High Interpersonal Skills Research Articles

Measuring and training of therapeutic competencies

This article provides an overview of our research concepts on therapeutic competencies with regard to three main questions. The first research question deals with therapists' competencies to succesfully handle transference and countertransference in the cotext of Alliance Ruptures. Research on the Alliance-Focused Training and on subjective countertransference is presented. The second research question deals with therapists' general interpersonal skills. The research approaches outlined here concern the construct of Facilitative Interpersonal Skills (FIS) and the measurement of these skills using the FIS-task. In further studies on this topic, we are focusing on the question of which therapist characteristics are associated with higher interpersonal skills and which linguistic and phonetic features characterise therapist responses that are rated as interpersonally competent. Another study concerns the tendency of therapists to overestimate their interpersonal skills (self-assessment bias). The third main research question deals with the competence to apply therapeutic techniques and to create helpful change processes. An instrument to assess verbal techniques (Psychodynamic Intervention List) and research approaches focusing on the description and the assessment of mediators of change are presented.

Adjusting the 15-method to Danish general practice: identification of barriers, facilitators, and user needs

BackgroundThe 15-method is an opportunistic screening and brief intervention tool for alcohol-related problems in primary healthcare. A Danish feasibility study of the 15-method indicated that adjustments were needed to improve its contextual fit to Danish general practice. This adjustment process was conducted in two parts. The first part focused on identifying barriers, facilitators, and user needs for addressing alcohol using the 15-method. The second part will address the identified barriers and user needs to finalize a Danish version of the method. This study reports on part one of the adjustment process.MethodsSemi-structured individual interviews and focus group interviews with healthcare professionals (n = 8) and patients (n = 5) from general practice in Denmark. Data analysis was conducted using thematic content analysis. The results were condensed into two focus areas that will form the basis for user workshops in part two of the adjustment process.ResultsThe main barriers for addressing alcohol using the 15-method were patients and healthcare professionals not having the same agenda, having difficulty opening a conversation on alcohol, and workflow in the practices. Main facilitators included high interpersonal skills, taking the patient’s perspective, and good routines and interdisciplinary work. Suggested adjustments and additions to the method included digitalization, visual icebreakers, quotes and examples, and development of a quick guide. The identified focus areas for user workshops were Communication and Material, and Integration to Workflows.ConclusionHealthcare professionals found the opportunistic screening approach exemplified by the 15-method to be beneficial in identifying and addressing alcohol-related problems. They appreciate the method’s structured framework that assists in presenting treatment options. Identified adjustment areas to the 15-method will lay the groundwork for future efforts to develop a finalized Danish version of the 15-method.

Employability characteristics and their impact on social impact: An exploratory study on women's small social enterprises

This study seeks to understand and explore how women social entrepreneurs select their employees and how this can affect their social impact. This study has two objectives. The first is to explore the most attractive employees' employability characteristics chosen by women entrepreneurs. The second objective was to explore the relationship between employability characteristics and the social impact of the social enterprises. This study used an exploratory quantitative paradigm to reach the study's findings. Multiple correspondence analysis (MCA) explores employability characteristics the women social entrepreneurs select and the relationship between the selected employability characteristics and the social impact of the women's social enterprises. The data were collected using a cross-sectional questionnaire. Data were collected from 382 employees working in 174 female social enterprises. Women social entrepreneurs were found to prefer employees with high interpersonal skills, high ethics, high physical abilities, high abilities to learn, high implicit knowledge, high reliability, and low soft skills. Linking these employability skills to social impact revealed that implicit knowledge and interpersonal skills are the most influential. A paucity of research discusses how women social entrepreneurs recruit their employees. This problem is getting worse when it comes to small social enterprises. This study led to a discussion about employability characteristics in women's social enterprises and their impact on social impact.

