The Relationship between Perceived Social Support and Emotional Intelligence with College Students Quality of Life

Transcription

1 The Relationship between Perceived Social Support and Emotional Intelligence with College Students Quality of Life Elham Rakizadeh Department of Psychology, Ahvaz Branch, Islamic Azad University, Ahvaz, Iran Fariba Hafezi * Department of Psychology, Ahvaz Branch, Islamic Azad University, Ahvaz, Iran *Corresponding Author: febram315@yahoo.com Abstract Recognizing the factors affecting quality of life is an important issue in health psychology. The current article seeks to investigate the relationship between emotional intelligence and perceived social support with life quality of a sample of college students. The research is of a descriptivecorrelative type. The study population includes all students of Islamic Azad University of Ahvaz, which 459 students were selected using stratified random sampling and participated in the study. For data collection, Phillips Social Support Questionnaires, the World Health Organization Quality of Life Questionnaire and Shot Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire were used, which each of them have acceptable reliability and validity. Finally, for data analysis, SPSS.Ver.18 was used. In order to examine the relationship between the research variables, Pearson's correlation method was used, and to predict the criterion variable, regression test was applied. The results showed that emotional intelligence and its relevant dimensions, and perceived social support and its dimensions have a direct significant correlation with the total score of life quality. In addition, multiple regression analysis showed that 0.62 of the variance in students' quality of life can be explained using perceived social support variables and emotional intelligence and its dimensions. Accordingly, it can be concluded that emotional intelligence and perceived social support are some significant factors affecting the quality of life of students. Keywords: Perceived Social Support; Emotional Intelligence; Quality of Life. Page 674

2 Introduction Nowadays, the quality of life is one of the major concerns of politicians and prevention science experts, and it is recognized as an indicator to measure health status in the research (WHO, 2002). Quality of life helps people to have a healthy and happy life. Quality of life is a concept that so much attempt has been done to define and measure it in the past three decades (Hagerty et al. 2001). Quality of life is not experienced life but it is the embodiment of the life experienced by individual over time. Quality of life is not merely feeling and experience, and it encompasses view and judgment of the individual in relation to a position and a set of current life events along with the entire society during a period of time (Aqa Yousefi, 2010). Emotional intelligence is one of the variables that is associated with quality of life. The issue of intelligence as a key feature that makes the individuals distinct from each other has drawn man s attention since the beginning of written human history. However, earlier studies on intelligence have mainly underlined cognitive aspects such as memory, problem solving, and thinking. In contrast, nowadays, not only the non-cognitive aspects of intelligence such as emotional, personal and social abilities are taken into account, but also intelligence is considered as a factor for predicting a person's ability to achieve success and compatibility in life (Wong and Law, 2003). Emotional Intelligence is the newest development in the field of understanding the relationship between thought and emotion. The term was first introduced by Salovey & Mayer (1990) (Goleman, 1995). Mayer and Salovey (1997) alleged that emotional intelligence includes the ability to correctly detect and respond to others emotions, to stimulate, understand, and control persona; emotional responses. Emotional intelligence is associated with the understanding of oneself and others, adjustment and adaptation to the environment to succeed in meeting social demands, and such type of intelligence is a tactical and practical capability. In contrast, cognitive intelligence has a long-term strategic capability (Moira and Oliver, 2008; quoted from Hoseinian, Ghasemzadeh, Niknami, 2011). According to Goleman (1995), emotional intelligence is to understand personal emotions and use of them to make right decisions in life, ability to manage mood, mental condition, and impulse control. In addition, emotional intelligence is an important factor that can provide man with motivation and hope at the time of the failure to accomplish personal objectives, and also enables man to understand himself and others and to have proper communications with the public and adaptation to the environment. Perceived social support is a variable associated with psychological health and quality of life. Cobb define social health as the degree of taking privilege of love, assistance and taking care of family members, friends and other people (Cobb, quoted from Sedqhpour et al., 2011). Social protection is an inter-personal mechanism that protects people from the effects of negative stress. Social support can be defined as any stimulus that contributes to the further progress the objectives of the supported person (Dekker, 2007). De Matteo describes social support as individual share of benefitting from love, companionship, take care of family members, friends and other people (Koldi & Salahshouri, 2002). Page 675

