| Using the conceptual lens of Fredrickson's (1998, 2001) broaden-and-build model of positive emotions, this survey research examined the effects of trauma exposure, emotional intelligence, and positive emotions within the context of resilience. Participants were recruited through a community college e-newsletter and an email to professors. Using a survey website, inclusion criteria were enrollment as a current community college student, English proficiency, and age 18 years or older. The final sample consisted of 64 respondents who completed the background questionnaire, Traumatic Life Events Questionnaire (TLEQ: Kubany et al., 2000), Emotional Intelligence Scale (EIS: Schutte et al., 1998), Positive and Negative Affect Schedule-Extended (PANAS-X: Watson & Clark, 1994), and the Ego Resiliency Scale (ER-89: Block & Kremen, 1996).;The mean age of the sample was 30.02 (SD = 9.99), with participants' ages ranging from 18 to 57 years old. The majority of respondents were female (87.5%), self-identified as Caucasian (89.1%), and ranged in age from 18 to 57 years old. Slightly less than half (42.2%) of participants were employed full time, and the sample reported gross household incomes ranging from under ;A full 98% of participants reported that they had experienced at least one traumatic event in their lives, with 94% indicating that they had endured at least one traumatic event that caused fear, helplessness, or horror. Further, as indicated by the current sample's mean time since trauma score of 2.62 years (SD = 3.88), the majority of these traumatic events occurred in the recent past. Some of the more commonly reported traumatic events were sudden death of a close friend or loved one (70.3%), survival of a loved one following a life-threatening or permanently disabling condition (54.7%), threats to kill or cause participants serious physical harm (422%), sexual harassment (40.6%), domestic violence as an adult (37.5%), being stalked (28.1%), abortion (29.7%), and motor vehicle accidents (25%). As such, the mean level of trauma exposure score for the current sample was 3.84 ( SD = 2.70). Overall, this sample reported higher levels of trauma exposure, lower levels of emotional intelligence, similar levels of positive emotion, and higher levels of resilience than other comparable samples.;As expected, Pearson correlations revealed that resilience and positive emotion were significantly positively related (r = .64, p ≤ .01), and resilience and all four factors of emotional intelligence were significantly positively related: appraisal of emotion (r = .39, p ≤ .01), utilization of emotion (r = .48, p ≤ .01), emotion regulation (r = .54, p ≤ .01), and embracing emotion (r = .42, p ≤ .01). Further, positive emotion was significantly positively related to all four factors of EI: appraisal of emotion ( r = .51, p ≤ .01), utilization of emotion ( r = .58, p ≤ .01), emotion regulation ( r = .70, p ≤ .01), and embracing emotion ( r = .47, p ≤ .01). Contrary to previous research, level of trauma exposure was not related to resilience; however, one factor of EI, the utilization of emotion, significantly positively related to both trauma variables: level of trauma exposure (r =.34, p ≤ .01), and total number of traumas (r = .34, p ≤ .01). In addition, total number of traumas was also significantly positively correlated with a second factor of EI, appraisal of emotion ( r = .28, p ≤ .05), as well as with gender ( r = 28, p ≤ .05).;The results of regression analyses revealed that positive emotion was a significant predictor of resilience (accounting for 32% of the variance in resilience). In addition, participants' gross household income was also responsible for 10% of the variance in resilience. Overall, the study's findings lend support to Fredrickson's (1998, 2001) broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions. The results also signify the need for continued research into the mechanisms behind positive emotion, particularly those that build enduring personal resources, such as resilience.;Key Words: Positive emotion, resilience, emotional intelligence, trauma. |
