or clients' perspectives were not among the main goals of the training studies suggests that recent views of effective treatment of CB are not yet the object of scientific study. Given the acknowledgment of these aspects, it is warranted that future research focuses upon these recent insights.
Article
Emotional intelligence is a type of social intelligence that involves the ability to monitor one's own and others' emotions, to discriminate among them, and to use the information to guide one's thinking and actions (Salovey & Mayer, 1990). We discuss (a) whether intelligence is an appropriate metaphor for the construct, and (b) the abilities and mechanisms that may underlie emotional intelligence. © 1993.
Article
Working with clients who show challenging behavior can be emotionally demanding and stressful for support staff, because this behavior may cause a range of negative emotional reactions and feelings. These reactions are of negative influence on staff wellbeing and behavior. Research has focused on negative emotions of staff. However, a distinction between emotions and feelings has never been made in the research field of intellectual disabilities. Negative emotions and feelings may be regulated by emotional intelligence, a psychological construct that takes into account personal style and individual differences. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between emotional intelligence on the one hand and emotions and feelings on the other. Participants were 207 support staff serving clients with moderate to borderline intellectual disabilities and challenging behavior. Emotional intelligence, emotions, and feelings were measured with questionnaires. The results show that emotional intelligence, emotions, and feelings are related. However, found relationships were weak. Most significant relations were found between feelings and stress management and adaptation elements of emotional intelligence. Because the explored variables can change over time they call for a longitudinal research approach.
Article
The purpose of the present study was to investigate effects of a training package on appropriate and inappropriate behaviors of residents with mental retardation with internalizing or externalizing behavior problems and the responses of staff to these behavior problems. The training procedure included resident training with video feedback and self-management procedures and staff training with video and graphic feedback. A multiple baseline design across residents was used. Results show increased appropriate social behavior for residents with internalizing behavior problems and decreased inappropriate social behavior for residents with externalizing behavior problems. The provision of video and graphic feedback also successfully improved performance of direct-care staff members. Recommendations are made for further investigation of variables related to behavior change of staff and residents.
Article
This chapter describes the measurement, prevalence, course, and risk of psychopathology in children and adolescents with intellectual disability (ID). Children, including adolescents, with intellectual disability, are at higher risk than children without ID for developing psychopathology, a term used to subsume similar terms, such as mental illness or health problems, psychiatric or behavior disorders, and behavior and emotional problems. Psychopathology in children with ID is also more likely to go unrecognized and untreated. The clinical–medical assessment tradition seeks syndromes of signs and symptoms to distinguish between and among disorders expected to have distinctive organic etiologies and course. Situation specificity of problem behaviors likely contributes to the moderate cross-informant correlation coefficients. The study of the development of psychopathology requires a longitudinal design to enable the explanation of the variance in change of psychopathology from one time point to another, based on the factors measured at the first time point.
Article
The study examined reliability and validity of a new measure of emotional (i.e. non-cognitive) intelligence, the Bar-On Emotional Quotient Inventory (EQ-i; Bar-On, 1997, in a sample of 243 university students. Results indicated that the EQ-i domain and component scales had good item homogeneity and internal consistency. Scores were not unduly affected by response styles or biases. The EQ-i scales had a meaningful pattern of convergent validities with respect to measures of normal personality, depression, somatic symptomatology, intensity of affective experience and alexithymia. The reliability and validity results for men and women were very similar. Overall, the results suggested that the EQ-i is a promising measure of emotional intelligence. We recommend strategies for further validation of the EQ-i, as well as the construct of emotional intelligence.
