The effect of emotional intelligence intervention program on perceived stress, general well-being and quality of relationship of Malaysian students

This experimental study aims to assess the effects of Emotional Intelligence Intervention Program (EIIP) on the level of EI, perceived stress, general well-being and the quality of relationships among Malaysian students. Total of 134 counseling students from two public universities in Malaysia participated in the study. This study employs the Mayer and Salovey’s EI framework and utilizes the pre-test-post-test experimental control group design. Two staged random sampling were carried out combining the cluster random sampling and simple random sampling to allocate the sample into the experimental and control groups. The EIIP was conducted eight hours a week for the duration of four weeks. Pre- and post- data collection were made using a set of questionnaires, consisting of a newly developed Self-rated Malaysian Emotional Intelligence Scale which maps onto Mayer & Salovey EI framework, Perceived Stress Scale, General Health Questionnaire-12 and Positive Relations With Others Subscales from Ryff’s Scale Of Psychological Wellbeing. Data was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics (Paired and Independent sample T-test, Pearson Product Moment Correlation and Regressions). The findings show that the intervention has significantly increased the overall level of EI and the scores of two EI components, namely Emotional Facilitation of Thinking and Emotional Management. The intervention has also reduced the level of perceived stress and improved the quality of relationships of the experimental group significantly. The result shows that the general well-being score of the experimental group is significantly higher, indicating a higher level of distress after the program. However, no significantly difference was found between the two groups in terms of the perceived stress and quality of relationship. The study found significant negative correlation between EI and perceived stress, and positive correlation between EI and the quality of relationship. The linear regression analyses show that EI significantly predicts 39.6%, 8.4% and 28.0% of the variance in the perceived stress general well-being and quality of relationships respectively after EIIP. Meanwhile, multiple regressions show the predictability of EI from the level of perceived stress and quality of relationship. Discussions were made with reference to contributions of study to the counseling students and the counseling profession. Findings from the study have significant implications towards EI training and assessment in Malaysia. Further research is needed to examine factors that could strengthen the intervention concerned.