The Relationship between Emotional Intelligence and Occupational Stress of Rehabilitation Staffs working in the centers of mentally disabled adults

The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between emotional intelligence and occupational stress in the rehabilitation staffs of training hospitals of Tehran. This was a cross- sectional study which had been implemented on a sample of 169 selected from the total of 300 rehabilitation staffs working in the training hospital of Tehran and recruited by random cluster sampling in the study. Two Questionnaires were used: The Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire designed by Petrides and Furnham and HSE occupational Stress Questionnaire. Data obtained from this study were analyzed using Pearson correlation and multiple regression tests. The results showed that there is an inverse significant relationship between occupational stress and emotional intelligence (P< 0.001, r = - 0.33). There are, also, significant relationships between subscales of emotional intelligence including self-awareness (P= 0.031, r = - 0.18), social skills (P< 0.001, r = - 0.302), understanding other’s emotions (P= 0.006, r = - 0.238) and occupational stress. The results of multiple regressions indicated that the two subscales of understanding other’s emotions and social skills can be used for predicting occupational stress. This study confirmed relationship between emotional intelligence and occupational stress. Promotion of emotional intelligence through implementing training courses may lower rehabilitation staffs occupational stress or prevent it.