The effectiveness of emotional intelligence training on the adaptive behaviors of students with intellectual disability

Abstract

Objectives: The aim of this paper is to present a study on the effectiveness of Emotional Intelligence (EI) training on the adaptive behaviors of students with intellectual disability.Methods: This study was quasi-experimental involving a pre-test, post-test design and control group. The sample consisted of 32 students with intellectual disability (14–18 years old) who were educable. The sample randomly divided into the experimental group (16 students which were randomly divided into two groups of 8) and the control (16 students) groups. The experimental groups had 22 sessions of EI training and the control group did not have any; during the intervention, they just had the regular school program.Results: The results showed that the intervention program had created a significant difference between the scores of the experimental and control group (P<.001) and the scores for adaptive behavior (P<.001), communication skills ( P<.001) and social skills (P<.001) were increased in the experimental group, but this was not true for the daily living skills.Discussion: It seems that the Emotional Intelligence training program can increase the adaptive behavior and its components (communication and social skills) of students with Intellectual Disability.