Emotional Intelligence Buffers the Effects of Negative Emotions on Job Burnout in Nursing

Published Research on Burnout in Nursing in Spain in the Last Decade: Bibliometric Analysis

Scientific production in the last decades has evidenced an increase in burnout syndrome in healthcare professionals. The objective of this bibliometric study was to analyze scientific productions on burnout in nurses in 2009–2019. A search was made on the Web of Science database on burnout in nursing. The variables evaluated were number of publications per year, productivity based on the journal and relationships between authors. Data were analyzed using Bibexcel software, and Pajek was used to visualize the co-authorship network map. A total of 1528 publications related to burnout in nurses were identified. The years with the most productivity were 2016 to 2017, when the publication rate increased noticeably over previous years. The Spanish journal with the most production on the subject was Atención Primaria. The co-authorship network analyzed illustrated collaboration patterns among the researchers. Scientific publications on the subject have increased in recent years due to problems in the healthcare system, which is in need of prevention and intervention programs for healthcare professionals.

Effect of Emotional Intelligence and Psychosocial Risks on Burnout, Job Satisfaction, and Nurses' Health during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Nurses are exposed to psychosocial risks that can affect both psychological and physical health through stress. Prolonged stress at work can lead to burnout syndrome. An essential protective factor against psychosocial risks is emotional intelligence, which has been related to physical and psychological health, job satisfaction, increased job commitment, and burnout reduction. The present study aimed to analyze the effect of psychosocial risks and emotional intelligence on nurses' health, well-being, burnout level, and job satisfaction during the rise and main peak of the COVID-19 pandemic in Spain. It is a cross-sectional study conducted on a convenience sample of 125 Spanish nurses. Multiple hierarchical linear regression models were calculated considering emotional intelligence levels, psychosocial demand factors (interpersonal conflict, lack of organizational justice, role conflict, and workload), social support and emotional work on burnout, job satisfaction, and nurses' health. Finally, the moderating effect of emotional intelligence levels, psychosocial factors, social support, and emotional work on burnout, job satisfaction, and nurses' health was calculated. Overall, this research data points to a protective effect of emotional intelligence against the adverse effects of psychosocial risks such as burnout, psychosomatic complaints, and a favorable effect on job satisfaction.

Influence of Resilience, Everyday Stress, Self-Efficacy, Self-Esteem, Emotional Intelligence, and Empathy on Attitudes toward Sexual and Gender Diversity Rights

The present study forms part of the project “Cross-disciplinary education for sexual, body, and gender diversity” (Code 419). The aim of this study was to analyze the role played by the psychoeducational variables involved in burnout (resilience, self-efficacy, self-esteem, emotional intelligence, empathy, and everyday stress) on attitudes toward sexual and gender diversity rights. Participants comprised 170 university students undertaking a degree in primary education. Instruments were administered to assess the constructs analyzed, ensuring informed consent, voluntary participation, anonymity, and data confidentiality. An ex post facto design was employed to determine whether attitudes toward sexual and gender diversity rights are influenced by the possible relationships and role of these variables. We found statistically significant associations between students’ attitudes toward sexual and gender diversity at all three levels (sociocultural, relational, and personal) and the variable of burnout. Attitudes towards gender sexual orientation and gender identity rights influence burnout, and vice versa. As we ponder deeply about how these factors influence one another, we can shift our perspectives in a way that builds social harmony. It is important to learn how exactly these influences work, and this knowledge translates into making teaching strategies more effective to help raise awareness about guaranteeing rights for all. At the personal level of students’ attitudes toward sexual and gender diversity/equality, we found positive correlations between this level and the total score for the variable of resilience and with its factor of personal competence. The data obtained will be of use for future psychoeducational assessment and intervention programs related to an education in sexual orientation and gender identity rights that are aimed at developing socio-emotional competencies and attention to diversity with the ultimate goal of improving social harmony by dismantling stereotypes and raising awareness of the importance of the variables of resilience, self-efficacy, self-esteem, emotional intelligence, empathy, and everyday stress which highlights how “education is an instrument of social transformation”.

