The Impact of Levels of Emotional Intelligence Development in High Schoolers with Intellectual Disabilities on Their Health Status

Abstract

Aim: To study the levels of development of emotional intelligence in high schoolers with intellectual disabilities and correlation with their health status. Materials and Methods: The experimental part of the research involved the use of the valid psychodiagnostic techniques (Hall’s method, the Mayer-Salovey-Caruzo Emotional Intelligence Test, ”Understanding Emotional States”, ”Human Drawing”), as well as methods of questioning and observation. We used the rank correlation coefficient according to the two-sided Student’s t-test in order to compare the results of the research. In experimental research involved 76 high schoolers in the age of 14-17 who studied in 7-9 grades. There were 45 children with intellectual disabilities and 31 high schoolers with normative development. Results: The conducted diagnostic work made it possible to establish both the integrative indicator of emotional intelligence and the levels of expression of its individual components. Low and medium levels of emotional intelligence development in high schoolers with intellectual disabilities was found: a decrease in the level of perception of emotions by expression; superficial perception of expressive features, vagueness of ideas about them; insufficient differentiation of the constituent elements of the emotional standard. Conclusions: It is proved that the low state of development leads to significant difficulties that arise during interaction with each other, and this primarily affects the further socialization and integration into society.