Article
Background: Relationships between support staff and clients with intellectual disability (ID) are important for quality of care, especially when dealing with challenging behaviour. Building upon an interpersonal model, this study investigates the influence of client challenging behaviour, staff attitude and staff emotional intelligence on interactive behaviour of one of these relationship partners, being support staff. Method: A total of 158 support staff members completed a questionnaire on staff interactive behaviour for 158 clients with ID and challenging behaviour, as well as two questionnaires on staff interpersonal attitude and emotional intelligence. Results: Confronted with challenging behaviour as opposed to no challenging behaviour, staff reported less friendly, more assertive control and less support-seeking interpersonal behaviour. Also, staff used more proactive thinking and more self-reflection in dealing with challenging behaviour. Staff interpersonal attitude in general, mainly a harsh-dominant-resentful attitude, had a significant influence on most staff interactive behaviours towards an individual client with challenging behaviour. The influence of staff emotional intelligence, specifically intrapersonal abilities, on staff interactive behaviour towards an individual client with challenging behaviour was somewhat limited. Conclusions: This research supports the necessity for training staff in general interpersonal attitudes towards clients as well as training in intrapersonal emotional intelligence, when confronted with challenging behaviour. Future research should focus more on the bidirectional dynamics of staff and client interactions.
Article
In the research on people with intellectual disabilities and their social networks, the functional characteristics of their networks have been examined less often than the structural characteristics. Research on the structural characteristics of their networks is also usually restricted to the size and composition of the networks, moreover, with little attention to such characteristics as the variety, accessibility, length and origin of the relationships or the frequency and initiation of the contacts. A comprehensive examination of both the structural and functional characteristics of the social networks of 33 people with intellectual disabilities was therefore undertaken. The social networks of the individuals who all lived in the community varied from 4 to 28 members (mean 14.21); 42.65% of the network members were family members, 32.84% acquaintances and 24.51% professionals. Remarkable is the high frequency of contact with network members; the finding that the participants considered themselves to be the main initiator of contact more often than the other members of their networks as the main initiators; the high scores assigned to neighbours and professionals for functional characteristics; and the relatively low scores assigned to network members for the connection characteristic of the social networks. The important role of professionals in the social networks of people with mild intellectual disabilities and practical implications to facilitate their social inclusion are discussed.
Article
This report describes one of the largest and longest running school-based violence prevention programs in the country, the Resolving Conflict Creatively Program (RCCP), and discusses the results of a rigorous evaluation of the program's effectiveness conducted by the National Center for Children in Poverty (NCCP) at Columbia University's Joseph L. Mailman School of Public Health. The report is designed to inform policymakers, program developers and managers at the local level, and other opinion leaders and decision makers of effective strategy for directly addressing the problem of violence among children and youth. Founded in 1985, the RCCP now serves approximately 9,000 students in 60 New York City public schools. The program is designed to promote constructive conflict resolution and positive inter-group relations. It is based on the philosophy that aggressive and violent behavior is learned and therefore can be reduced through education. The program is built around a set of core skills: communicating clearly and listening carefully, expressing feelings and dealing with anger, resolving conflicts, fostering cooperation, appreciating diversity, and countering bias. These skills are learned through a curriculum taught by teachers receiving both initial training and ongoing follow-up and support from RCCP staff developers. The RCCP is also implemented through the training of student-based peer mediation groups and school administrators, and by continued outreach to parents. Overall, NCCP's evaluation found that the RCCP had a significant positive impact when teachers taught a high number of lessons from the RCCP curriculum. Among other findings, children receiving a high number of lessons had significantly slower growth in self-reported hostile attributions, aggressive fantasies, and aggressive problem-solving strategies, as well as in teacher-reported aggressive behavior, compared to children receiving a low number of lessons or no lessons at all. (Appendices include related evaluations of the RCCP implementation, NCCP design for the evaluation of the RCCP, and implications of the RCCP evaluation for evaluation research.) (EV)
Article
Staff beliefs about challenging behaviours, and their perception of their working environment, are important for two main reasons. Firstly, the manner in which staff define challenging behaviour affects who is labelled as a challenge, and who is referred to specialist services. Secondly, staff views of their working environment may help us to understand why staff interact with people with learning disabilities in the apparently counter-habilitative ways outlined in previous reasearch. These issues were investigated in a systematic semi-structured interview of 19 care staff. The interview covered staff definitions of challenging behaviour, the reasons for its occurrence, and strategies for its amelioration; their views on training and behavioural programmes; and their reported emotional responses to challenging behaviour. Content analysis of the interview transcripts revealed several patterns that may help in generating an account of staff behaviour. For example, staff's beliefs about the causes of challenging behaviour were partially congruent with those of psychological analyses, but their reported interventions for challenging behaviour could not be characterised as ‘functional’ strategies. Staff reports also revealed some of the factors in the service environment that may explain why they respond ‘inappropriately’ to challenging behaviour in the short term. These included: an emphasis in staff training on techniques for managing behaviour rather than understanding it, the (possibly resulting) belief that challenging behaviour is to be controlled, and the aversive nature of challenging behaviours. These findings, and their implications for research and practice, are discussed.