Envy and emotional intelligence: Evidence from a cross-lagged analysis

The association between envy and emotional intelligence (EI) has been documented. This study aimed to explore the causal relationship between envy and EI based on evolutionary theory and an emotional intelligence ability model in a cross-lagged longitudinal design. Using the revised Chinese version of the Dispositional Envy Scale and the Wong and Law Emotional Intelligence Scale, a 1-year follow-up study was conducted on 260 Chinese university students (56 males and 204 females). Longitudinal analysis indicated that envy and EI tracked over time. Cross-lagged analysis found that envy could significantly predict the generation and development of EI as well as its four dimensions (self-emotional appraisal, emotional regulation, others' emotional appraisal, and emotional use). Our findings provide better understanding of the link between envy and EI. These results are helpful for improving undergraduates' social adaptation levels.

The Relationship of Perceptions of Hospice and Palliative Care With Emotional Intelligence and Cognitive Empathy in Nursing Students

This study aimed to identify the relationships of perception of hospice and palliative care with emotional intelligence and cognitive empathy in nursing students. The participants were 458 nursing students. Data were collected using structured questionnaires and analyzed with Pearson correlation coefficients, independent-samples t test, and binary logistic regression. Perception of hospice and palliative care was significantly and positively correlated with emotional intelligence (r = 0.224, P < .001) and cognitive empathy (r = 0.311, P < .001). Mean score differences of perception of hospice and palliative care by emotional intelligence and cognitive empathy were statistically significant (t = -3.973, P < .001; t = -4.109, P < .001, respectively). Logistic regression yielded an odds ratio of 1.860 (P < .001; 95% confidence interval, 1.283-2.698) between the perception of hospice and palliative care and emotional intelligence and an odds ratio of 2.028 (P < .001; 95% confidence interval, 1.394-2.951) between the perception of hospice and palliative care and cognitive empathy. Emotional intelligence and cognitive empathy should be cultivated to raise nursing students' perception of hospice and palliative care and must be included when developing related curricula and extracurricular programs.

Voices from the Field: Addressing Job Burnout in School Psychology Training Programs

Job burnout among school psychologists represents a potentially serious issue given widespread shortages of practitioners. It is then important to identify effective strategies for both preventing and responding to feelings of burnout when they occur to ultimately ensure a healthy workforce. The current study examined written responses provided by 122 practicing school psychologists in the Southeastern United States to the question, "What do you think training programs can do about the issue of burnout in school psychology." A qualitative thematic analysis of responses resulted in the identification of three main themes: develop specific personal/professional skills, modify professional/training components, and modify administrative/organizational policies and seven associated sub-themes. Resulting themes are discussed in reference to specific recommendations training programs can take in the future to better address job burnout in the field.

Self-Efficacy and Emotional Intelligence as Predictors of Perceived Stress in Nursing Professionals

Background: Nursing professionals face a variety of stressful situations daily, where the patients’ own stresses and the demands of their family members are the most important sources of such stress. Methods: The main objectives pursued were to describe the relationships of self-efficacy and emotional intelligence with perceived stress in a sample of nursing professionals. We also developed predictive models for each of the components of perceived stress based on the dimensions of emotional intelligence and self-efficacy, for the total sample, as well as samples differentiated by sex. This study sample consisted of 1777 nurses and was conducted using multiple scales: the perceived stress questionnaire, general self-efficacy scale, and the brief emotional intelligence survey for senior citizens. Results: The variables stress management, mood, adaptability, intrapersonal skills, and self-efficacy explained 22.7% of the variance in the harassment–social component, while these same variables explained 28.9% of the variance in the irritability–tension–fatigue dimension. The variables mood, stress management, self-efficacy, intrapersonal, and interpersonal explained 38.6% of the variance in the energy–joy component, of which the last variable offers the most explanatory capacity. Finally, the variables stress management, mood, interpersonal, self-efficacy and intrapersonal skills explained 27.2% of the variance in the fear–anxiety dimension. Conclusion: The results of this study suggest that one way to reduce stress in professionals would be to help them improve their emotional intelligence in programs (tailored to consider particularities of either sex) within the framework of nursing, enabling them to develop and acquire more effective stress coping strategies, which would alleviate distress and increase the wellbeing of health professionals.