Attachment styles and emotional intelligence of social educators working in youth centres: Relationship with work engagement

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.30827/relieve.v30i1.30446

Keywords:

attachment, emotional intelligence, work engagement, social educator, minors
Agencies: Ministry of Economy and Knowledge, Junta de Andalucía (CTS-578), Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (PID2021-127008OA-I00)

Abstract

The working environment of social educators working at youth centres is highly complex, with an additional challenge being the fact that the children under their care are often presented with a number of challenges. Certain variables related with affective development and emotional competencies are crucial for effective management of social work. The present research explores the relationships between attachment styles, emotional intelligence and work engagement among social educators working at youth centres catering to minors at risk of social exclusion in Andalusia. Present findings revealed significant patterns of association between attachment styles formed during childhood and emotional intelligence in educators working with such minors. It was observed that educators reporting secure attachments perceived themselves as to have a high ability to manage their emotions, whilst those reporting insecure attachments perceived themselves to have less ability. Secure attachment styles did not directly impact levels of work engagement. In contrast, professionals who perceived themselves as having a high ability to intelligently regulate their emotions showed higher engagement in terms of their job functions. Present findings suggest that the relationship of emotional intelligence with attachment and work engagement, plays a crucial role in determining levels of energy, enthusiasm and dedication exhibited by social educators in contexts of care provision for children at risk of social exclusion. This has important implications for the design of socioemotional interventions and support programs in social care provision at youth centres.

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Author Biographies

Rosario Cabello, University of Malaga

Rosario Cabello, PhD in Psychology, is associate professor of Developmental and Educational Psychology and member of the Emotions Laboratory of the University of Malaga (Spain), and of the International Society of Emotional Intelligence (IE). Her main line of research focuses on the development and education of emotional intelligence. Specifically, she is interested in analyzing individual differences in emotional skills as a function of age and gender; developing new ways of assessing EI in children and adolescents; and designing training programmes to improve people's EI.

Author contribution: RC co-designed the research study, conducted the data analysis and interpretation. Co-wrote the first draft with JAM. Co-wrote the final draft with PFB. All authors reviewed and approved the final manuscript.

Conflict of interest statement: RC state that they have no conflicts of interest in writing the present article.

Javier Álvarez-Mañas, University of Malaga

Graduate in Social Work from the University of Malaga. Master's Degree in Criminality and Social Intervention with Minors from the University of Malaga. Always concerned about the inclusion of all people in society, he has worked with groups such as homeless people, applicants and beneficiaries of International Protection and minors within the protection system. His research interests focus on analysing how the attachment of childcare workers can influence their personal and work adjustment and the children they work with.

Author contribution: JAM co-designed the research study. Collected the data. Co-wrote the first draft with RC. All authors reviewed and approved the final manuscript.

Conflict of interest statement: JAM state that they have no conflicts of interest in writing the present article.

José Carlos Vigo, Catholic University of Santa Fe

Doctor in Education from the Catholic University of Santa Fe and Post-Doctorate in Social Sciences from the University of Buenos Aires (UBA). He is Co-Director of the Doctorate in Education, Director of the Krínein Journal of Education at the Catholic University of Santa Fe, and Rector of the Instituto Superior Sanmartiniano in Posadas-Misiones. His research is related to emotional intelligence in secondary and higher education, sociology of education, evaluation and educational management.

Author contribution: JCV participated in data collection and provided input to the first draft. All authors reviewed and approved the final manuscript.

Conflict of interest statement: JCV state that they have no conflicts of interest in writing the present article.

Pablo Fernández-Berrocal, University of Malaga

Pablo Fernández-Berrocal, a PhD in Psychology, is a professor of psychology and director of the Emotions Lab at the University of Málaga, Spain. His current research interests are (1) experimental and correlational analysis of individual differences in emotional intelligence, (2) developing new ways to assess emotional intelligence, and (3) designing customized training programs for improving people's emotional intelligence.

Author contribution: PFB carried out the data analysis and interpretation. He co-wrote the final draft with RC. All authors reviewed and approved the final manuscript.

Conflict of interest statement: PFB state that they have no conflicts of interest in writing the present article.

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Published

2024-06-20

How to Cite

Cabello, R., Álvarez-Mañas, J., Vigo, J. C., & Fernández-Berrocal, P. (2024). Attachment styles and emotional intelligence of social educators working in youth centres: Relationship with work engagement. RELIEVE – Electronic Journal of Educational Research and Evaluation, 30(1). https://doi.org/10.30827/relieve.v30i1.30446

Issue

Vol. 30 No. 1 (2024): Emotional education in times of global crisis

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Special Section

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