This study was focused on improving emotional intelligence that would help adolescents cope with stress in a positive way. The study sought for ways to strengthen the stress coping abilities and the life adjustment abilities by supporting adolescents...
This study was focused on improving emotional intelligence that would help adolescents cope with stress in a positive way. The study sought for ways to strengthen the stress coping abilities and the life adjustment abilities by supporting adolescents that suffered various emotional and behavioral problems to strengthen their emotional intelligence to control stress. Based on the theory that stress is a starting point of emotional experiences and that emotions are inherent the cognition, the study verified that the emotional intelligence was a moderating variable to control stress. The study was on the basis of the therapeutic factors of the structured group play therapy that would recognize and insight plays and emotions, designed a play-based program for improving emotional intelligence and observed effects of the program.
For Research Problem 1, the study carried out the influence that the emotional intelligence had the effects on the adolescents' stress. The Emotional Intelligence Test, Stressor Test and Stress Coping Types Test were conducted a survey of 303 freshmen at two different high schools in C city. Data were analyzed with SPSS/WIN(version 20), Pearsons Correlation Analysis and Simple Regression Analysis were conducted. According to the results, first, the emotional intelligence was negatively related to the stressors while second, the emotional intelligence was positively related to the stress coping types. For those who had higher emotional intelligence, it was learned that they would have less stress as they cope with stress more efficiently.
Research Problem 2, to research the effect of the play-based program for improving emotional intelligence, a total of 10 female freshmen at high school were given Emotional Intelligence Test, Stressor Test and Stress Copying Types Test as pre-test. The students who were below 120 score in Emotional Intelligence Test, over 200 score in Stressor Test, and below 180 in Stress Coping Types Test were sorted, categorized into two groups, the experiment group and the control group with random assignment. The experiment group received 10 sessions of the play-based emotional intelligence program for 70 minutes. In order to verify the effects of pre-test and post-test, data were arranged by Mixed Design Variance Analysis. In order to verify the effect of the play-based program for improving emotional intelligence, the experiment group participant's verbal responses to stress and behavioral responses to emotional intelligence were analyzed, and behavioral responses to emotional intelligence rated by 3 observers during the sessions.
The results reported that first, the play-based program for improving emotional intelligence reduced stressors of the participants in experiment group while second, the play-based program for improving emotional intelligence improved stress coping ability of the participants in experiment group. Third, the change of verbal response to stress were related to their future, self understanding, relationship with parents, problems of teacher and school during the first and second sessions. During the latter sessions, the verbal response to stress coping were related to wishful expectation, logical solutions of problem. Forth, the play-based program for improving emotional intelligence were elevated the emotional intelligence of experiment group. The change of behavior responses were increased during the sessions.
Based on research results the above, the study has come up with its significance, limits and other considerations as follows. First, the study verified that the emotional intelligence is related to the adolescents’ stress and stress coping. The study should be regarded academically significant for it has proposed a play-based program for improving emotional intelligence which would improve proper stress coping ability while it enhanced emotional intelligence and decreased stress as a moderating variable. Second, the study should be academically recognized for it has designed a program to increase emotional intelligence as stress-control ability, based on current stress-managing program researches that would lead changes in cognition and behavior patterns. However, ten sessions of this short program were considered not sufficient enough to verify effects and benefits and because of that, other following researches in the future should focus on how to develop the program in this concerned study even more.