The Mediating Role of Emotional Intelligence Traits in The Relationship Between Collective Trauma and Posttraumatic Growth

Abstract

The article is devoted to determining the mediating role of emotional intelligence traits in the relationship between collective trauma and posttraumatic growth. The purpose of the article is to determine the mediating role of emotional intelligence traits in the relationship between collective trauma and posttraumatic growth. The author's questionnaire consisting of two scales was developed as a psychodiagnostic tool. The first scale demonstrates the impact of historical trauma, the experience of previous generations; the second scale reflects the impact of collective trauma, namely war, on the individual. The Posttraumatic Growth Inventory (R. Tadeshi, L. Calhoun) and the Traits of Emotional Intelligence (K. Petrides) were also used. Spearman's rank correlation coefficient and mediator analysis were used as mathematical and statistical methods. The results obtained indicate that the decrease in the level of social skills characteristic of people with experience of participation in military events can act as a significant barrier to the development of the so-called “personality strength” - an important component of post-traumatic growth. The identified tendency to the mediating role of sociality as a trait of emotional intelligence in the relationship between traumatic experience and the posttraumatic growth component indicates that social resources (in particular, skills of effective interaction, emotional expression and assertive behavior) play an important function in the process of overcoming the consequences of traumatization.