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Emotional Intelligence Moderates Anxiety Reactions in Chronic Health Conditions

Received: 22 June 2017     Accepted: 7 July 2017     Published: 1 August 2017
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Abstract

Anxiety associated with chronic health conditions is a serious comorbidity with implications for health promotion and quality of life in adults with chronic illness. Thus there is value in identifying personal resources that may protect against anxiety. A recent concept that may meet this definition is that of emotional intelligence (EI). It was hypothesized that EI moderates anxiety levels among individuals with chronic conditions. A sample of 268 women living in Israel was recruited for this preliminary investigation (208 without a chronic condition, 60 with a diagnosed chronic illness such as high blood pressure or diabetes). Participants completed validated measures of anxiety and EI and provided health and demographic information. The evidence supported the hypothesized moderating effect of EI on level of anxiety in individuals with and without chronic conditions. While a simple comparison showed that individuals with chronic conditions reported higher levels of anxiety than their peers without a chronic condition, EI and the interaction term of EI and health condition showed a significant effect on anxiety, nullifying the simple effect of health condition. This preliminary study supports the potential role of EI in the experience of anxiety among individuals with a chronic health condition. Should future research support these findings, screening for at-risk populations as well as future interventions may be developed to improve quality of life for individuals coping with chronic illness.

Published in American Journal of Applied Psychology (Volume 6, Issue 3)
DOI 10.11648/j.ajap.20170603.12
Page(s) 38-41
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2017. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Emotional Intelligence, Chronic Disease, Anxiety, Health, Cross-Sectional Design

References
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[3] Kepka S, Baumann C, Anota A, Buron G, Spitz E, Auquier P, Guillemin F, Mercier M. The relationship between traits optimism and anxiety and health-related quality of life in patients hospitalized for chronic diseases: data from the SATISQOL study. Health Qual Life Outcomes. 2013; 11(1):134. doi: 10.1186/1477-7525-11-134.
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Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Leehu Zysberg. (2017). Emotional Intelligence Moderates Anxiety Reactions in Chronic Health Conditions. American Journal of Applied Psychology, 6(3), 38-41. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajap.20170603.12

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    ACS Style

    Leehu Zysberg. Emotional Intelligence Moderates Anxiety Reactions in Chronic Health Conditions. Am. J. Appl. Psychol. 2017, 6(3), 38-41. doi: 10.11648/j.ajap.20170603.12

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    AMA Style

    Leehu Zysberg. Emotional Intelligence Moderates Anxiety Reactions in Chronic Health Conditions. Am J Appl Psychol. 2017;6(3):38-41. doi: 10.11648/j.ajap.20170603.12

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ajap.20170603.12,
      author = {Leehu Zysberg},
      title = {Emotional Intelligence Moderates Anxiety Reactions in Chronic Health Conditions},
      journal = {American Journal of Applied Psychology},
      volume = {6},
      number = {3},
      pages = {38-41},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ajap.20170603.12},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajap.20170603.12},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajap.20170603.12},
      abstract = {Anxiety associated with chronic health conditions is a serious comorbidity with implications for health promotion and quality of life in adults with chronic illness. Thus there is value in identifying personal resources that may protect against anxiety. A recent concept that may meet this definition is that of emotional intelligence (EI). It was hypothesized that EI moderates anxiety levels among individuals with chronic conditions. A sample of 268 women living in Israel was recruited for this preliminary investigation (208 without a chronic condition, 60 with a diagnosed chronic illness such as high blood pressure or diabetes). Participants completed validated measures of anxiety and EI and provided health and demographic information. The evidence supported the hypothesized moderating effect of EI on level of anxiety in individuals with and without chronic conditions. While a simple comparison showed that individuals with chronic conditions reported higher levels of anxiety than their peers without a chronic condition, EI and the interaction term of EI and health condition showed a significant effect on anxiety, nullifying the simple effect of health condition. This preliminary study supports the potential role of EI in the experience of anxiety among individuals with a chronic health condition. Should future research support these findings, screening for at-risk populations as well as future interventions may be developed to improve quality of life for individuals coping with chronic illness.},
     year = {2017}
    }
    

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    AU  - Leehu Zysberg
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    T2  - American Journal of Applied Psychology
    JF  - American Journal of Applied Psychology
    JO  - American Journal of Applied Psychology
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    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2328-5672
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajap.20170603.12
    AB  - Anxiety associated with chronic health conditions is a serious comorbidity with implications for health promotion and quality of life in adults with chronic illness. Thus there is value in identifying personal resources that may protect against anxiety. A recent concept that may meet this definition is that of emotional intelligence (EI). It was hypothesized that EI moderates anxiety levels among individuals with chronic conditions. A sample of 268 women living in Israel was recruited for this preliminary investigation (208 without a chronic condition, 60 with a diagnosed chronic illness such as high blood pressure or diabetes). Participants completed validated measures of anxiety and EI and provided health and demographic information. The evidence supported the hypothesized moderating effect of EI on level of anxiety in individuals with and without chronic conditions. While a simple comparison showed that individuals with chronic conditions reported higher levels of anxiety than their peers without a chronic condition, EI and the interaction term of EI and health condition showed a significant effect on anxiety, nullifying the simple effect of health condition. This preliminary study supports the potential role of EI in the experience of anxiety among individuals with a chronic health condition. Should future research support these findings, screening for at-risk populations as well as future interventions may be developed to improve quality of life for individuals coping with chronic illness.
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Author Information
  • The Graduate School, Gordon College of Education Haifa, Haifa, Israel

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