Emotional education in childhood and adolescence

Currently, the EMINA group is carrying out the Social-Emotional Intervention project supported by ICTs: development of responsibility and welfare of the educational community (PSI2017-84005-R), supported by the Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness. The aim of this research is to promote the social-emotional skills of adolescents, teachers and families through the development of a mobile app: emoTIC.  With this, it is intended to enhance personal and social responsibility, as well as the well-being of adolescents. The main researchers of the project are Inmaculada Montoya Castilla (UV) and José Antonio Gil Gómez (UPV).

The current research takes into consideration the results gathered from the project initiated in 2014, Enhancing psychological well-being and school coexistence in adolescents through education in emotions: longitudinal study (PSI2013-43943-R), supported by the Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness. In this research, an emotional education program was developed and applied to adolescents belonging to public and subsidized schools in the Valencian Community (Spain). The study verified the benefits of education in emotional competencies within the adolescents’ personal, school and family areas. Likewise, we were able to detect ways and procedures to apply emotional education in the classrooms that allow improving interventions and prevention in this area; as well as the need to train and support teachers.

At the same time, this intervention program was initiated as a result of the needs detected in the project started during 2011, Identifying the profiles of emotional competence in childhood for the improvement of coexistence among equals (PSI2010-18742), also supported by the Ministry of Science and Innovation. It was with this project that the group began a new stage in the development of emotional education, researching the importance of emotional competencies in the integral development of children, and considered working with the adolescent stage as a future objective.

The results gathered from the various studies carried out seem to suggest that adolescence is a complex period in which numerous changes occur at the personal, emotional, academic and social levels which can influence the mental health and well-being of teenagers. In this sense, social-emotional skills seem to be protective factors that influence positively towards well-being and protect against emotional and behavioural problems. We have also observed that self-esteem can be a protective factor against suicidal behaviour and self-harm in adolescents who have emotional symptoms, behavioural problems or difficulties in relationships with their peers.   

With regard to emerging adulthood, our intervention program in university students has shown promising results, as it seems to improve emotional intelligence, empathy and positive states of mind, as well as subjective well-being.

Teachers

One of our research areas is focused on the design, implementation and evaluation of emotional education programs and training for school and university teachers. A growing number of teachers are showing interest in learning more about their own emotional skills, not only to be able to apply emotional education in their classrooms, but also because they identify the benefits that these skills can have for their own professional and personal development. During 2016-2018, with CEFIRE’s support, emotional intelligence workshops have been held in Valencia as part of the ongoing training of teachers. The training included seven two-hour sessions, which were scheduled once a week for two and a half months. This programme is “MADEMO: development of emotional competencies for teachers”, and it is adapted to the teachers’ specific needs. The main objective is to train teachers’ emotional skills to reduce work-related stress (burnout) and improve their well-being. But it is also intended to train teachers so that they can implement emotional education by themselves in their classrooms, either through programmes or in a transversal way. The results of our intervention study indicated that emotional training was effective in promoting teachers’ mental health by reducing burnout and emotional symptoms. Their well-being also improved by increasing self-esteem and life satisfaction. We are currently working on a book proposal about the MADEMO program to make it accessible to all teachers and educators who are interested in the emotional development of their students and their own personal growth.

Prosocial, antisocial and criminal conduct

This research area intends to develop social-emotional competencies, prosocial behaviors and decision-making skills in adolescent offenders, to improve their personal well-being, mental health, social adjustment and quality of life.  Through the work that we carry out in this area, we aim to analyze the social-emotional competencies that can contribute to the processes of social adjustment, psychological well-being, a change in behavior and the definition of the life project of adolescents who, due to a variety of circumstances, are facing the enforcement of legal measures. 

We are currently developing an intervention program for young and adolescent offenders from Colombia and Spain, which aims to develop social-emotional competencies, decision-making skills and prosocial behavior. These components may provide resources for adolescents to structure their life project, improve their relationships and reduce their risk behaviours.  Similarly, professionals and centers are offered resources that facilitate integration processes through the program, and can even facilitate the management and handling of groups in centers with measures of a high permanency.