The enhancement of emotional skills as a resource to reduce hopelessness

Abstract

IntroductionEmotional Intelligence (EI) involves a set of emotional skills (attention, clarity, and emotional regulation) for the effective use of emotional information (Mayer & Salovey, 1997). The lack of emotional skills has been associated with multiple disruptive emotional phenomena, such as hopelessness. It has been observed that EI can be a predictor of hopelessness in older adults, in such a way that we can consider that the development of EI could be a relevant resource for promoting mental health in older adults.Objectives Implement an EI intervention to reduce levels of hopelessness.Methods The sample consisted of 123 healthy older adults from Valencia (Spain), randomly distributed into two groups: treatment group (N = 57) and control group (N = 68), aged between 60 and 84 years, with a mean age of 67.62 years (SD = 6.43). Of these, 54.4% were women and the remaining 45.6% were men. The Trait Meta-Mood Sclae 24 (TMMS 24) was applied to assess EI and the Beck Hopelessness Scale (BHS) to assess hopelessness.Results Significant differences are observed in the treatment group after the intervention (F1, 123 = 19.86; p < 0.001, h2 = 0.142), with a decrease in scores (T1= 4.72; T2=2.88). For the control group, the effects were not significant (F1, 123 = 1.06; p = 0.305, h2 = 0,009).ConclusionsThe efficacy of the intervention in EI to manage emotional states is evidenced, reducing levels of hopelessness thanks to training in adaptive emotional processing and emotional management skills.DisclosureNo significant relationships.