Article
Self-reported stressors, coping strategies and stress-related outcomes were explored among 68 direct-care staff working in two networks of small staffed houses for people with learning disabilities. The two networks tended to have lower rates of staff turnover, and staff tended to be older, more qualified and more likely to have dependants, than staff in UK community services reported in previous studies. Staff in Network 2 rated several stressors as more stressful and reported themselves as experiencing greater general distress and work-related stress, than staff in Network 1. Multiple regressions revealed that: (1) stressors relating to the emotional impact of the work, violent service user behaviour and the use of a wishful thinking coping strategy were associated with perceived work stress; (2) stressors relating to the conflict of work with personal or family demands, and the use of a wishful thinking coping strategy, were associated with symptoms of general distress; (3) perceived work stress, together with uncertainty concerning job tasks and limited opportunities for personal advancement, were perceived to have a high impact on work
Article
Background The use of physical restraints has generated immense controversy in the delivery of services to individuals with intellectual disabilities. The current zeitgeist is that effective positive approaches obviate the need for using physical restraints. In a multiple baseline design, we sought to assess how training staff members in mindfulness affected their use of physical restraints for aggressive and destructive behaviours of individuals with intellectual disabilities. Methods Twenty-three members of staff working in four group homes participated in a 12-week mindfulness-training programme. Objective data were collected on the number of incidents, staff observations of incidents, staff verbal redirections, restraints used, Stat medications administered, staff injuries and peer injuries. Data were collected during baseline, mindfulness training and mindfulness practice phases. Results As mindfulness training progressed, the use of restraints decreased, with almost no use being recorded by the end of the study. Any use of physical restraints was correlated with new admissions and on-call staff who had not received training in mindfulness. Stat medications administered also decreased and staff and peer injuries were close to zero levels during the latter stages of mindfulness practice. Conclusions Data from this initial study suggest that staff training in mindfulness is potentially beneficial to both staff and the individuals with intellectual disabilities, particularly in reducing the use of physical restraints and Stat medication for aggressive and destructive behaviours.
Article
Background Hastings, R. P. [American Journal on Mental Retardation (2002) Vol. 107, pp. 455–467] hypothesized that staff negative emotional reactions to challenging behaviour might accumulate over time to affect staff well-being. Only one previous study (Mitchell, G.& Hastings, R. P. [American Journal on Mental Retardation (2001) Vol. 106, pp. 448–459] has explored this relationship. The present analyses were designed to replicate these findings. Methods Data were analysed from two samples of staff. In study 1, 101 staff rated their typical emotional reactions to challenging behaviours experienced as a part of their work and completed the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI). In study 2, 99 staff rated their negative emotional reactions to written challenging behaviour vignettes and also completed the MBI. Results In both studies, significant positive correlations were found between negative emotional reactions to challenging behaviour and emotional exhaustion and depersonalization burnout but no association was found with personal accomplishment scores. Conclusions These findings replicate previous results, but cannot be used to support the putative causal relationship between emotional reactions to challenging behaviour and staff well-being. Clinical implications of a focus on staff emotional reactions to challenging behaviour are discussed.
