EFFECT OF AN EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE TRAINING (TREMINTS) ON EMOTION REGULATION AND COPING STRATEGIES IN A SAMPLE OF CAREER STARTERS.

The study of emotion regulation and coping strategies is of great interest to understand individual differences in emotional well-being. The adequacy of the strategies the person uses is particularly important in managing the emotional stress that might characterize her entrance phase of in the working world. The study (founded by CARIPARO foundation) aimed to explore the effect of an Emotional Intelligence (EI) training (TREMINTS; Zammuner, 2010; Zammuner & Kafetsios, 2005) on the use of emotion regulation and coping strategies and its impact on several outcomes of emotional and working well-being. Emotion regulation strategies were measured with the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (Gross & John, 2003) and with the assessment of 'surface acting' (Zammuner & Galli, 2005), i.e. the regulation of emotional expression. Coping strategies were measured with the Coping Orientation to Problems Experienced – Italian Version (COPE-NVI, Sica et al., 2008). Participants' psychological and emotional well-being were assessed with scales measuring subjective perception of health, life satisfaction, positive and negative felt emotions and emotional and social loneliness. Work well-being was assessed with scales measuring job satisfaction and job involvement. The procedure included an experimental group (EG; participants who underwent EI training; n = 169; Mean age = 25, sd = 3.5; 75.7 % Female) and a control group (CG; n = 313; Mean age = 25, sd = 3.2; 88.5 % Female), both tested at two different time intervals. The results showed an increment of the more effective (and a decrement of the less effective) emotion regulation and coping strategies in the EG, in particular among female participants. For example, compared to CG, EG showed a decrement of expressive suppression and surface acting use. Moreover, EG showed an increment in the strategy use of social support and a decrement of avoidance. Finally, EG males showed a higher life satisfaction and a lower social loneliness after the training. The study confirmed the usefulness of TREMINTS for supporting career starters in the development of more effective psychological tools in coping with entrance in the work-market.