Therapist Attachment and the Working Alliance: The Moderating Effect of Emotional Regulation

Objective: To explore whether the therapist’s emotional regulation strategies moderate the relationship between therapist attachment and the working alliance from the therapist’s perspective. Method: A non-experimental, descriptive correlational design was used. Sixty-three psychotherapists (6 men, 57 women) participated in this study, ranging in age from 27 to 69 years, with a mean age of 39.3 years. The therapists completed the Attachment evaluation questionnaire for adults, the Spanish Adaptation of the Working Alliance Inventory, and the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale. Associations between attachment and emotional regulation traits and working alliance were examined using multilevel modeling, controlling for therapist demographics, and clinical experience. Results: Moderation analyses revealed significant interaction effects between therapist attachment and emotional regulation strategies. Conclusion: Attachment styles would not significantly affect the therapist’s ability to establish an adequate therapeutic alliance bond. The results show that the attachment style of the therapists interacted with their emotional regulation abilities

The Learning to Be Project: An Intervention for Spanish Students in Primary Education

Despite the emphasis placed by most curricula in the development of social and emotional competencies in education, there seems to be a general lack of knowledge of methods that integrate strategies for assessing these competencies into existing educational practices. Previous research has shown that the development of social and emotional competencies in children has multiple benefits, as they seem to contribute to better physical and mental health, an increase in academic motivation, and the well-being and healthy social progress of children. This study aims at assessing the possible changes in children’s self-esteem, socio-emotional competencies, and school-related variables after participating in the Learning to Be project (L2B) project

Development and validation of the Strategic Test of Emotional Intelligence (STEI) in the Spanish population

Introduction and objectives Currently, the assessment of emotional intelligence (EI) ability using performance measures is somewhat limited. Our study thus describes the development and validation of a new performance measure, known as the Strategic Test of Emotional Intelligence (STEI), to assess EI abilities in Spanish samples based on the Mayer and Salovey (1997) model and Situational Judgment Test paradigm. Materials and method Spanish undergraduate students and community participants (N = 504; 64.7% females aged 18–67 years) completed the STEI (consisting of 110 items, 55 of which correspond to the understanding emotions factor and 55 to the managing emotions factor). Different subgroups also completed measures of EI, empathy, personality, and general intelligence. Results The findings indicate appropriate reliability and convergent and discriminant validity with respect to EI, empathy, personality, and intelligence measures. Further, confirmatory factor analysis supported the existence of a two-factor structure composed of the understanding and managing emotions subscales. Cronbach's alpha coefficients were adequate (.82 understanding emotions, .85 managing emotions, and .90 total STEI). Conclusions The STEI could be a promising new measure for assessing EI in Spanish samples, providing a novel tool for researching the construct and enabling the comparison with previous results found in other cultures.Introducción y objetivos En la actualidad, la evaluación de la capacidad de inteligencia emocional (IE) que utiliza medidas de rendimiento es algo limitada. Nuestro estudio describe el desarrollo y la validación de una nueva medida de rendimiento, conocida como Test Estratégico de Inteligencia Emocional (STEI), para evaluar las habilidades de IE en muestras españolas basada en el modelo de Mayer y Salovey (1997) y en el paradigma de Prueba de Juicio Situacional. Materiales y método Estudiantes universitarios, así como muestra de población general (n = 504; 64.7% mujeres; rango de edad de 18 a 67 años) de España completaron el STEI (con un total de 110 ítems, 55 pertenecientes al factor comprensión y 55 al factor manejo de las emociones). Diferentes subgrupos también completaron medidas de IE, empatía, personalidad e inteligencia general. Resultados Los resultados indican una fiabilidad apropiada y una validez convergente y discriminante con respecto a las medidas de IE, empatía, personalidad e inteligencia. Además, el análisis factorial confirmatorio apoyó la existencia de una estructura de dos factores compuesta por las subescalas de comprensión y manejo de las emociones. Los coeficientes alfa de Cronbach fueron adecuados (.82 comprensión emociones, .85 manejo emociones y .90 STEI total). Conclusiones El STEI podría ser una medida nueva y prometedora para evaluar la IE en muestras españolas, proporcionando una herramienta novedosa para investigar el constructo y poder comparar los resultados con los encontrados previamente en otras culturas

Emotional intelligence and psychological and social adjustment in adolescence: The role of emotional perception.

