Participatory planning and children's emotional labor in the production of urban nature

Children have increasingly been called upon to participate in the planning of their communities, especially in projects associated with urban nature and outdoor play spaces. Building upon the concept of emotional labor, we critically explore how children become enrolled in such initiatives. Specifically, we focus on the emotional geographies underlining children's participation, including the emotions children exhibit invest, experience and produce in these projects, as well as the ways these emotions are regulated, framed and used by urban managers and policy-makers in participatory planning activities. Our theoretical framework intersects research on emotional labor with recent geographic literature on children, urban governance, and emotions. We explore the idea of children's and young people's emotional labor through an analysis of a collaborative effort between local nonprofits, government agencies, youth organizations and research institutions aimed at addressing the lack of public green space in a disenfranchised urban community in California. The empirical evidence is drawn from a research project in which we engaged a group of 9–11 year old children in a variety of planning activities involving participatory mapping, use of visual media, and focus groups.     

The German TEIQue-SF: Factorial structure and relations to agentic and communal traits and mental health

Recent research illuminated the links between Agency, Communion, trait emotional intelligence (TEI), and internalizing mental health difficulties (IMHDs). However, for a more complete picture, unmitigated Agency and Communion have also to be considered. Drawing on a sample of N = 405 female occupational therapists, the present study examined (a) the factorial validity of the German TEI Questionnaire Short Form, (b) the relations of TEI to Agency, Communion, and their unmitigated variants, and (c) a multiple predictor-TEI-IMHDs mediation model. The factor structure suggested by TEI theory fitted approximately to the data. Agency and Communion related positively and both unmitigated traits related negatively to TEI. Indirect effects via TEI on IMHDs emerged for all four traits. The results help to integrate TEI within the Agency–Communion framework and suggest that TEI is an important intervening variable that helps to clarify the links of agentic and communal traits to mental health.     

The Situational Test of Emotional Management – Brief (STEM-B): Development and validation using item response theory and latent class analysis

This study uses a 3-Parameter Logistic item response theory (IRT) model to develop an 18-item short-form of the Situational Test of Emotion Management (STEM). In a sample of 900 people, the short form showed acceptable reliability (reliability index = .87; Cronbach’s alpha = .84) and a meaningful correlation with another indicator of emotional intelligence (i.e., r = .30 with the Situational Test of Emotional Understanding). Latent class analysis of the short-form detected two classes. For all items, participants in Class 2 had a higher probability of selecting the best option than Class 1. When response options were coded to represent different emotion regulation strategies, Class 2 had a higher probability of endorsing “situation modification” and Class 1 had a higher probability of endorsing “no regulation”. These results provide validity evidence for the STEM-B as an assessment of emotion regulation.     

Mediational role of parenting styles in emotional intelligence of parents and aggression among adolescents

The present study was designed to examine the relationship between parents' emotional intelligence and adolescents' aggression, through the mediation of parenting styles. Two hundred and twenty five undergraduate students (113 boys & 112 girls; age 17–18 years), from four universities in Pakistan, participated with their parents. The Parenting Styles and Dimensions Questionnaire (Robinson, Mandleco, Olsen, & Hart, 1995), and the Scale of Emotional Intelligence (Batool & Khalid, 2011) were completed by parents. The Aggression Questionnaire (Buss & Perry, 1992) was completed by their adolescent offspring. Mediational path analysis supported our hypothesised model. Results indicate that emotional intelligence of parents indirectly links to aggression among offspring, through parenting styles. It was concluded that emotional intelligence training will help parents to improve their parenting styles, and it will lower the risk of aggression in their children.     

Emotional intelligence and health‐related quality of life in institutionalised Spanish older adults

This study explores the relationship between emotional intelligence (EI) and health‐related quality of life (HRQoL) in a sample of Spanish older adults who are institutionalised in long‐term care (LTC) facilities. One hundred fifteen institutionalised individuals (47.82% women; 88.3 ± 7.9 years) from southern Spain completed a set of questionnaires that included measures of EI, health and personality. Data were analysed via hierarchical regression. After controlling for personality and sociodemographic variables, the EI dimensions, emotional comprehension and emotional facilitation, accounted for part of the variance in several HRQoL facets. These dimensions could have an important role in the HRQoL of residents in LTC. Moreover, the use of a performance measure addresses the limitations of previous studies that have relied on self‐report measures. These aspects underscore the importance of the results of this study.     

