When You Care Enough to Do Your Very Best: Genetic Counselor Experiences of Compassion Fatigue

Compassion fatigue is a phenomenon that occurs when a caregiver feels overwhelmed by repeated empathic engagement with distressed clients (Figley, 2002). Research demonstrates its existence among nurses, physicians, and mental health professionals, but to date no published study has specifically investigated the nature and prevalence of compassion fatigue among genetic counselors. The present study was an initial attempt to identify and describe the phenomena in genetic counseling by conducting focus group interviews with 12 genetic counselors. Data analysis yielded several themes: a) compassion fatigue occurs and may compromise professional and personal functioning; b) prevalent triggers include delivering bad news and difficult patient issues (e.g., terminal illness, anger, psychopathology); c) effective coping strategies include consulting with colleagues, setting boundaries, and humor; and d) risk factors include personality characteristics and traumatic memories. Training, practice, and research recommendations are provided.     

员工负性情绪对情绪劳动策略的影响

情绪劳动指的是员工在工作中按照组织的要求来调节自己的情绪感受和表达, 是服务行业普遍关注的问题。本研究基于自我调节理论(Self-Regulation Theory), 探讨了员工个体内负性情绪对情绪劳动策略的影响效应, 以及个体间水平上员工工作年限和情绪智力对该效应的跨层次调节作用。通过分析收集自210名呼叫中心员工14个工作日的追踪数据, 本研究发现员工每天的负性情绪显著抑制了深层动作; 工作年限和情绪智力显著调节了个体内负性情绪对情绪劳动策略的影响效应。数据分析结果支持了情绪劳动的研究中自我调节理论的作用, 本研究也据此讨论了理论意义和实践应用价值。     

A randomized controlled trial of compassion cultivation training: Effects on mindfulness,affect, and emotion regulation

Compassion is a positive orientation towards suffering that may be enhanced through compassion training and is thought to influence psychological functioning. However, the effects of compassion training on mindfulness, affect, and emotion regulation are not known. We conducted a randomized controlled trial in which 100 adults from the community were randomly assigned to either a 9-week compassion cultivation training (CCT) or a waitlist (WL) control condition. Participants completed self-report inventories that measured mindfulness, positive and negative affect, and emotion regulation. Compared to WL, CCT resulted in increased mindfulness and happiness, as well as decreased worry and emotional suppression. Within CCT, the amount of formal meditation practiced was related to reductions in worry and emotional suppression. These findings suggest that compassion cultivation training effects cognitive and emotion factors that support psychological flexible and adaptive functioning.     

The role of trait emotional intelligence in driving anger: The mediating effect of emotion regulation

Emotions during driving have an essential impact on driving safety. This study aims to explore the relationships among emotional intelligence, emotional regulation, driving anger and related behaviour. A total of 304 drivers (aged 18–57) completed online questionnaires, including the trait emotional intelligence (TEI) scale, difficulties in emotional regulation scale (DERS), driving anger scale (DAS) and driver anger expression inventory (DAX). The results showed that the influence of TEI on maladaptive driving anger expression was negative, and individuals with higher emotional intelligence showed less maladaptive expressions of driving anger. Difficulties in emotion regulation played a mediating role between emotional intelligence and driving anger. These results suggest that drivers with high emotional intelligence and emotion regulation may face driving situations calmly and with a high level of driving safety.     

