TESTING THE RELIABILITY AND VALIDITY OF TOOLS BASED ON THE MAYER-SALOVEY-CARUSO FOUR-BRANCH ABILITY MODEL OF EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE

WITH PSYCHIATRIC-MENTAL HEALTH NURSES

Traci T. Sims, MS, RN, CNS/PMH-BC (Doctor of Nursing Science Student at Kennesaw State University, Kennesaw, Georgia)

BackgroundA lack of emotional skills in nurses affects

their personal well-being and has the potential to negatively affect patient outcomes (Codier, Muneno, & Frieitas, 2011; McQueen, 2004). Psychiatric-mental health nurses (PMHN) recognize the need for effective emotional skills to work with patients who may be struggling with alterations in mood and cognition (Cleary, Horsfall, Deacon, & Jackson, 2011; Warelow & Edward, 2007). Emotional intelligence (EI) is an ability to perceive emotions, access and generate feelings when they facilitate thought, understand and regulate emotions (Mayer & Salovey, 1997). Psychiatric-mental health nursing could benefit from reliable, valid, accessible, affordable, and feasible tools to measure EI and to identify the personal strengths and challenges of PMHN.

PMHN who are members of the American Psychiatric Nurses Association (APNA), the International Society of Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurses (ISPN), and Moving Ahead with Advanced Practice Psychiatric Nurses in Georgia (MAAPPNG) were given the opportunity to participate in the study. Two EI instruments were used: The Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test, version II (MSCEIT) and the Self-Rated Emotional Intelligence Scale (SREIS). Hildegard Peplau’stheory of Interpersonal Relations in Nursing (1952) and the Four-Branch Ability Model of EI were the conceptual frameworks.

Purpose of Study

The purpose of this descriptive correlationalstudy was to compare the MSCEIT EI level of PMHN to the normed sample of 5000 respondents, to evaluate the internal consistency reliability of the Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test (MSCEIT) and the Self-Rated Emotional Intelligence Scale (SREIS) with PMHN, and to determine if there was a relationship (convergent validity) between the PMHN’sMSCEIT EI scores (total and branch) and the PMHN’s self-awareness of EI skills using the Self-Rated Emotional Intelligence Scale (SREIS) scores (total and branch).

ResultsThe PMHN had a higher mean EI measured by the MSCEIT (M

= 102.63) compared to that of the 5000 in the normed sample (M = 100), which indicated a significant difference (p < .05) between the mean scores. Both the MSCEIT and SREIS demonstrated moderate to high levels of internal consistency reliability. Similar to other research studies (Beauvais et al., 2010; Dunn et al., 2007), Pearson’s Product-Moment Correlation was used and showed one significant, positive weak correlation between the MSCEIT and SREIS branches: the SREIS branch one (perceiving emotions) and the MSCEIT branch four (managing emotions), r (101) = .249, p < .05. Significance was found (p < .01 or p < .05) between the branches of each test and with the total scores. Spearman Rank-Order showed a similar result between the SREIS branch one (perceiving emotions) and the MSCEIT branch four (managing emotions) as the Pearson’s correlation: a significant, positive weak correlation, rs (101) = .256, p < .01. Spearman Rank-Order also showed significant, positive weak correlations for the first (perceiving emotions), rs (101) = .197, p < .05, and third (understanding emotions), rs (101) = .221, p < .05, branches of the MSCEIT and SREIS. Because the MSCEIT and SREIS operationalize EI using the same theoretical model, the Four-Branch Ability Model of EI, the findings from the Spearman of the significant, positive weak relationships between the MSCEIT and SREIS’s first (perceiving emotions) and third (understanding emotions) branches were not surprising.

IMPLICATIONS

If PMHN knew more about the Four-Branch Ability Model of EI, they may be able to evaluate their emotional skills more accurately through taking a self-report EI test like the SREIS. Future research could incorporate EI education as an intervention in educational and medical settings. Self-awareness of EI skills may be necessary to help PMHN become more effective nurses. Self-awareness is a key concept in building therapeutic relationships for PMHN (Peplau, 1952). Because EI is defined and measured as a set of abilities or skills by the Four-Branch Ability Model of EI, the focus on EI skills and strategies through self-awareness can be an effective way to approach to help PMHN improve their emotional skills. More research is needed to understand the characteristics that influence PMHN’s EI and to evaluate more fully the convergent validity of the MSCEIT and SREIS.

Emotional Intelligence:

perceiving, using, understanding

and managing emotions (Mayer, Salovey, & Caruso, 2002)