DO THE DEMOGRAPHIC VARIABLES CONTRIBUTE TO EMOTION REGULATION AND EMPATHY AMONG NAVY PERSONNEL?

Abstract

"Education level and work duration are some of the factors that may enhance one’s understanding of the phenomena in their work environment. Specific improvements include comprehending other people’s perspectives, capably managing emotions, and espousing a receptive attitude. To examine these occurrences, a study was conducted involving 66 navy personnel from different academic backgrounds. Results showed that the education level of the participants contributed to 8.4% of the variance in cognitive empathy and 8.5% of the variance in emotion regulation. Navy personnel who scored high in terms of educational attainment also had high scores in cognitive empathy and emotion regulation. However, such effects were not found with respect to affective empathy. Work duration had no effect on the three dependent variables (cognitive empathy, affective empathy, and emotion regulation). This study’s outcomes may help us reflect on the reality that education level may help enhance our capacity and ability to regulate emotions. The findings were thoroughly discussed in comparison with past studies and relevant theories, with a focus on the personnel of a naval base located in Sepanggar, Kota Kinabalu in Sabah, Malaysia."