Trait vulnerability and coping strategies in the transition to motherhood

Using a prospective design, we explored the role of approach and emotional/avoidance-coping strategies in the relations between dependent and self-critical trait vulnerabilities and postpartum depressive symptoms among first-time mothers. It was assumed that dependency and self-criticism associate with approach and emotional/ avoidance strategies respectively, and that approach-coping strategies moderate trait vulnerabilities to depressive symptoms after childbirth. One hundred forty-six first pregnancy participants were assessed during the third trimester of pregnancy and eight weeks postpartum. Dependency was found to associate positively with high approach and low emotional/avoidance-coping strategies, while self-criticism was found to correlate positively with high emotional/avoidance and low approachcoping strategies. In addition, approach-coping scores were found to moderate selfcritical trait vulnerability, reducing self-critical participants' depressive symptoms, thus confirming the coping effectiveness hypothesis. Results suggest that personality dispositions may affect the selection of coping processes, but that specific coping strategies are effective beyond personality characteristics, moderating the association between trait vulnerabilities and depressive symptoms. We propose a model in which self-criticism functions as vulnerability to depressive symptoms in the childbearing period. Our results illustrate the need to distinguish dependent and selfcritical personality traits, and point to the need to integrate personality and contextual factors in the study of childbirth depressive symptoms.     

Trait vulnerability and coping strategies in the transition to motherhood

Using a prospective design, we explored the role of approach and emotional/avoidance-coping strategies in the relations between dependent and self-critical trait vulnerabilities and postpartum depressive symptoms among first-time mothers. It was assumed that dependency and self-criticism associate with approach and emotional/ avoidance strategies respectively, and that approach-coping strategies moderate trait vulnerabilities to depressive symptoms after childbirth. One hundred forty-six first pregnancy participants were assessed during the third trimester of pregnancy and eight weeks postpartum. Dependency was found to associate positively with high approach and low emotional/avoidance-coping strategies, while self-criticism was found to correlate positively with high emotional/avoidance and low approachcoping strategies. In addition, approach-coping scores were found to moderate selfcritical trait vulnerability, reducing self-critical participants' depressive symptoms, thus confirming the coping effectiveness hypothesis. Results suggest that personality dispositions may affect the selection of coping processes, but that specific coping strategies are effective beyond personality characteristics, moderating the association between trait vulnerabilities and depressive symptoms. We propose a model in which self-criticism functions as vulnerability to depressive symptoms in the childbearing period. Our results illustrate the need to distinguish dependent and selfcritical personality traits, and point to the need to integrate personality and contextual factors in the study of childbirth depressive symptoms.     

Emotion Regulation Strategies,Secondary Traumatic Stress,and Compassion Satisfaction in Healthcare Providers

The aim of the present study is to examine the relationships between two emotion regulation strategies (cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression), secondary traumatic stress, and compassion satisfaction in a sample of 190 healthcare providers. Another aim of this study is to examine if the relations between emotion regulation strategies and traumatic stress symptoms are moderated by compassion satisfaction. The respondents volunteered to take part in the research and completed self-reporting measures describing the use of emotional regulation strategies, the symptoms of secondary traumatic stress, and the compassion satisfaction. The results revealed negative associations between cognitive reappraisal and secondary traumatic stress, while expressive suppression is positively associated with arousal. Moreover, cognitive reappraisal is positively related to compassion satisfaction, while secondary traumatic stress symptoms are negatively correlated with compassion satisfaction. Furthermore, the relationship between expressive suppression and intrusions is moderated by compassion satisfaction. The implications of these results for enhancing professional quality of life in the context of secondary exposure to traumatic life events are discussed.     

Does Emotional Intelligence Predict Depressed Mood? A Structural Equation Model with Elderly People

It is widely accepted that older people need to perceive and understand their feelings and believe in their ability to adapt to negative situations or losses that occur in aging. In this study, we examined the relationships among emotional intelligence, coping, and depressed mood, measuring these relationships through a structural equation model (SEM). A total of 215 subjects over 60 years old with no cognitive impairment participated in the study. The results show that emotional intelligence positively predicts problem-focused coping, which in turn negatively predicts depressed mood. However, there is no significant relationship between emotional intelligence and emotion-focused coping, which positively predicts depressed mood. These results indicate that emotionally intelligent people make greater use of problem-focused strategies, and they benefit from them in achieving a positive mood and, therefore, better psychological adjustment, whereas emotional strategies foster depressed mood. It should be noted that emotional intelligence can be seen as an indicator of psychological adjustment and as a precursor of feelings associated with good mental health. Therefore, the implementation of activities that promote emotional intelligence can improve the quality of life of older people.     