3 Based on the operational definition of the indicators that constitute social support, it could be said that social support emerges when an individual at the time of encountering the problems can take advantage of counselling and assistance provided by the acquaintances (family, friends, etc.), and be able to feel attachment to them. In the current research, support encompasses supportive functions or different types of assistance, and an individual in case of having social relations at various levels of structural resources of social support such as strong bonds, social networks, and membership in a group can take advantage of different types of emotional, instrumental, and informational assistance and support. By analyzing this indicator, the effectiveness of emotional support on the women s empowerment is taken into account. Selfvaluation support happens when others make someone recognizant of the fact that he/she is a worthwhile individual at the time of difficulties, and possess the special capability to overcome the problems. Instrumental support means individual accessibility to service and financial resources provided by the family, friends and acquaintances at the time of difficulties. Informational support considers the fact that, given the support received from others, how much a person can receive required information to resolve the problems. Concerning the social network support, the critical point is the assistance and protection at the time of difficulties provided by the networks which the person is directly and indirectly a member of them (Koldi & Salahshouri, 2013). Smith et al (2008) believe that people with mental and emotional health, has the tools to cope with difficult situations and maintain their positive thinking, and they can remain focused, flexible and creative under difficult circumstances. On the other hand, Skoti et al (2006) suggest that better understanding and management of emotions in the people with high emotional intelligence reduces the possibility of dealing with mental health problems among this people. Emotional intelligence is a new emerging structure in the area psychology that leads to social adaptability. Accordingly, social psychologists regard emotional intelligence as an important determinant of individual adaptation and establishment of good relations (Zeidner & Kaloda, 2008). Tamaron (2010) defines emotional intelligence as to think about oneself and other s emotions, the ability to interact with emotions, to understand, manage and express emotions, which the final result would be personal growth. Various research has been performed on the positive relationship between emotional intelligence and other structures, which some of them include public health (Scotti et al., 2006), academic achievement (Parker Sumer, Fedeldet, Hogan and Majesky, 2004), better academic performance and fewer behavioral deviations (Petrides, Frederickson and Furnham, 2004), communication skills (Yousefi, 2007), life skills including life satisfaction, solving problems and coping with stress (Bastian et al., 2005), Welfare (Niels et al., 2009), social adjustment (Zeidner and Kaloda, 2008), etc. in addition, the results obtained from Shot s meta-analysis indicated that there is a positive and positive significant relationship between emotional intelligence and mental health. Emotional intelligence that has been widely investigated in the last 20 years (Joseph, 2010) is another structure which in contrast to cognitive intelligence, can be considered as non-cognitive intelligence, and apparently it can play the most important role for human achievement in the current era. Notably, having high scores in terms of emotional intelligence and its relevant 15 Page 676

4 subscales (problem-solving, happiness, independence, stress tolerance, self-actualization, emotional self-awareness, realism, interpersonal relationships, optimism, self-esteem, impulse control, flexibility, responsibility, empathy, assertiveness) is generally associated with better psychological functioning (Giardini & Ferres, 2006 ). In recent years, the concept of quality of life has been introduced as an important index of the health, and it is an effective factor contributing to the efficiency of health care, quality of care and health needs. Quality of life is a holistic approach. In this approach, physical health, mental health, social relations, and quality of life environment are some the constituent components of quality of life (Ramezani & Nazarian Madevany, 2013). Given the importance of this issue, the current research aims to investigate the function of the variables namely perceived social support and emotional intelligence in predicting quality of life in a sample of university students. Methodology The current research is of a correlative-descriptive type. The study population includes all students of Islamic Azad University of Ahvaz, which 459 students were selected as the main sample. The research tools were Phillips Social Support Questionnaires, World Health Organization Quality of Life Questionnaire and Shot Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire. Research Tools 1-Phillips Perceived Social Support Questionnaire The scale has 23 items, which three of the subscales measure social support provide by family, friends and others. The reliability coefficients relevant to the subscales including family, friends and others in the Iranian students sample are 0.55, 0.64, and 0.54, respectively (Bavi, 2004). The reliability coefficients obtained in the research performed by Pasha, Safarzadeh and Mashak (2007) using Cronbach's alpha and split-half is 0.84 and 0.82, respectively, indicating the fact that the present questionnaire has the appropriate utility for performing psychological research. 2- World Health Organization Quality of Life Questionnaire (1998) The short form of the questionnaire contains 26 questions, and it evaluates four domains of physical health, mental health, and healthy environmental and social relationships with 26 questions. Nejat et al. (2006) standardized this scale. In the standardization, the alpha coefficient of the questionnaire for the healthy population in the area of psychical health was obtained to be 70%, mental health 73%, social relations 55%, and environmental relations 84%, and the researchers reported the reliability coefficient relevant to the re-testing of the entire test after two weeks to be 70%. In a research performed by Yousefi and Karimi (2009), to determine the validity, the correlation between the total score of each dimension with the single constituent questions relevant to the dimension was taken into account. The range of correlation coefficients obtained was 0.45 to 0.83, and all of the coefficients were significant at the level Shot Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire In 1198, Shot and his colleagues designed an emotional intelligence questionnaire based on the theoretical model proposed by Salovy and Mayer (1990) (Nasseri, 1381). The questionnaire has Page 677

