The Effects of an Emotional Intelligence Skills Training Program on the Emotional Intelligence Levels of Turkish University Students

Problem Statement: Emotional intelligence is the capacity to require as well as apply information of an emotional nature and to feel and to respond emotionally. Emotional intelligence contains five main domains as follows: self-awareness, managing emotions, motivating oneself, empathy, and handling relations. Individuals who are emotionally competent are at an advantage in every area of life, whether family and relations, education, community, and organizational pursuits, and are more likely to lead happy and productive lives. As emotional intelligence may be developed and learned at any time or any age, one of the main gaps in this area is the lack of effective programs for Turkish adults. In order to promote the emotional intelligence of Turkish adults in the short and long term, we designed an "Emotional Intelligence Skills Training Program." Purpose of the Study: To determine whether individuals would improve their emotional intelligence and, if so, whether the beneficial effects of the program are maintained over time. Methods: Following the announcement that an "Emotional Intelligence Program," which is intended to improve emotional intelligence skills, was to be held at the Education Faculty of Ondokuz Mayis University, the Emotional Intelligence Self-Evaluation Scale was administered to 215 university students who volunteered to participate from different faculties. The 20 group members with the lowest test scores from each gender were randomly selected (40 group members in total) and randomized into a study group and a control group (10 males and 10 females each). A program of 12 main sessions and two extra sessions of 90 minutes (three and six months after the end of the program) were applied to the members of the study group. The scales were re-administered to the study group and the control group at the end of the program (post-test) and to the study group just after the extra sessions (first and second follow-up tests). Findings and Results: Although the scores of the two groups were no different before the commencement of the program (P> 0.5), the study group had better result scores at the termination of the program compared to those of the control group (P< 0.001). The study group's scores remained improved three and six months after the end of the program (P= 1). Conclusions and Recommendations: We determined that the university students admitted into this program improved their emotional intelligence skills in terms of the inventory scores over time.