The Comparison of Emotional Intelligence and Hardiness in Addicts and Non-Addicts

Abstract

Substance abuse, also known as drug abuse, is a chronic phenomenon entailing many physical, psychological, social, familial, and economic damages so that the addicted person's social and individual actions are severely reduced. The main purpose of this paper is to compare the emotional intelligence and hardiness in addicts and non-addicts. The sample consisted of 80 drug addicts and 80 normal individuals. The sample size of addicts was determined using convenience sampling method in addiction treatment center of Kermanshah-Iran. Then, the cloning method was used to match the two groups based on the variables of age, education level, number of family members, and family income. The participants answered Petrides and Furnham's emotional intelligence questionnaire as well as Kobasa's 80-item hardiness questionnaire. Then the data were analyzed using statistical tests. The analysis of data showed that there is a significant difference between addicts and non-addicts in terms of emotional intelligence and hardiness so that the emotional intelligence and hardiness of addicts are lower than the normal group. Also, the level of all emotional intelligence components (optimism, understanding one's own and others' emotions, controlling emotions, and social skills) was lower in addicts compared to non-addicts. The same results were obtained regarding the individuals hardiness; in other words, the addicted participants obtained lower scores in all hardiness components (commitment, challenge, and control). The other results of this research showed that there is a significant and negative relation between the duration of addiction and emotional intelligence as well as between the duration of addiction and hardiness. Finally, it was concluded that addicts have lower emotional intelligence and hardiness compared to normal individuals; also, there is a significant relation between the emotional intelligence and hardiness in addicts and normal individuals (p<0.05).

A Comparison of Type II Diabetic Patients With Healthy People: Coping Strategies, Hardiness, and Occupational Life Quality

“…In a primary investigation of a Persian form of the hardiness scale, psychometric indexes of three samples of students, athletes, and patients were reported. Alpha coefficients ranged from 0.88 to 0.93 for the commitment subscale, from 0.85 to 0.94 for the control subscale, from 0.89 to 0.95 for the challenge subscale, and from 0.87 to 0.94 for the total hardiness score, which indicated an appropriate internal consistency of scale ( 19 , 20 ). As the study was observational and the data were kept confidential, there seem to be no ethical conflicts associated with the study.…”

Satisfaction of Basic Psychological Needs in Patients with Substance Use Disorder and Normal Persons: A Research Based on Self-Determination Theory

“…Addiction is known as a destructive phenomenon, a social, health, economic, and cultural damage in many countries that has caused many serious concerns (1). Statistics show that the amount of substance use in various societies, especially among teens and young people, was noticeably increased in recent decades (2).…”

“…More horrible, 2.5 million people, one out of nine individuals during the last 12 months, were trying to cure it (3). Iranian society is also seriously considered to be faced with the menace of addiction as a biological, psychological, and social ill, and this phenomenon is changed to an immense challenge and problem with warning dimensions (1).…”