Resumen: La inteligencia emocional (IE), definida como la habilidad para percibir, usar, comprender y regular las emociones, se ha mostrado como una variable importante a la hora de explicar el ajuste psicosocial de las personas. Pese a ello, la mayor parte de la investigación en torno a la IE ha sido realizada con muestras de población adulta y son escasos los trabajos que, utilizando medidas de ejecución, exploren su papel en la adolescencia. El objetivo del presente estudio fue el de analizar la influencia de la percepción emocional, una de las habilidades recogidas dentro de la IE, sobre el ajuste personal y social de una muestra de adolescentes españoles. Un total de 255 alumnos completaron una tarea de ejecución diseñada para evaluar la percepción emocional en la adolescencia así como diferentes medidas de ajuste social y personal. Los resultados de los análisis de correlación y regresión mostraron cómo los adolescentes con una mayor habilidad para reconocer los estados emocionales de los demás informaron de mejores relaciones sociales con iguales y padres, menor tensión en sus relaciones sociales, así como de un mayor nivel de confianza y competencia percibida. Además, estos resultados se mantuvieron tras controlar los efectos de la edad, el sexo y la personalidad. Se discuten los resultados en el contexto de la investigación sobre la inteligencia emocional y se proponen implicaciones prácticas para el diseño de programas de prevención y tratamiento.Abstract: Emotional intelligence (IE), defined as the ability to perceive, use, understand and regulate emotions, has shown a positive influence on the people´s psychological and social adjustment in the specialized literature. However, most of the work has been carried out with adult samples and few investigations have examined this issue with adolescent population. The aim of this paper was to analyze the influence of emotional perception, an ability of EI, on the adolescent´s personal and social adjustment. A sample of 255 Spanish adolescents completed a maximum performance test of emotional perception and different scales measuring personal and social adjustment. Results of correlation and regression analyses showed that adolescents with higher ability to perceive emotions reported having better relationships with peers and parents, lower social stress, higher self-confidence and higher perceived competence. Moreover, emotional perception significantly predicted adolescents? adjustment even when the effects of sex, age, and personality were controlled for. The findings suggest that emotional intelligence is a promising predictor of adolescent adjustment and may serve as a useful resource for preventive and treatment interventions

Docentes emocionalmente inteligentes

In this article, we describe the importance of complementing teachers� training with the learning and development of social and emotional aspects. It is in this way that Emotional Intelligence (EI) �understood as a complement of the cognitive development of teachers and students� is to play a role in the educational context. We review Mayer & Salovey�s ability model (1997), some of the programmes of socio-emotional improvement that are also designed for teachers and several activities for the development of teachers� EI. In addition, we examine the implications for teachers derived from the development of their EI to enhance their capacity to appropriately perceive, understand and manage one�s own emotions and those of others.En este artículo describimos la importancia de completar la formación del profesorado con el aprendizaje y desarrollo de aspectos sociales y emocionales. Así, la inteligencia emocional (IE), entendida como complemento del desarrollo cognitivo de profesorado y alumnado, entra en el contexto educativo. Revisamos el modelo de habilidad de Mayer & Salovey (1997), algunos de los programas de mejora socio� emocional diseñados para el profesorado, y algunas actividades para el desarrollo de la IE en el docente. Además, repasamos las implicaciones que tiene el desarrollo de su IE o capacidad para percibir, comprender y manejar adecuadamente las emociones propias y las ajenas

Emotional regulation and acute pain perception in women

Abstract: Emotional regulation is an important variable in the experience of pain. Currently, there are no experimental investigations of the relation between emotional regulation and pain. The goal of the present study work was to analyze differences in pain perception and mood generated by the cold-pressor (CPT) experimental paradigm in women with high and low emotional regulation. Two groups of women were formed as a function of their level of emotional regulation: women with high emotional repair (N = 24) and women with low emotional repair (N = 28), all of whom performed the CPT. The results show that the women with a high score in emotional repair reported having experienced less sensory pain and affective pain during the immersion, as well as a more positive affective state before beginning the task. During the experimental task, they also reported a better mood, thus displaying lower impact of the experience of pain. Perspective: Emotional regulation is proposed as a key element to manage the emotional reaction that accompanies the experience of acute pain experimentally induced by the CPT experimental paradigm in a sample of healthy women

La relación del Test de Inteligencia Emocional de la Fundación Botín (TIEFBA) con el ajuste personal y escolar de adolescentes españoles