5 a 33-point scale that can assess all three components of emotional intelligence including evaluation, emotional expression, and exploitation of excitement. The first factor includes 33 items composed of evaluation and emotional expression (13 items), emotion regulation (10 items) and exploitation of emotion (10 items), respectively. In addition, the sub-components of each category were determined such as the regulation of emotions in ourselves and others. The high influence of the first factor and conceptual conciseness of this factor led to the selection of 33 items for the final scale. In this questionnaire as a self-descriptive one, the participants show an extent of agreement and disagreement with each of the statements within a five-point Likert scale. A research entitled An analysis of the validity of Shot Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire among the teenagers was conducted by Khosrow Javid (2002) in which the total emotional intelligence validity calculated by Cronbach's alpha coefficient was Finally, for data analysis, the software SPSS Version 18 was used. To examine the relationship between the research variables, Pearson correlation method was used, and to predict the criterion variable, multi-variable regression test applied. Findings The results obtained from the analysis of the correlation between emotional intelligence and perceived social supports with the quality of life in 459 of the students are as below. Table 1 shows the mean and standard deviation of the research s variables. Table 1: Mean, and standard deviation of the scores relevant to the variables namely social support, emotional intelligence, and students quality of life. Variable M SD N Social Support Social support provided by friends Social support provided by family Social support provided by others Emotional intelligence Emotional intelligence in the area of expression and emotional evaluation Emotional intelligence in the area of emotional regulation Emotional intelligence in the area of emotional exploitation Quality of life Quality of life in the area of physical health Quality of life in the area of mental health ک Quality of life in the area of healthy social relations Quality of life in the area of healthy environment Table 2: simple correlation coefficients between social support and students quality of life Page 678

6 Inclusion Metho d Special Issue Criterion Variable Statistical Indictor Predictor Variable Correlation Coefficient (r) Significance Level (p) Sample Size (n) Social Support Social support provided by Quality friends 459 of life Social support provided by family Social support provided by others According to Table 2, there is a positive significant relationship between social support and students life quality (r=0.63 & p= ). In other words, by an increase in students social support, their quality of life will be enhanced. In addition, there is a positive significant relationship between social support provided by friends, family and others, and students life quality. In other words, whatever social support provided by students friends, family and others increases; the students quality of life will be further enhanced. Table 3: simple correlation coefficients between emotional intelligence and students quality of life Criterion Variable Quality of life Statistical Indictor Predictor Variable Correlation Coefficient (r) Significance Level (p) Emotional Intelligence Expression/emotional evaluation Sample Size (n) 459 Emotional regulation Emotional exploitation According to Table 3, there is a positive significant relationship between emotional intelligence and students life quality (r=0.73 & p= ). In other words, by an increase in students emotional intelligence, their quality of life will be enhanced. In addition, there is a positive significant relationship between emotional intelligence in terms of expression, emotional evaluation, emotional regulation, and emotion exploitation, and students quality of life. In other words, students increased emotional intelligence in the area of expression, emotional evaluation, emotional regulation, and emotion exploitation is associated with students quality of life. Table 4: the multiple correlation coefficients relevant to predictor variables (social support/emotional intelligence) with students quality of life using concurrent/stepwise inclusion method Predictor Variables R R 2 F p t p Support provided by friends Support provided by family Support provided by others Emotional expression Emotional regulation Page 679