Article
The present study examines the relationship of self- and other ratings of emotional intelligence with academic intelligence and personality, as well as the incremental validity of emotional intelligence beyond academic intelligence and personality in predicting academic and social success. A sample of 116 students filled in measures for emotional and academic intelligence, the Big Five, and indicators of social and academic success. Moreover, other ratings were obtained from four different raters on emotional intelligence and social success. Factor analysis revealed three emotional intelligence dimensions that were labelled as ‘Empathy’, ‘Autonomy’, and ‘Emotional Control’. Little evidence was found for a relationship between emotional and academic intelligence. Academic intelligence was low and inconsistently related to emotional intelligence, revealing both negative and positive interrelations. Strong relationships were found of the emotional intelligence dimensions with the Big Five, particularly with Extraversion and Emotional Stability. Interestingly, the emotional intelligence dimensions were able to predict both academic and social success above traditional indicators of academic intelligence and personality. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Article
This study builds on earlier work (Slaski & Cartwright, 2002), examining the role of Emotional Intelligence (EI) as a moderator in the stress process. A sample of UK managers (n = 60) were given training in emotional intelligence. Pre and post measures were taken relating to EI, stress and health and management performance. The study also incorporated a matched control group. It was found that training resulted in increased EI and improved health and well being. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Article
Background Previous research into stress in staff who work with people with intellectual disabilities has concentrated on the organizational determinants of stress and has tended to overlook the relative contribution of individual differences. A model was proposed to describe possible relationships between work-based stressors, staff support, personality, coping strategy and psychological outcome. Methods A survey methodology was used with care staff in community-based homes for people with intellectual disability. Results Analysis of the model explored how these variables might affect one another in their relationship to psychological outcomes. The most significant findings of this research was the direct effects found between personality (neuroticism), coping style (wishful thinking) and stress. A significant interaction was also observed between job demands and neuroticism. Conclusions These research findings highlight the importance of personality factors in determining stress levels in staff and suggest several possible intervention strategies. One intervention point may be to teach self-management techniques to help some staff cope with periods of high demand, particularly those reporting high levels of neuroticism.
Article
In this article we examine the fundamental premises of our cognitive-relational theory of emotion and coping and assess our progress in examining them through 10 years of programmatic empirical research. Our discussion involves the metatheoretical topics of transaction and relationship, process, and emotion as a system. The person-environment relationship is mediated by two key processess: cognitive appraisal and coping. We evaluate the findings of our research on these processes, their dynamic interplay, their antecedents, and their short-term and long-term outcomes. In the final section we highlight major substantive and methodological issues that need to be addressed. These include issues surrounding the theory and measurement of appraisal, functional and dysfunctional coping, causal inference, microanalytic vs macroanalytic research strategies, objective vs subjective approaches and confounding, and the problem of method variance.
Article
Background The present research extended previous research by broadening the dimensions of personality traits, and focusing on burnout and psychological well-being among staff working with people with intellectual disabilities and challenging behaviour. Methods This is a cross-sectional survey in which 103 staff completed questionnaires measuring clients’ challenging behaviour according to staff perception, as well as staff burnout, psychological well-being and personality traits. Results Regression analyses showed that staff perception of challenging behaviour predicted burnout. Controlling for challenging behaviour, three personality traits (neuroticism, extraversion and conscientiousness) predicted burnout and psychological well-being. Conclusions Personality traits can affect the degree of burnout and poor psychological well-being that staff may experience. Staff should be informed about the role that their personality traits can play in their well-being. Training programmes for staff should incorporate the complex relationship between personality traits and well-being. Further studies should aim at identifying other personality traits that could increase or decrease resilience of staff working in this area.