Emotion Regulation and the Specific Associations with Health Anxiety

This study investigated two primary research aims surrounding health anxiety: (a) to examine what differences exist in emotion regulation strategies of health anxious and non-health anxious populations and (b) to investigate what emotion regulation strategies predict health anxiety, before and after controlling for trait cognitive and somatic anxiety. A total of 95 participants of the general population completed a series of online questionnaires. A single factor between groups MANOVA revealed that a health anxious group scored significantly higher in several emotion regulation strategies: distraction, external attribution, emotion expression and acting out; anxiety-related variables: trait cognitive and somatic anxiety; and beliefs about the negative consequences of becoming ill. Hierarchical regressions showed that several emotion regulation strategies were significantly associated with higher levels of health anxiety, before: distraction, external attribution, capitalising, positive reappraisal and emotional expression; and after: external attribution and capitalising, the control of trait anxiety. Overall, the results demonstrated that (a) emotional intelligence and behavioural attempts to understand emotional experiences may be associated with specific health anxiety symptomology, while a lack of effective cognitive strategies and worry may be responsible for the associated trait anxiety dimensions.     

The link between neuroticism and perfectionistic concerns: The mediating effect of trait emotional intelligence

Individuals with high perfectionistic concerns have overly negative reactions to perceived failures, nagging self-doubts, and excessive concerns over others’ criticisms and expectations. While neuroticism is robustly associated with perfectionistic concerns, this study examined whether trait emotional intelligence (i.e., emotion related self-perceptions) mediates the relationship between neuroticism and perfectionistic concerns. A sample of 223 undergraduates completed measures of neuroticism, trait emotional intelligence, and perfectionistic concerns. As hypothesized, trait emotional intelligence partially mediated the neuroticism-perfectionistic concerns link. Individuals high on the neuroticism dimension but lower on trait emotional intelligence may be more prone to perfectionistic concerns.     

中国背景下情绪智力与心理健康关系的元分析

本研究使用元分析的方法探讨了情绪智力与心理健康的关系（包括心理健康症状学指标、感知到的压力、应对方式、社会适应及主观幸福感）,共纳入104篇文献,151个独立样本和75754名被试。结果发现,个体情绪智力与积极应对、社会适应以及主观幸福感呈现显著正相关,与心理健康症状学指标、感知到的压力以及消极应对呈现显著负相关。此外,情绪智力与心理健康的关系受到出版年代、被试年龄、情绪智力理论模型和测量工具的调节作用。结论表明,情绪智力与积极心理健康变量的联系强于与消极心理健康变量的联系,且存在较长时期的稳定性。     

Associations of Mother–Child Reminiscing about Negative Past Events,Coping, and Self‐Concept in Early Childhood

Parent–child reminiscing conversations in early childhood have received theoretical attention as a forum for children's self‐concept development, but this has been little addressed in empirical work. This study examines associations between emotion reminiscing and children's self‐concepts and, building from the reminiscing and personality development literatures, also explores the role of children's coping. Sixty 4‐ and 5‐year‐old children and their mothers completed reminiscing conversations about events in which the child had experienced negative emotion, children completed an age‐appropriate assessment of their self‐concept, and mothers and teachers reported on children's coping strategies. Children's self‐perceived timidity was associated with their explanations for negative emotions during reminiscing. Children's self‐perceived negative affect was associated with fewer emotion resolutions during reminiscing, and with distinctive patterns of coping. Both reminiscing and coping made unique contributions to children's self‐concepts, and findings also suggest that coping may in some contexts indirectly connect reminiscing with self‐concept. These findings suggest that reminiscing conversations both reflect children's characteristics and provide a context for learning about their characteristics, along with strategies for emotion management. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The relationship between emotion dysregulation and deliberate self-harm among female undergraduate students at an urban commuter university

