ARTICLE INFO

Article Type

Descriptive & Survey Study

Authors

Imani   S. (*)
Atari   S. (1)
Shahidi   Sh. (2)
Sadeghi Firooz Abadi   V. (2)
Khanabni   M. (2)
Zamani   N. (3)






(*) Clinical Psychology Department, Psychology & Educational Sciences Faculty, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran
(1) Niayesh Psychiatry Hospital, Tehran, Iran
(2) Clinical Psychology Department, Psychology & Educational Sciences Faculty, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran
(3) Young Researchers and Elite Club, Hamedan Branch, Islamic Azad University, Hamedan, Iran

Correspondence

Address: Unit 320, Floor 3, Faculty of Psychology, Shahid Beheshti University, Shahid Shahriari Square, Tehran, Iran. Post Box: 1983963113; Zip Code: 193954716
Phone: +982129905318
Fax: -
s_imani@sbu.ac.ir

Article History

Received:  August  23, 2015
Accepted:  October 21, 2015
ePublished:  November 21, 2015

BRIEF TEXT


… [1-17] Persons with higher emotional intelligence are able to manage stressful events more suitable that reduces stress [18]. There is a reverse and significant correlation between emotional intelligence and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and patients with low emotional intelligence are with more behavioral problems [19]. … [20-24]

High emotional intelligence is in line with improved social skills, high sympathy, improved interpersonal relationships, and marital satisfaction [25]. There is a strong correlation between high emotional intelligence and marital satisfaction [26]. In addition, there is a negative and significant correlation between high emotional intelligence and depression and maladaptive coping skills [27]. There are less symptoms of depression or psychiatric confusion in persons with high social support who have experienced less inter-personal conflicts [28]. … [29]

The aim of this study was to compare emotional intelligence in veterans with PTSD and other veterans.

This is a causal-comparative study.

Veterans with PTSD, veterans with chemical injuries, and veterans with mutilation, hospitalized in Sadr, Sasan, and Kosar hospitals in Tehran, Iran, and volunteer normal ex-soldiers without any hospitalization history were studied in 2009.

120 veterans and ex-soldiers were selected using available sampling method.

The subjects were divided into 4 groups (n=30 per group) including PTSD, chemical injuries, mutilation, and ex-soldiers. Data was collected using demographic characteristics questionnaire, Watson’s Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Questionnaire, and Bar-On Emotional Quotient Inventory. 21-question PTSD diagnosis intervention expresses the symptoms of PTSD in 5 classes as A, B, C, D, and E based on the PTSD criteria on the diagnosis and statistical guide of the psychiatric disorders [30]. Internal credibility of the scale in an Iranian sample is 0.97 [31]. … [32, 33] Reliability coefficient and Cronbach’s alpha are 0.86 and 0.92, respectively [34]. … [35] Emotional Quotient Inventory is scored by 5-scale Likert from “never” to “always”. In Iran, its reliability coefficient is computed 0.73 [36]. Data was analyzed by SPSS 19 software. ANOVA was used to compare the functions of emotional intelligence in the veterans with PTSD and other chemically injured veterans, veterans with mutilation, and ex-soldiers. Tukey’s post-hoc test was used to investigate the difference between PTSD group and other groups. … [37, 38]

All the participants were male. Educational levels of 11 (9.2%), 8 (6.7%), 13 (10.8%), 28 (23.3%), 16 (13.5%), 23 (19.2%), 20 (16.7%) persons were guidance school 1st class, guidance school 2nd class, guidance school 3rd class, high school 1st class, high school 2nd class, high school 3rd class, and diploma, respectively. 66 (55.0%), 38 (31.7%), and 16 (13.3%) persons were married, single, and divorced, respectively. 78 (65.0%), 24 (20.0%), and 18 (15.0%) persons were unemployed, state employees, and self-employed, respectively. Mean income, mean war presence length, and mean injury percentage were 3,920,000.00±1,520.00Rls, 26.77±22.41 months, and 26.95±16.25%, respectively. There were significant differences in all components of emotional intelligence between 4 groups (p=0.001).The mean scores of PTSD group in the components of emotional self-awareness, self-respect, self-actualization, independence, sympathy, inter-personal relationships, social responsibility, problem-solving, reality test, flexibility, stress endurance, impulse control, happiness, and optimism were approximately near those of chemical group. Nevertheless, the mean scores of mutilation and ex-soldiers groups were more than those of PTSD groups, respectively. The mean scores of PTSD, chemical, and mutilation groups were similar in assertiveness component. Nevertheless, the mean scores of ex-soldiers group were more than other groups. There were high-to-low differences in total emotional intelligence component between PTSD group and ex-soldier, mutilation, and chemical groups, respectively (Table 1). There were significant differences between PTSD group and ex-soldiers and chemical groups in emotional self-awareness component. Nevertheless, there was no significant difference compared to mutilation group. There were no significant difference in assertiveness and reality test between PTSD group and chemical and mutilation groups. However, the difference with ex-soldiers group was significant. There was no significant difference between PTSD and chemical groups in self-respect, self-actualization, sympathy, inter-personal relationships, social responsibility, stress endurance, impulse control, happiness, optimism, and total emotional intelligence. However, the differences with ex-soldiers and mutilation groups were significant. There were no significant differences between the groups in independence component (Table 2).

