Emotional intelligence intervention in older adults to improve adaptation and reduce negative mood.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVES: Emotional intelligence (EI) is a strong predictor of negative mood. Applying emotional skills correctly can help to increase positive emotional states and reduce negative ones. This study aims to implement EI intervention designed to improve clarity, repair EI dimensions and coping strategies, and reduce negative mood in older adults. DESIGN: Participants were randomly assigned to the treatment or control group. SETTING: Participants were evaluated individually before and after the intervention. PARTICIPANTS: Participants included 111 healthy older adults; 51 in the treatment group and 60 in the control group. INTERVENTION An EI program was implemented. The program was administered over 10 sessions lasting 90 min each. MEASUREMENTS EI dimension (attention, clarity, and repair), coping strategies, hopelessness, and mood were assessed. RESULTS: Analysis of variance for repeated measures was applied. In the treatment group, scores on clarity and emotional repair increased and attention to emotions decreased; problem-focused coping (problem-solving, positive reappraisal, and seeking social support) showed significant increases, whereas emotion-focused coping (negative self-focused and overt emotional expression) obtained significant decreases; scores on negative mood measures declined significantly. CONCLUSIONS: An intervention based on EI is effective in older adults. After the EI intervention, the participants showed significant increases in their levels of clarity and emotional repair and intermediate levels of attention. In addition, the intervention was found to influence adaptation results, increasing the use of adaptive coping strategies and decreasing the use of maladaptive strategies, as well as reducing hopelessness and depressive symptoms.