Date Presented 04/12/21
The COVID-19 pandemic brought the need for personal connection and the use of emotional intelligence (EI) to the forefront. As EI training in accredited OT programs becomes more prevalent, it will be important to describe the benefits of and barriers to potential types of training. This study examined the relationship between EI and self-awareness training. This study’s findings add new perspectives and depth to current research and the evidence supporting the need for EI training in OT curricula.
Primary Author and Speaker: Natalie A. Perkins
Contributing Authors: Colleen Maher
PURPOSE: Despite a growing base of evidence to support the need for emotional intelligence (EI) and self-awareness training, there is a limited amount of research on self-awareness and EI training for students in occupational therapy programs. The COVID-19 pandemic created a new awareness for the need of therapeutic rapport and personal connection. Self-awareness improves the ability to connect with clients. As the use of EI and self-awareness training within accredited occupational therapy programs becomes more prevalent, it will be important to describe and differentiate the benefits of and barriers to potential types of EI training. There is evidence of a gap in the literature related to the degree of EI, and its relationship to occupational therapy students’ receiving self-awareness training. Therefore, this study examined the relationship between EI and self-awareness training. Specifically, the research questions included: (1) what is the impact of self-awareness training through use of self-reflection journals in improving related trait EI skills of master level occupational therapy students? (2) what is the difference in trait EI skills related to self-awareness between first and second year master level occupational therapy (MOT) students?
DESIGN: This was a non-equivalent group study design. The experimental group consisted of first-year MOT students who received and completed monthly self-reflection journals during the spring academic semester. In order to evaluate trait EI scores, second-year MOT students completed pre and post assessment but did not complete the self-reflection journals. Participants included first and second year MOT students within the Department of Occupational Therapy at Colorado State University.
METHOD: Institutional Review Board approval of the study was received from Colorado State University as an exempt study. There were no identifiers collected and all participants remained anonymous. First-year MOT students completed the Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire (TEIQue) in January 2018 and May 2018 (beginning and end of the semester). First-year MOT study participants received a total of four online self-reflection journals, one journal each month of the spring semester (January, February, March, April). Second-year MOT students completed the TEIQue in January 2018 and May 2018. The TEIQue Full Form (Petrides, 2018) was used to measure trait EI and was the dependent variable. The TEIQue is a self-report inventory comprised of 153 questions that measures trait EI. Data were entered into, and quantitative data analyses were performed, using SPSS version 25. The changes in the total scores, subscale scores from post assessments were then calculated for each group for targeted traits (first year and second year MOT students). Independent t-tests were used to compare pre and post TEIQue facet scores between the two groups (first year and second year MOT students).
RESULTS: First-year MOT participants who completed the self-reflection journals improved overall scores in 14/15 facet categories. The first year MOT students demonstrated an overall increase in the four areas that are addressed using self-reflection journals. Second-year students improved in only 9/15 categories.
CONCLUSION: This study’s findings add new perspectives and depth to the current research and the evidence supporting the need for EI training in OT curricula. OT students that are trained in the use of self-reflection journals could continue to build upon their skills as they move towards becoming emerging clinicians. Developing training that encourages more opportunities for self-reflection provides students with a chance to practice and develop new cognitive strategies and emotional responses.
References
Allen, A., Montgomery, M., Tubman, J., Frazier, L., & Escovar, L. (2003). The effects of assessment feedback on rapport-building and self enhancement processes. Journal of Mental Health Counseling, 25(3), 165-182. https://doi.org/10.17744/mehc.25.3.lw7h84q861dw6ytj
Petrides, K. (2009). Psychometric properties of the Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire. In C. Stough, D. Saklofske, & J. Parker, Advances in the assessment of emotional intelligence. New York: Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-88370-0_5
Perkins, N. A., & Schmid, A. A. (2019). Increasing Emotional Intelligence through Self-Reflection Journals: Implications for Occupational Therapy Students as Emerging Clinicians. Journal of Occupational Therapy Education, 3 (3). https://doi.org/10.26681/jote.2019.030305