The impact of emotional labor on work-family outcomes

Theory and research on emotional labor at work is applied to the study of the work-family interface to explore how emotional experiences in both the work and the family domain relate to the experience of work-family conflict and work-family enrichment, and ultimately attitudinal and health outcomes. Emotional intelligence is also examined as a moderator of the relationship between emotional labor and affective responses to work and family life. A model focusing on emotional experiences in the both the work and family domains is proposed and tested using path analysis. Results indicate that emotional labor in both the work and family domains relate to affective responses to each respective domain, which in turn relates to work-family conflict and work-family enrichment. In turn, consistent with previous research work-family conflict relates to domain-specific satisfaction (job, life) and health outcomes (burnout, depression). Partial support was found for the proposed moderating effect of emotional intelligence.     

Trait emotional intelligence profiles of students from different university faculties

This study investigated the trait emotional intelligence (trait EI or trait emotional self‐efficacy) profiles of 512 students from five university faculties: technical studies, natural sciences, social sciences, arts, and humanities. Using the Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire, it was hypothesised that (a) social sciences would score higher than technical studies in Emotionality, (b) arts would score higher than technical studies in Emotionality, (c) arts would score lower than technical studies in Self‐control, and (d) there would be an interaction between gender and faculty, whereby female students would score higher than male students within the social sciences only. Several other exploratory comparisons were also performed. Results supported hypotheses (a), (b), and (d), but not hypothesis (c), although the differences were in the predicted direction.     

Male Emotional Intimacy: How Therapeutic Men's Groups Can Enhance Couples Therapy

Men's difficulty with emotional intimacy is a problem that therapists regularly encounter in working with heterosexual couples in therapy. The first part of this article describes historical and cultural factors that contribute to this dilemma in men's marriages and same-sex friendships. Therapeutic men's groups can provide a corrective experience for men, helping them to develop emotional intimacy skills while augmenting their work in couples therapy. A model for such groups is presented, including guidelines for referral, screening, and collaboration with other therapists. Our therapeutic approach encourages relationship-based learning through direct emotional expression and supportive feedback. We emphasize the development of friendship skills , core attributes of friendship ( connection, communication, commitment, and cooperation ) that contribute to emotional intimacy in men's relationships. Case examples are included to illustrate how this model works in clinical practice, as well as specific suggestions for further study that could lead to a more evidence-based practice.     

Ambulatory emotional reactivity to negative daily life events predicts remission from major depressive disorder

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is often associated with altered emotional reactivity. However, the functional significance of altered emotional reactivity in MDD is uncertain. This study was the first to examine the predictive relationship between intensely sampled ambulatory emotional reactivity and the clinical course of MDD. Forty-six outpatients who met criteria for MDD underwent six days of experience sampling of their ambulatory reactivity to everyday negative and positive life events. After experience sampling, all outpatients received pharmacotherapy with supportive psychotherapy and were followed clinically for 18 months. At one month, less emotional reactivity to negative and positive daily events predicted higher depressive symptom severity. Importantly, patients who exhibited less negative emotional reactivity to daily negative life events were less likely to recover from MDD over the 18 month follow-up. Relationships between ambulatory emotional reactivity and MDD course were not accounted for by the duration or the severity of initial MDD symptoms. Diminished ambulatory emotional reactivity appears to be functionally significant in depression. Intensive sampling of ambulatory emotions may have utility for predicting the clinical course of MDD.     

FEELING WITHOUT THINKING: LESSONS FROM THE ANCIENTS ON EMOTION AND VIRTUE-ACQUISITION

Abstract: By briefly sketching some important ancient accounts of the connections between psychology and moral education, I hope to illuminate the significance of the contemporary debate on the nature of emotion and to reveal its stakes. I begin the essay with a brief discussion of intellectualism in Socrates and the Stoics, and Plato's and Posidonius's respective attacks against it. Next, I examine the two current leading philosophical accounts of emotion: the cognitive theory and the noncognitive theory. I maintain that the noncognitive theory better explains human behavior and experience and has more empirical support than the cognitive theory. In the third section of the essay I argue that recent empirical research on emotional contagion and mirroring processes provides important new evidence for the noncognitive theory. In the final section, I draw some preliminary conclusions about moral education and the acquisition of virtue.