Article
Several studies have tested Weiner's model, which suggests a relationship among causal attributions regarding challenging behavior (CB), emotions, and helping behavior of staff. No studies have focused on interpersonal styles. The goals of this study were to investigate the influence of type of CB on attributions, emotions and interpersonal style of staff, the relationships among staff attributions, emotions, and interpersonal style, and the mediating function of emotions in the relation between attributions and interpersonal style. Participants were 99 staff members. CB aimed at the environment was related to higher levels of negative emotions, attributions and certain interpersonal styles such as controlling behavior. In addition, a relationship between emotions, attributions, and interpersonal style was found. However, there was no mediating function of emotions in the relationships between attributions and interpersonal style. Future research should take a more dynamic view of staff behavior and staff-client interaction into account.
Article
One of the theoretical claims made regarding the concept of emotional intelligence is that it concerns a range of human abilities which are independent of the more familiar concept of intellectual ability. This study was conducted to evaluate the divergent validity of Bar-On's EQ-i as compared to the General Adult Mental Ability scale (GAMA), a measure of fluid intelligence. In a Dutch subject sample (n=873), results indicated that the correlations between the EQ-i and the GAMA were very low, for both the total sample as well as for the sexes separately. These findings indicate that the two tests are psychometrically independent, in that the EQ-i is measuring something other than the GAMA. There were also some small age-related changes in the correlations between the EQ-i and GAMA. These results replicate and elaborate those reported by Bar-On [Bar-On, R. (1997). BarOn Emotional Quotient Inventory: technical manual. Toronto: Multi Health Systems].
Article
The concept of emotional intelligence was examined in relation to the latitude permitted for emotional expressiveness and adaptation to occupational culture in three groups of helping professionals: police officers, child care workers, and educators in mental health care. A total of 167 individuals were administered the Emotional Quotient Inventory (EQ-i). There were no differences in the primary scales measuring various aspects of emotional intelligence between the two groups of care workers. There were differences between a combined care worker grouping and the police officers with the latter seeming more emotionally adaptable than the former. Whilst there were some overall gender differences, there were no gender by occupation interactions. There were also differences in terms of three higher order factors of the EQ-i with police officers achieving higher scores on positive affect and emotional stability than the care workers. Results are discussed in the light of differences in occupational cultures and methodological considerations.
Article
This paper reports on a two-year longitudinal study on the emotional intelligence profiles of 380 nurses caring for clients with highly frequent and extremely severe behaviour problems. The aim was to identify emotional intelligence cluster types for those nurses reporting the fewest symptoms of burnout, the least absenteeism due to illness, and the least job turnover. A repeated measures ANOVA was undertaken using a 0.05 level of significance. The fewest symptoms of burnout were reported by female nurses with relatively high emotional intelligence profiles and relatively low social skills. Males with higher problem-solving and stress-tolerance skills also showed less burnout. No specific cluster types with a significant relation to absenteeism due to illness or job turnover could be identified.
Article
Work stress is endemic among direct care workers (DCWs) who serve people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Social resources, such as work social support, and personal resources, such as an internal locus of control, may help DCWs perceive work overload and other work-related stressors as less threatening and galvanize them to cope more effectively to prevent burnout. However, little is known about what resources are effective for coping with what types of work stress. Thus, we examined how work stress and social and personal resources are associated with burnout for DCWs. We conducted a survey of DCWs (n = 323) from five community-based organizations that provide residential, vocational, and personal care services for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Participants completed a self-administered survey about their perceptions of work stress, work social support, locus of control, and burnout relative to their daily work routine. We conducted multiple regression analysis to test both the main and interaction effects of work stress and resources with respect to burnout. Work stress, specifically work overload, limited participation decision-making, and client disability care, was positively associated with burnout (p < .001). The association between work social support and burnout depended on the levels of work overload (p < .05), and the association between locus of control and burnout depended on the levels of work overload (p < .05) and participation in decision-making (p < .05). Whether work social support and locus of control make a difference depends on the kinds and the levels of work stressors. The findings underscore the importance of strong work-based social support networks and stress management resources for DCWs.