Este estudio analiza la relación del Test de Inteligencia Emocional de la Fundación Botín para Adolescentes (TIEFBA), una nueva medida de habilidad para evaluar la inteligencia emocional (IE), con el ajuste personal y escolar en adolescentes españoles. El instrumento, basado en el modelo de Mayer y Salovey (1997), evalúa las cuatro ramas mientras el participante está resolviendo tareas emocionales generadas por una situación emocional. El TIEFBA fue desarrollado de acuerdo con el paradigma del Test de Juicio Situacional y comprende ocho escenas diseñadas para evocar emociones positivas y negativas. Un total de 1684 adolescentes españoles (48.2% varones, edad media 14.37 años) completaron el TIEFBA. Se recogieron datos sobre personalidad, empatía, inteligencia y ajuste psicosocial. Los resultados proporcionan evidencia de la fiabilidad de los instrumentos y su validez factorial, convergente, discriminante y también alguna predictiva. Estos resultados sugieren que el TIEFBA es una nueva medida prometedora para evaluar la IE en los adolescentes españoles, lo que permitirá a los investigadores y educadores entender mejor cómo la IE afecta a los adolescentes, así como evaluar el impacto de las intervenciones en IE.This study analyzes the relationship of Botín Foundation's Emotional Intelligence Test for Adolescents (TIEFBA), a new ability-based measure to assess emotional intelligence (EI), with personal and scholar adjustment in Spanish adolescents. The instrument, based on the Mayer and Salovey model (1997), measures four branches of abilities while the participant is executing emotional tasks triggered by an emotion-eliciting situation. The TIEFBA was developed according to the Situational Judgment Test paradigm and it comprises eight scenes designed to evoke positive and negative emotions. A total of 1684 Spanish adolescents (48.2% males, mean age 14.37) completed the TIEFBA. Data on personality, empathy, intelligence and psychosocial adjustment were collected. The results provide evidence of instrument reliability and factorial, convergent, discriminant and some predictive validity. They further suggest that the TIEFBA is a promising new measure for assessing EI in Spanish adolescents, which will allow researchers and educators to understand better how EI affects youth as well as assess the impact of EI interventions

Revista de psicodidáctica

Título, resumen y palabras clave en español y en inglésResumen basado en el de la publicaciónSe analiza la relación del Test de Inteligencia Emocional de la Fundación Botín para Adolescentes (TIEFBA), una nueva medida de habilidad para evaluar la inteligencia emocional (IE), con el ajuste personal y escolar en adolescentes españoles. El instrumento, basado en el modelo de Mayer y Salovey (1997), evalúa las cuatro ramas mientras el participante está resolviendo tareas emocionales generadas por una situación emocional. El TIEFBA fue desarrollado de acuerdo con el paradigma del Test de Juicio Situacional y comprende ocho escenas diseñadas para evocar emociones positivas y negativas. Un total de 1684 adolescentes españoles (48.2% varones, edad media 14.37 anos) completaron el TIEFBA. Se recogieron datos sobre personalidad, empatía, inteligencia y ajuste psicosocial. Los resultados proporcionan evidencia de la fiabilidad de los instrumentos y su validez factorial, convergente, discriminante y también alguna predictiva. Estos resultados sugieren que el TIEFBA es una nueva medida prometedora para evaluar la IE en los adolescentes españoles, lo que permitirá a los investigadores y educadores entender mejor cómo la IE afecta a los adolescentes, así como evaluar el impacto de las intervenciones en IE.ES

Gender differences in quality of life in adults with long-standing type 1 diabetes mellitus

Background To assess gender differences in Quality of life (QoL) and in sociodemographic, clinical and psychological factors associated with impaired QoL in adults with long-standing type 1 diabetes mellitus (DM1). Methods Cross-sectional evaluation in a random cohort of DM1 adult patients from a tertiary care hospital. QoL was evaluated using translated and validated self-administered Diabetes QoL questionnaire (Es-DQoL), and results transformed into a 0–100 scale. Psychological assessment included a planned psychological interview and self-reported questionnaires (Beck Depression Inventory II, State-Trait Anxiety Inventory Form Y, Fear of hypoglycaemia Scale, Medical Outcomes Study Social Support Survey). Results A total of 312 patients (51.6% male; 38.2 ± 12.7 years; HbA1c 7.5 ± 1.1% (58.5 ± 14.2 mmol/mol); 20.4 ± 12.0 years of DM1) were included in the analysis. Male and female subgroups showed similar sociodemographic and diabetes-related features and comparable social support. Among female patients, higher frequency of depression [31.7% (IC95% 26.2–40.8) vs. 14.9% (IC95% 10.1–20.8), p < 0.05] and anxiety [23.2% (IC95% 19.3–33.14) vs. 13.0% (IC95% 8.1–18.4), p < 0.05] and severity of depressive and anxious symptoms were also found. Compared to male patients, female patients showed lower QoL [75 (IC95% 73.6–77.5) vs. 80 (IC95% 75.7–83.1), p < 0.05] and scored significantly worse in subscale Diabetes-related worries [69 (IC95% 50.0–81.0) vs. 75 (IC95% 72.9–79.0), p < 0.05]. Fear of hypoglycemia and severity of depressive and anxious symptoms were factors independently associated to lower QoL in men and women while high frequency of glycemic excursions was a female-specific predictive one. Conclusions Adult women with long-standing DM1 showed lower QoL probably related to higher frequency and severity of psychopathological syndromes. Depressive and anxious symptoms and, among women, exposure to glycemic excursions were identified as modifiable, QoL-related variables. Educational, technological and psychological interventions are needed in order to improve QoL in DM1 patients