Despite the theoretical emphasis on the role of emotion dysregulation in deliberate self-harm (DSH), few studies have examined this relationship. The present study sought to examine the role of emotion dysregulation in DSH by extending the findings of Gratz (2006) regarding the environmental (i.e. childhood maltreatment) and individual (i.e. emotional inexpressivity and affect intensity/reactivity) factors associated with DSH among 249 female undergraduates. Specifically, the present study examined whether emotion dysregulation (a) is associated with DSH above and beyond these other risk factors and (b) mediates the relationship between these risk factors and DSH. Findings indicate that overall emotion dysregulation distinguished women with frequent DSH from those without a history of DSH, adding reliably to the prediction of DSH status above and beyond maltreatment, inexpressivity, and affect intensity/reactivity. Moreover, among self-harming women, emotion dysregulation accounted for a significant amount of additional variance in DSH frequency and mediated the relationship between emotional inexpressivity and DSH frequency. Results also suggest the particular relevance of two specific dimensions of emotion dysregulation to DSH: limited access to effective emotion regulation strategies and a lack of emotional clarity, each of which reliably improved the prediction of DSH status and accounted for unique variance in DSH frequency among self-harming women above and beyond the other risk factors in the models. Results suggest the potential utility of teaching self-harming women more adaptive ways of responding to their emotions, including nonavoidant strategies for modulating emotional arousal and the ability to identify, label, and differentiate among emotional states.     

Contemplative/emotion training reduces negative emotional behavior and promotes prosocial responses

Contemplative practices are believed to alleviate psychological problems, cultivate prosocial behavior and promote self-awareness. In addition, psychological science has developed tools and models for understanding the mind and promoting well-being. Additional effort is needed to combine frameworks and techniques from these traditions to improve emotional experience and socioemotional behavior. An 8-week intensive (42 hr) meditation/emotion regulation training intervention was designed by experts in contemplative traditions and emotion science to reduce "destructive enactment of emotions" and enhance prosocial responses. Participants were 82 healthy female schoolteachers who were randomly assigned to a training group or a wait-list control group, and assessed preassessment, postassessment, and 5 months after training completion. Assessments included self-reports and experimental tasks to capture changes in emotional behavior. The training group reported reduced trait negative affect, rumination, depression, and anxiety, and increased trait positive affect and mindfulness compared to the control group. On a series of behavioral tasks, the training increased recognition of emotions in others (Micro-Expression Training Tool), protected trainees from some of the psychophysiological effects of an experimental threat to self (Trier Social Stress Test; TSST), appeared to activate cognitive networks associated with compassion (lexical decision procedure), and affected hostile behavior in the Marital Interaction Task. Most effects at postassessment that were examined at follow-up were maintained (excluding positive affect, TSST rumination, and respiratory sinus arrhythmia recovery). Findings suggest that increased awareness of mental processes can influence emotional behavior, and they support the benefit of integrating contemplative theories/practices with psychological models and methods of emotion regulation.     

Trait emotional intelligence and disposition for forgiveness

The association of trait emotional intelligence with a disposition for forgiveness was explored. In addition, the relationship between emotional intelligence and affect was also examined. A sample of 268 Portuguese students completed measures of trait emotional intelligence, disposition to forgive, and affect. Results demonstrated that trait emotional intelligence scores were negatively associated with lasting resentment and negative affect and positively associated with positive affect.     

Positive and negative affect in parenting disabled children

Research on parents' positive and negative affect may clarify critical aspects in the emotional impact of raising a child with disabilities, as related to stress-resistance factors such as personal coping and family climate. Parental affect (positive and negative), coping strategies (active and avoidant), and family climate (relationships, personal growth, and system maintenance) among 71 families with disabled children were compared (using MANCOVA) to parental measures of 77 families with nondisabled children, revealing significant differences. Parents of disabled children reported higher levels of negative (distressed) affect, adopted more avoidant coping strategies, and differed in their familial interrelations and the opportunities for personal growth available to them in their families. The discrepancies between the fathers' and mothers' scores in avoidant coping and in the family climate areas of personal growth and system maintenance were greater among the parents of disabled children than among the control parents. Positive and negative affect were differently predicted in the two groups of parents, highlighting the different role of coping resources and family resources in mediating stress. Implications were drawn for intervention planning and family empowerment.     

