Psychological Resilience and Hardiness as Protective Factors in the Relationship Between Depression/Anxiety and Well-Being: Exploratory and Confirmatory Evidence.

Previous research shows depression and anxiety are negatively correlated with subjective well-being. Additionally, there is evidence psychological resilience positively influences well-being. The present study explored whether the relationship between depression/anxiety and subjective well-being might also be moderated by aspects of psychological resilience - such that depression and anxiety do not reduce well-being to the same extent in individuals high in psychological resilience traits. Participants from an exploratory sample (N = 236, Mage = 23.49) and confirmatory sample (N = 196, Mage = 24.99) completed self-report measures of depression, anxiety, well-being, resilience, and hardiness (i.e., CDRISC and DRS-15). As expected, results showed strong negative correlations between anxiety/depression and both well-being and resilience/hardiness, as well as positive correlations between well-being and resilience/hardiness. A significant interaction was also present between both resilience/hardiness and depression/anxiety in predicting well-being in the first sample. Results partially replicated in the confirmatory sample (i.e., for hardiness but not resilience). These findings add to prior work by highlighting hardiness (as measured by the DRS-15), one aspect of psychological resilience, as an important protective factor in mental health. Namely, results suggest individuals with symptoms of affective disorders may remain capable of living subjectively fulfilling lives if they possess traits of psychological resilience such as hardiness.

Development and validation of an online emotional intelligence training program.

Introduction: Emotional intelligence (EI) is associated with a range of positive health, wellbeing, and behavioral outcomes. The present article describes the development and validation of an online training program for increasing EI abilities in adults. The training program was based on theoretical models of emotional functioning and empirical literature on successful approaches for training socioemotional skills and resilience. Methods: After an initial design, programming, and refinement process, the completed online program was tested for efficacy in a sample of 326 participants (72% female) from the general population. Participants were randomly assigned to complete either the EI training program (n = 168) or a matched placebo control training program (n = 158). Each program involved 10-12 hours of engaging online content and was completed during either a 1-week (n = 175) or 3-week (n = 151) period. Results: Participants who completed the EI training program showed increased scores from pre- to post-training on standard self-report (i.e., trait) measures of EI (relative to placebo), indicating self-perceived improvements in recognizing emotions, understanding emotions, and managing the emotions of others. Moreover, those in the EI training also showed increased scores in standard performance-based (i.e., ability) EI measures, demonstrating an increased ability to strategically use and manage emotions relative to placebo. Improvements to performance measures also remained significantly higher than baseline when measured six months after completing the training. The training was also well-received and described as helpful and engaging. Discussion: Following a rigorous iterative development process, we created a comprehensive and empirically based online training program that is well-received and engaging. The program reliably improves both trait and ability EI outcomes and gains are sustained up to six months post-training. This program could provide an easy and scalable method for building emotional intelligence in a variety of settings.