Job burnout and empathy among different healthcare professionals

Abstract Introduction. Burnout and empathy affect employees in social professions due to the demanding work environment. Characterized, among others, by: stress, experiencing failure, workload and its multitasking. At the same time, social professions require high interpersonal skills, active listening, communication, empathy, patience and interest from people who practice them. Aim. The aim of the study was to analyze the influence of occupational burnout on showing empathy among medical personnel towards patients. Material and methods. The research was conducted among a group of 104 nurses and 103 doctors, working in hospitals and clinics located in urban areas. The nurses’ mean age is 37,35 (SD=11.32), the doctors’ mean age is 32.50 (SD=8.29).The surveyed persons completed a set of questionnaires: Self-authorship sheet for collecting sociodemographic data, Link Burnout Questionnaire by Massimo Santinello, and Personal Empathy Questionnaire by Zenon Uchnast. Results. The conducted research shows a negative correlation between occupational burnout and the empathy of medical personnel. Research also shows that burnout affects younger medical staff with a short period of work and wage-driven. On the other hand, empathy is visible above the age of 40. Conclusion. The research deepened the knowledge about the factors of burnout, which have an impact on the negative perception of development opportunities, failure to perceive work efficiency and the perception of the professional situation as significantly exceeding the individual’s abilities. Negative correlations between burnout and staff empathy indicate a lack of burnout in empathetic people. However, you should bear in mind that having mature empathy protects you from burnout.

Religious Affiliation in Relation to Positive Mental Health and Mental Disorders in a Multi-Ethnic Asian Population.

Background: This study investigated association of religious affiliation with positive mental health (PMH) and mental disorders. Methods: A cross-sectional survey of 2270 adults was conducted in Singapore. Participants reported their religious affiliation to Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Sikhism, Taoism, or other religions. A PMH instrument measured total PMH and six subcomponents: general coping (GC), emotional support (ES), spirituality (S), interpersonal skills (IS), personal growth and autonomy (PGA), and global affect (GA). Lifetime history of mental disorders was assessed with the Composite International Diagnostic Interview. Results: Total PMH (mean ± SD) was 4.56 ± 0.66 for participants with any religion versus 4.12 ± 0.63 (p = 0.002) in those without any religion. After adjustment for all potential confounders, the mean difference in total PMH between these groups was 0.348 (95% CI: 0.248–0.448). Having any religion was significantly associated with higher scores for S, GC, ES, IS, but not with PGA, GA or mental disorders. Compared with individuals without any religion, total PMH and S levels were significantly higher across all religions. Additionally, Christianity was significantly associated with higher ES, Taoism with higher GC, Buddhism and Islam with higher GC, ES and IS, Hinduism with higher IS and Sikhism with higher ES and IS. Conclusion: Our results indicate that religious affiliation is significantly associated with higher PMH, but not with mental disorders in an Asian community setting. In addition, different religions showed unique patterns of association with PMH subcomponents.

Can authentic leadership influence the employees’ organizational justice perceptions? – a study in the hotel context