Except with chemical group, there were significant differences between PTSD group and other groups in total emotional intelligence. The result is consistent with other studies [12, 19]. Persons with higher emotional intelligence facing with traumatic experiences show less psychiatric symptoms. In addition, life health, management function, and endurance in the persons are better [10-15]. Persons with higher emotional intelligence are with higher self-control capabilities, sympathy, capability to form sympathy, positive relationships and kindness, keeping the relationships, participatory responses to the friends, and emotional relationships [39]. PTSD leads to discomfort and irresponsibility of the family financial factors [17]. Stressful factors can lead to reductions in health and mood levels [40]. Due to weakness in impulsion control, there is a significant difference between the quality of life of the spouses of the veterans with PTSD and the spouses of other veterans [41].

Both genders should be studied in the future studies.

Small sample size, restricted reference only to the clients participated in war, and no female patient were of the limitation for the present study.

There is a lower level of emotional intelligence in the veterans with PTSD than other veterans.

All the participants and the mangers of Sadr, Sasan, and Kosar hospitals are appreciated.

Non-declared

All the participants participated voluntarily. They were, also, assured in the confidentiality of information.

The study was funded by Veterans Foundation of Tehran Province.

TABLES and CHARTS

Show attach file


CITIATION LINKS

[1]American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders. 4th edition. Washington DC: American Psychiatric Press; 2000.
[2]Keane TM, Marshall AD, Taft CT. Posttraumatic stress disorder: Etiology, epidemiology, and treatment outcome. Annu Rev Clin Psychol. 2006;2(1):161-97.
[3]Sadock BJ, Sadock VA. Synopsis of Psychiatry. 10th edition. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 2007.
[4]Bandelow B, Sher L, Bunevicius R, Hollander E, Kasper S, Zohar J. Guidelines for the pharmacological treatment of anxiety disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder and posttraumatic stress disorder in primary care. Int J Psychiatry Clin Pract. 2012;16(2):77-84.
[5]Tiet QQ, Schutte KK, Leyva YE. Diagnostic accuracy of brief PTSD screening instruments in military veterans. J Subst Abuse Treat. 2013;45(1):134-42.
[6]Cesur R, Sabia JJ, Tekin E. The psychological costs of war: Military combat and mental health. J Health Econ. 2013;32(1):51-65.
[7]Mayer JD, Roberts RD, Barsade SG. Human abilities: Emotional intelligence. Annu Rev Psychol. 2008;59:507-36.
[8]Mayer J, Salovey P. What is emotional intelligence?. New York: Basic Books. 1997.
[9]Farb NA, Chapman HA, Anderson AK. Emotions: form follows function. Curr Opin Neurobiol. 2013;23(3):393-8.
[10]Al-Turkait FA, Ohaeri JU. Psychopathological status, behavior problems, and family adjustment of Kuwaiti children whose fathers were involved in the first gulf war. Child Adolesc Psychiatry Ment Health. 2008;2:12.
[11]Salovey P, Stroud LR, Woolery A, Epel ES. Perceived emotional intelligence, stress reactivity and symptom reports psychology and health. Psychol Health. 2002;17(5):611-27.
[12]Ghazali SR. investigating the relationship between post-traumatic stress disorder (Ptsd) symptoms and emotional intelligence among adolescent refugees from the middle east. ASEAN J Psychiatry. 2014;15(2):220-4.
[13]Kohler CG, Hoffman LJ, Eastman LB, Healey K, Moberg PJ. Facial emotion perception in depression and bipolar disorder: A quantitative review. Psychiatry Res. 2011;188(3):303-9.
[14]Cai L, Chen W, Shen Y, Wang X, Wei L, Zhang Y, et al. Recognition of facial expressions of emotion in panic disorder. Psychopathol. 2012;45(5):294-9.
[15]Poljac E, Montagne B, de Haan EH. Reduced recognition of fear and sadness in post-traumatic stress disorder. Cortex. 2011;47(8):974-80.
[16]Heydari Poor M, Mashhadi A, Asghari Nekah SM. Effectiveness of social skills training on emotional intelligence of people with physical disabilities. J Res Rehabil Sci. 2012;8(3):571-81. [Persian]
[17]Calhoun PS, Beckham JC, Bosworth HB. Caregiver burden and psychological distress in partners of veterans with chronic posttraumatic stress disorder. J Trauma Stress. 2002;15(3):205-12.
[18]Gohm CL, Corser GC, Dalsky DJ. Emotional intelligence under stress: Useful, unnecessary, or irrelevant?. Personal Individ Differ. 2005;39(6):1017-28.