7 Stepwise Special Issue Emotional exploitation Emotional expression Social support in the area of family Social support in the area of others Emotional exploitation Social support in the area of friends According to Table 4, the regression that can predict quality of life for students through the variable components of social support (friends, family support, and others) and the components of emotional intelligence (self-expression and emotional evaluation, emotional regulation and emotional exploitation) is significant (p> and F=122.38). The variable namely social support provided by friends with the beta coefficient 0.09, social support provided by family with the beta coefficient 0.15, social support provided by others with the beta coefficient 0.12, emotional intelligence in the area of self-expression and emotional evaluation with the beta coefficient 0.44, and emotional intelligence in the area of emotional exploitation with the beta coefficient 0.11 can significantly and positively predict the students quality of life. The R 2 value shows that 0.62 of the variance of students quality of life is explained by the above-mentioned variables. The results from step-wise regression analysis shows that the variables emotional intelligence in the area of emotional expression and evaluation, social support provided by family, social support provided by others, emotional intelligence in the area of emotional exploitation, and social support in the area of friends are predictors of students life quality, respectively. Discussion and conclusion The current article was performed to investigate the relationship between emotional intelligence and perceived social support with life quality of a sample of college students. The results showed that emotional intelligence and its dimensions have a positive and significant correlation with quality of life. In other words, by an increase in emotional intelligence score, the quality of life score will be raised. The results obtained from the current research are consistent with the numerous research findings that have underlined the impact of emotional intelligence on physical and mental health and also quality of life (Peterson, 2000; Fournier et al., 2006; Yali & Lobel, Page 680

8 1999; Taylor and et al., 2002; Nes & Segerstrom, 2000). In this regard, the results obtained from the present research are also consistent with the research performed by Saloski and Cartwright (2002; quoted from Austin, 2004) regarding the negative relationship between emotional intelligence with helplessness and depression, the research performed by Johnson (2002, quoted from Austin 2004) regarding the association between interpersonal and intrapersonal aspects emotional intelligence and health behavior, and also the research performed by Panahi (2003) regarding correlation between Ratter s locus of control and general health. Accordingly, according to Atkinson and Hilgard (1990), most psychologists regard characteristics such as efficacy in cognition, self-knowledge, the ability to control behavior optionally, self-esteem and self-acceptance, ability to maintain loving and reproductive relationships as the symptoms of psychological health. Other research results showed that there is a significant positive correlation between the dimensions of perceived social support and student s quality of life. In other words, high perception of social support is associated with enhanced quality of life among students. The findings obtained from the current research regarding the relationship between structural sources and social support and quality of life demonstrates that there is a significant relationship between group membership, strong relationships, and quality of life. Mcdowell & Serovich (2007) in their research investigated the relationship between social support and mental health among the patients, and research results indicated that there is a significant relationship between different types of social functions and mental health. Zamanzade et al. (2007) in a research entitled the association between quality of life and social support functions in the patients under dialysis came to the conclusions that there is a significant relationship between quality of life and social support functions. In the research, emotional support was considered a more appropriate facture compared to other supportive functions. Perceived social support is the degree of taking privilege of love, assistance and taking care of family members, friends and other people. Social protection is an inter-personal mechanism that protects people from the effects of negative stress. Social support can be defined as any stimulus that contributes to the further progress of the objectives of the supported person (Dekker, 2007). It is also individual ability to benefit from love, companionship, take care of family members, friends and other people. Social support happens when an individual at the time of encountering the problems can take advantage of counselling and assistance provided by the acquaintances (family, friends, etc.), and be able to feel attached to them. To understand support is more important than the possibility to receive it. When a person comes to the conclusion that there are some people that can help him at the time of need, he can better deal with mental pressures. Social support is a social network that can provide man with tangible psychological resources to deal with the stressful events of life and daily problems. Accordingly, it can be concluded that whatever people can receive more social support, greater health they can achieve. Finally, the current research indicated that emotional intelligence and perceived social support can be positive and significant predictors of life quality. Such results are consistent with those of the research performed by Martin et al. (2003), Spency et al. (2003), Ciarrochi et al. (2003), Farnham (2003), Ciarrochi et al. (2000), such that the people with higher emotional intelligence are more capable of coping with life problems, and feel higher satisfaction with life (Ciarrochi, et Page 681

9 al. 2003). Thus, emotional intelligence and perceived social support are some of the factors influencing the students quality of life. Some of the limitations of the current research include focus on the variables relevant to emotional intelligence and social support in predicting students life quality, ignore other predictor variables, perform research on students rather than other social groups, and use of questionnaire, etc. Given the significant relationship between quality of life, and social support and emotional intelligence, it is recommended to the counselling centers to hold training workshops and distribute training booklets in order to provide informational and psychological support appropriate to the students. It should be noted that since the current research was conducted on a limited population of students in a special place and time, the results cannot be generalized to a wider community. It is recommended that further research be conducted in a larger sample. The survey results can be compared with the results of other research that examines the quality of life among students in other cities or state and non-profit universities. Page 682

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