The Effect of Transactional Analysis Training On Emotional Intelligence In Health Professions Students

Abstract

\n BackgroundWe evaluated the effect of psycho-educational training in emotional intelligence (EI) and transactional analysis (TA) (TEITA) on EI in health professions undergraduates, post-training and at 1-month follow-up. MethodsA total of 34 participants participated in the study where 17 participants were in TEITA group and another 17 were in control group. A quasi-experimental nonrandomised, controlled cohort was conducted, in which participants in TEITA group were introduced to EI and TA concepts on a weekly basis for four weeks, at 90 minutes each time, and provided with opportunities for experiential sharing of emotions and coping mechanisms experienced in the previous week. Both TEITA and control groups received weekly EI and TA reading materials. All completed the 16-item Wong and Law EI Scale at baseline and post-training. Training group also completed the questionnaire at 1-month follow-up. Wilcoxon Signed Ranks and Mann Whitney tests were used to analyse within group and between group changes in EI scores. ResultsBaseline EI scores in TEITA group were lower than control group. On completion of TEITA, EI scores in TEITA group increased, and differences were not detected between groups. Within TEITA group, paired increases in all domains were statistically significant, whereas in the control group, paired increase was only detected in the domain addressing regulations of emotion (ROE). Pre to post-training increases in EI scores were statically significantly greater in TEITA compared to control groups. At the 1-month follow-up, EI were sustained. ConclusionThe psycho-educational training based on EI and TA is effective in enhancing EI in health professions students. Future research should investigate the effect of such training on observable inter-personal and socio-economic behaviours.