[19]Lomas J, Stough C, Hansen K, Downey LA. Brief report: Emotional intelligence, victimisation and bullying in adolescents. J Adoles. 2012;35(1):207-11.
[20]Stephenson KL, Valentiner DP, Kumpula MJ, Orcutt HK. Anxiety sensitivity and posttraumatic stress symptoms in female undergraduates following a campus shooting. J Trauma Stress. 2009;22(6):489-96.
[21]Stein AL, Tran GQ, Lund LM, Haji U, Dashevsky BA, Baker DG. Correlates for posttraumatic stress disorder in Gulf War veterans: A retrospective study of main and moderating effects. J Anxiety Disorder. 2005;19(8): 861-76.
[22]Mikolajczak M, Petrides K, Hurry J. Adolescents choosing self‐harm as an emotion regulation strategy: The protective role of trait emotional intelligence. Br J Clin Psychol. 2009;48(Pt 2):181-93.
[23]Khademi M, Gharib M, Rashedi V. Prevalence of depression in the amputated patients concerning demographic variables. Iran J War Public Health. 2012;4(2):12-7. [Persian]
[24]Maia DB, Marmar CR, Henn-Haase C, Nóbrega A, Fiszman A, Marques-Portella C, et al. Predictors of PTSD symptoms in brazilian police officers: the synergy of negative affect and peritraumatic dissociation. Rev Bras Psiquiatr. 2011;33(4):362-6.
[25]Nasiri Zarch Z, Marashi SM, Raji H. The Relationship between Emotional Intelligence and Marital Satisfaction: 10-Year Outcome of Partners from Three Different Economic Levels. Iran J Psychiatry. 2014;9(4):188-96.
[26]Lavalekar A, Kulkarni P, Jagtap P. Emotional intelligence and marital satisfaction. J Psychol Res. 2010;5(2):185-94.
[27]Mikolajczak M, Petrides KV, Hurry J. Adolescents choosing self-harm as an emotion regulation strategy: the protective role of trait emotional intelligence. Br J Clin Psychol. 2009;48(Pt 2):181-93.
[28]Chenary R, Noroozi A, Noroozi R. Relation between perceived social support and health promotion behaviors in chemical veterans in Ilam province on 2012-13. Iran J War Public Health. 2014;6(1):1-10. [Persian]
[29]Caruso DR, Mayer JD, Salovey P. Relation of an ability measure of emotional intelligence to personality. J Pers Assess. 2002;79(2):306-20.
[30]Watson CG, Juba MP, Manifold V, Kucala T, Anderson PE. The PTSD interview: Rationale, description, reliability, and concurrent validity of a DSM-III-based technique. J Clin Psychol. 1991;47(2):179-88.
[31]Mirzamani SM, Mohammadi MR, Mahmoudi-Gharaei J, Mirzamani MS. Validity of the PTSD symptoms scale self-report (PSS-SR) in Iran. Iran J Psychiatry. 2007;2:120-3.
[32]Parvaresh N, Bahram Nejad A. Posttraumatic stress disorder in earthquake-stricken students residing in kerman four months after the earthquake. Iran J Psychiatry Clin Psychol. 2006;12(2):165-8. [Persian]
[33]Foa EB, Kean TM, Friedman MJ. Effective treatment for PTSD. New York, London: Guilford Press; 2004.
[34]Firouzabadi A, Asghar Nezhad AA, Mirzaei J, Shareh H. Normalized scale of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Clinical Executive (CAPS-1) for the psychological effects of war. J Psychiatry Clin Psychol. 2009;15(4)334-42. [Persian]
[35]Bar_on R. Bar_on Emotional Quotient Inventory. Torento, Canada: Multi Health; 1997.
[36]Dehshiri GH. Standardization of emotional intelligence (Bar-on) and factor structure quotient inventory, on student of Mashhad University [Dissertation]. Tehran: Iran University of Medical Sciences, Psychiatric Institute. 2003. [Persian]
[37]Shams Abadi R. Standardization of emotional intelligence (Bar-on) and factor structure quotient inventory, among high school student in Mashhad [Dissertation]. Tehran: Iran University of Medical Sciences; 2004. [Persian]
[38]Jacobs M, Snow J, Geraci M, Vythilingam M, Blair RJR, Charney DS, et al. Association between level of emotional intelligence and severity of anxiety in generalized social phobia. J Anxiety Disord. 2008;22(8):1487–95.
[39]Schutte NS, Malouff JM, Bobik C, Coston TD, Greeson C, Jedlicka C, et al. Emotional intelligence and interpersonal relations. J Soc Psychol. 2001;141(4):523-36.
[40]Nateghian S, Mollazadeh J, Goudarzi MA, Rahimi Ch. Forgiveness and marital satisfaction in combat veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder and their wives. Q J Fundam Ment Health. 2008;10(37):33-46. [Persian]
[41]Najafi M, Mohammadifar M, Dabiri S, Erfani N, Kamary A. The Comparison of the quality of life of the war Veterans families with/without Post traumatic Stress Disorder. Iran J War Public Health. 2011;3(3):27-35. [Persian]