THE ROLE OF SOCIO-EMOTIONAL COMPETENCE IN THE CHOICE OF COPING-STRATEGIES BY PERSONS WITH INCREASED ANXIETY
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.32782/psych.studies/2024.4.4Keywords:
emotional intelligence, socio-emotional competence, anxiety, coping strategies, problem-focused coping, emotion-focused coping, avoidant coping.Abstract
The article is dedicated to studying the relationship between socio-emotional competence, coping strategies, and anxiety. Socio-emotional competence is defined as a key component of emotional intelligence that ensures effective recognition, understanding, and regulation of emotions, as well as the establishment of healthy interpersonal relationships. Theoretical approaches to defining the components of emotional intelligence and their influence on the coping strategies choice by individuals with heightened anxiety are analyzed. The study involved a sample of 73 individuals aged 19 to 56 years (57 women and 16 men). Using regression analysis, the influence of socio-emotional competence components and difficulties in emotional regulation on respondents’ choice of coping strategies with heightened anxiety was statistically analyzed. Problem-focused coping strategies, emotion-focused coping strategies, and avoidant coping strategies (based on the Lazarus “Brief-COPE” questionnaire) were selected for analysis. The distribution of coping strategy usage indicators across groups with different levels of personal anxiety (low, medium, and high) is presented. It was found that components of socioemotional competence such as self-efficacy, self-management, and self-awareness significantly impact the choice of adaptive coping strategies, regardless of anxiety levels. Such strategies reduce the likelihood of choosing self-blame, denial, and substance use strategies. The moderating role of anxiety in these relationships was not confirmed, highlighting the autonomy of socioemotional skills in shaping behavioral strategies. Negative aspects of emotion regulation, such as rejection, impulsivity, and limited strategies, were found to significantly correlate with the choice of maladaptive coping strategies (e.g., denial, self-blame, behavioral dissociation). Meanwhile, active coping and positive reframing were associated with reduced rejection and impulsivity but may also involve less focus on emotional awareness.
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