Article
Staff working with clients with intellectual disabilities (ID) who display challenging behaviour may contribute to the continuation of this behaviour, because it causes emotional reactions such as anxiety, anger and annoyance, which may prohibit adequate response behaviour. To enhance staff behaviour and treatment skills a training that aimed at improving emotional intelligence (EQ) was developed. The goal of this study was to assess whether an EQ training in combination with a video-feedback training programme improves emotional intelligence of staff working with clients with ID and challenging behaviour. Participants were 60 staff members working with individuals with ID and challenging behaviour. Thirty-four staff members participated in a 4-month training programme and 26 constituted the control group. A pretest-posttest control group design was used. Effectiveness was assessed by using the Dutch version of the Bar-On EQ-i and the judgments of experts on emotional intelligence. Emotional intelligence of the experimental group changed significantly more than that of the control group. Judgments of experts on emotional intelligence indicated that the change of emotional intelligence of the experimental group improved positively. The positive effect of the training programme on emotional intelligence is consistent with previous research on emotional intelligence and suggests that emotional intelligence of staff working with clients with ID and challenging behaviour can be influenced by training.
Article
Staff reactions play an important role in the development and maintaining of clients' challenging behaviour. Because there is a paucity of research on staff reactions in naturalistic settings, this study examined sequential associations between challenging behaviour and staff reactions by means of a descriptive analysis. We analysed video recordings of the reactions of 10 staff members towards challenging behaviour of clients with severe or profound intellectual disabilities who displayed self-injurious behaviour, stereotyped behaviour and/or aggressive/destructive behaviour. As expected, the staff members used much verbal behaviours after challenging behaviour and often immediately tried to stop the challenging behaviour. Furthermore, staff often gave attention to challenging behaviour whereas offering or taking away material or tasks were less frequently observed reactions. Reactions to aggressive/destructive behaviour and self-injurious behaviour were quite similar. After stereotyped behaviour, not that many reactions occurred significantly more. Although this study has clinical implications and made a valuable contribution to research on staff reactions to challenging behaviour, more research is needed, more specifically, about the effectiveness of these staff reactions.
Article
Previous research has identified that staff-client interactions play an important role in the origin and maintenance of challenging behaviour. Particularly, the reciprocity between staff behaviour and client behaviour has been considered a key issue. Furthermore, severe challenging behaviour has been found to elicit negative emotional reactions from staff which in turn may influence staff's behaviour. Another variable that has been associated with staff behaviour are staff's attributions regarding clients' challenging behaviour. The present study tested several hypotheses about associations between staff variables and challenging behaviour. Questionnaires were used to investigate associations between the attributions, emotional reactions and behavioural reactions of 51 staff members towards challenging behaviour of clients with severe or profound intellectual disabilities who displayed self-injurious behaviour, stereotyped behaviour and/or aggressive/destructive behaviour. Staff members reported that reactions to challenging behaviour differed according to the type of challenging behaviour. Negative emotional reactions were positively associated with challenging behaviour. Associations between emotional reactions, staff beliefs and staff reactions were inconsistent. The findings suggest that there is a need to look for a better conceptualization and assessment of the variables under investigation.
Article
The last decades have seen increased emphasis on the quality of training for direct-care staff serving people with intellectual disabilities. Nevertheless, it is unclear what the key aspects of effective training are. Therefore, the aim of the present meta-analysis was to establish the ingredients (i.e., goals, format, and techniques) for staff training that are related to improvements of staff behaviour. Our literature search concentrated on studies that were published in a period of 20 years. Fifty-five studies met the criteria, resulting in 502 single-subject designs and 13 n>1 designs. Results revealed important information relevant to further improvement of clinical practice: (a) the combination of in-service with coaching-on-the-job is the most powerful format, (b) in in-service formats, one should use multiple techniques, and verbal feedback is particularly recommended, and (c) in coaching-on-the-job formats, verbal feedback should be part of the program, as well as praise and correction. To maximize effectiveness, program developers should carefully prepare training goals, training format, and training techniques, which will yield a profit for clinical practice.