母亲情绪调节与幼儿情绪理解能力:母亲应对方式的中介作用

对258名幼儿进行情绪理解能力任务测查,其母亲完成情绪调节方式问卷和应对幼儿消极情绪问卷,探讨母亲情绪调节方式、母亲对幼儿消极情绪的反应方式和幼儿情绪理解能力之间的关系。结果表明,幼儿情绪理解能力随年龄增长而提高,女孩情绪理解能力高于男孩。母亲对幼儿消极情绪更多采用情感关注和问题解决,惩罚反应最少,母亲对男孩的消极情绪表现出更多的惩罚反应,对女孩表现出更多的情感关注。母亲鼓励表达在其情绪调节方式和幼儿情绪理解能力之间有中介作用。     

Trait emotional intelligence,psychological well‐being and peer‐rated social competence in adolescence

The trait emotional intelligence (trait EI or trait emotional self‐efficacy) framework provides comprehensive coverage of emotion‐related self‐perceptions and dispositions. In this study, we investigated the relationship between trait EI and four distinct socioemotional criteria on a sample of Dutch adolescents (N = 282; 136 girls, 146 boys; mean age = 13.75 years). As hypothesized, trait EI was positively associated with adaptive coping styles and negatively associated with depressive thoughts and frequency of somatic complaints. It was also negatively associated with maladaptive coping styles, in boys only. Adolescents with high trait EI scores received more nominations from their classmates for being co‐operative and girls gave significantly more nominations to classmates with high trait EI scores for having leadership qualities. The discussion focusses on the operationalization of trait emotional self‐efficacy in adolescents.     

Mental preparation strategies of elite modern pentathletes

ObjectivesThis study examined the repertoire of preparation strategies and coping responses that elite modern pentathletes display across pre-, during, and post-competition periods.MethodsSix women and eight men were interviewed using an in-depth, open-ended, and semi-structured approach. The qualitative data were then hierarchically content analysed.ResultsThe findings revealed that perseverance, consistency, and commitment during training were critical components of the athletes' preparation in the days preceding an event. The athletes also presented a range of mental and technical preparation strategies across the competitive phases. These included, among others, competition simulation, mental practice, goal setting, emotion control, behavioural routines, specific technical strategies, attentional strategies, reaction to mistakes, and post-competition self-assessment. In addition, athletes' negative expectations during competition emerged as potential threats to personal achievements and were associated with dysfunctional bodily symptoms related to emotions, attentional difficulties, and coping problems.ConclusionsThe practical implications of these findings are discussed focusing on individual differences in cognitive and emotional experiences, and pre-, during, and post-competition strategies.     

Workplace Violence Toward Hospital Staff and Volunteers: A Survey of an Italian Sample

Interest in the phenomenon of workplace violence has increased in recent years because such violence is evident in the healthcare sector. The prevalence and consequences of victimization among healthcare professionals have been well-investigated but not in volunteers who have direct and prolonged contact with patients and visitors. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of physical and psychological workplace violence, the psychological and emotional consequences for hospital staff and volunteers, and the coping strategies that they adopted. In the current study, both of these groups worked with patients suffering from chronic diseases in a hospital in northern Italy. The participants included 108 hospital staff and 96 volunteers in cardiology and oncology units. The results revealed that for the staff victims of physical or psychological violence, the increase in depressive and anxiety symptoms (both state and trait) corresponded to a greater use of coping strategies to avoid facing the event. For the volunteer victims of physical violence, an increase in state anxiety was associated with an attempt to cope with the discharge of emotion, whereas trait anxiety was associated with a coping strategy that represents a positive interpretation of life events. A worrisome finding was the number of staff and volunteer victims of physical and psychological violence who did not report these occurrences: only one third of staff and volunteers reported these events to management or to the police.