PurposeThe primary purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between a positive style of leadership, specifically authentic leadership, and organizational justice perceptions of employees' in the hotel industry. The following research questions guided the study: What relationship existed between hotel employees' perception toward authentic leadership and organizational justice? What relationship existed between hotel employees' perception toward authentic leadership and distributive justice, procedural justice, interactional justice and informational justice dimensions? What relationship existed among hotel employees' perception toward organizational justice, authentic leadership and their demographic background?.Design/methodology/approachThe study approached the research questions from a quantitative, non-experimental research perspective utilizing a cross-sectional survey and descriptive correlational design, which describes the relationship or association between two or more variables in the study which are authentic leadership and organizational justice.FindingsThe results indicate that authentic leadership has a strong relationship with hotel employees' organizational justice perceptions, and authentic leadership predicted the employees' perceptions of organizational justice. Authentic leadership is a relative new leadership approach rooted in positive psychology emphasizing on the ethical and moral aspects of leadership, and the results of the study found that when employees perceive their leaders to follow the authentic leadership paradigm, they also perceive high levels of organizational justice. Authentic leadership has stronger relationships with informational and interpersonal dimensions of justice which implies that authentic leaders are strategic in their interactions with their employees. The results also imply that when employees perceive justice in terms of procedures and outcomes, they believe that organizations determine those more than their supervisors.Research limitations/implicationsThe differences in the strengths of relationship between authentic leadership and structural forms of justice (distributive and procedural), and authentic leadership and interactional forms of justice (informational and interpersonal), have implications for both justice and leadership theories. The results suggest that authentic leader behaviors create a fair climate – an interpersonally and informationally fair climate which promotes all forms of justice perceptions in individual followers. However, it needs to be further researched whether leaders with high interpersonal skills and information-sharing abilities showing consideration and respect to employees may result in higher levels of organizational justice perceptions. Thus, further research is needed to determine the relationship of authentic leadership and each of the organizational justice (distributive, procedural, informational and interpersonal) dimensions, which may provide more insights as to whether leader behavior contains element of justice itself.Practical implicationsThe findings showcase the need for organizations in the hotel and hospitality industry to establish programs that focus on leadership practices which improve employees' perceptions of organizational justice and, in turn, lead to positive organizational outcomes including reducing the considerable costs of employee turnover. It is also important that employees are aware of the policies and procedures and have a perception that they can connect and communicate to their supervisors and managers.Social implicationsThis study falls into the larger conversation of social justice and how an organization's leadership can be a strong associate for social justice movements by supporting equity within the organization.Originality/valueThe study integrates leadership and justice theories in a hotel context. The results of this study may motivate hospitality/ hotel leaders to include authentic leadership development as an actionable strategy to bolster fairness and mitigate some of the negative features of the industry.

The Roles of Teacher Expectations and School Composition on Teacher–Child Relationship Quality

Teachers provide emotional and behavioral supports essential for success in the classroom. This study examined the roles of child interpersonal skills, teacher expectations, and school racial and poverty compositions on the quality of relationships formed between teachers and children. A subsample from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study—Kindergarten Cohort 2010–2011 data set was used to fit two-level, multivariate regression models. Findings showed children with higher interpersonal skills had lower conflict and higher closeness with teachers. High teacher expectations were associated with less conflicting relationships. At the school level, the association between teacher expectations and teacher–child conflict was moderated by the Asian and Hispanic student population, and teacher–child closeness was moderated by the Asian student population. In addition, a higher proportion of school poverty and high teacher expectations was associated with lower teacher–child conflict. Overall, findings suggest the importance of investigating teacher–child interpersonal processes within a school context.

Interpersonal competence and sex risk behaviours among Jamaican adolescents.

Of particular public health concern to the Jamaican authorities is the consistently high numbers of new HIV infections among adolescents and young adults. The thrust in HIV/AIDS prevention campaigns has largely been toward an increase in knowledge and attitudes as opposed to personality variables. However, it is widely believed that persons with high interpersonal skills may be less likely to engage in sex risk behaviours. This study investigated interpersonal competence as a personality characteristic associated with sexual risk-taking among Jamaican adolescents. A cross-sectional survey of 500 adolescents, ages 13-18 years (250 males and 250 females) from nine randomly selected secondary government schools within Kingston and St Andrew was used. The sample ensured maximum variation in age groups. The BarOn EQ-i:YV(S) was utilized to provide a measure of interpersonal competence and the Sex Risk Scale from the Adolescent Risk Inventory acted as a measure of sex risk behaviours. The Spearman's rho correlational statistic was used to investigate the hypothesis. Of the students surveyed, 58.6% reported that they were sexually active; 31.8% reported having multiple sexual partners and 28.2% reporting inconsistent condom use. A significant, inverse relationship was observed between interpersonal competence and sex risk behaviours (p < 0.05). This research provided evidence that adolescents with high interpersonal skills are less likely to participate in risky sexual behaviours. Therefore, interventions aimed at reducing risky adolescent sexual practices might benefit from the inclusion of strategies to build interpersonal skills.

Athletes’ Preferred Characteristics and Qualifications of Sport Psychology Practitioners: A Consumer Market Analysis

Studies assessing the perceived characteristics of competent sport psychology practitioners have resulted in skewed data, making it difficult to discern the relative importance of each characteristic. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to assess the attributes of gender, ethnicity, interpersonal skills, physical appearance, athletic background, professional status, and sport culture in relation to one another using conjoint analysis, a consumer market analysis. College student athletes (N = 464) indicated a preference for a female practitioner whose ethnicity matched that of the athlete and possessed high interpersonal skills and sport knowledge, an athletic background, a physically fit body type, and had earned a professional degree. These findings can be used by sport psychology consultants to modify the information they give to current clients and to develop marketing plans to appeal to potential clients.

Machiavellianism, emotional intelligence and social competence: Are Machiavellians interpersonally skilled?

Machiavellians are usually associated with unusually high interpersonal skills which seem to be vital for effective manipulation of other people. However, the current research has not confirmed such an opinion. The aim of this study was to examine relations between Machiavellianism (Mach) and self-report emotional intelligence (EI as a trait), self-report social competences (SC) and recognizing emotions from facial expressions. Mach was negatively correlated with EI and SC overall result and with subscales of social competences in intimate situations (SC-I) and in situations requiring social exposure (SC-ES). There was no correlation between Mach and recognizing emotions and between Mach and social competences in situations requiring assertiveness (SC-A). Exploratory path analyses showed a direct negative association between Mach and EI, SC-I and SC-ES. Mach predicted indirectly (through mediation of EI) SC-I, SC-ES and SC-A.

At the doorstep to employment: Discrimination against immigrants as a function of applicant ethnicity, job type, and raters' prejudice

This study examined the impact of applicant ethnicity, job type, and prejudice on evaluation biases and intentions to interview in an experimental simulation. We suggest that bias and discrimination are more likely when foreign applicants who belong to disliked ethnic groups apply for jobs that require high interpersonal skills, and when raters are prejudiced against immigrants. Subjects were Swiss university students who evaluated Swiss, Spanish, and Kosovo Albanian fictitious applicants. Foreign applicants were second‐generation immigrants, i.e., Swiss‐born descendants of immigrants. Thus, all applicants had similar schooling and language proficiencies but differed with respect to ethnicity. As predicted, discrimination was only observed for members of the disliked ethnic group (Kosovo Albanian) and not for members of the well‐accepted group (Spanish). Moreover, this discrimination was only apparent when applying for a job requiring high interpersonal skills and not when applying for a job requiring high technical skills. Symbolic prejudice towards second‐generation immigrants interacted with applicant ethnicity and job type to affect evaluations of foreign applicants: Persons high in symbolic prejudice devalued foreign applicants belonging to the disliked group but only when applying for a job requiring high interpersonal skills. Overt prejudice was unrelated to evaluations and intentions to interview. These results suggest that discrimination against immigrants is highly specific, targeting only members of certain ethnic groups who apply for certain types of jobs. Moreover, evaluation biases may be more apparent in raters who are prejudiced. Thus, our results support the notion that discrimination for employment results from a complex interaction between characteristics of the applicant, the job, and the rater.

The role of structure, patterns, and people in blended learning

Recently, much e-learning research has been devoted to producing e-content, describing it with metadata, and to constructing e-learning systems. Considerably less attention has been paid to integrating technology to improve the learning process in terms of depth and scope. In this paper, that gap is filled by considering learning support from a technological as well as from a socio-psychological perspective. Didactically, well-proven educational principles from the Person-Centered Approach are adopted to drive educational processes. Technically, a layered framework for deriving Web-based support from these educational principles is proposed. The study focuses on the contribution of visual modeling of blended learning scenarios, on their semi-formal description as patterns, and on the use of patterns as sources for user-centered Web support modules. The experiences and evaluations of one major academic course on Web Engineering indicate that blended learning has added value only when facilitated by educators with high interpersonal skills, and accompanied by reliable, easy-to-use technology.