Impact of Emotional Competences on the Tunisian Athletes in the Period of Containment: Comparative Study between Tunisian Olympic Athletes and Non-Athletes ()
1. Introduction
Do athletes differ from non-athletes with regard to the impact of their emotional capacities during the containment’s period? The aim of this study is to assess the effectiveness of remote training sessions in order to maximize the emotional capacities associated with during containment. Emotional intelligence, a generic term for emotional competences can be defined as “the skill to perceive and express emotions, to integrate them in order to facilitate thinking, to understand and reason with emotions as well as to regulate them in one self and in the others” (Salovey & Mayer, 1990) . We could, therefore, say that emotional competence is an acquired skill based on emotional intelligence that leads to outstanding performances in the workplace. Emotional competences involve the dimensions of identifying one’s own emotions and those of the others, understanding, expressing, listening to, regulating and using them.
The emotional competences’ design as it was outlined in some literature is manifested in methods called “personal development”. The same methods are situated at the frontier of the humanist current and in the pursuit of performance (Rogers, 1966) . Emotional Competence (EC) has been the focus of growing attention from both the general public and the scientific community. Sometimes, better known as Emotional Intelligence (EI), this concept introduces reference to the way, individuals process intrapersonal or interpersonal emotional information (Petrides & Furnham, 2003) . To find out more specifically, it is a matter of how an individual identifies, expresses, understands, regulates and uses his or her emotions and those of others (Mayer & Salovey, 1997; Mikolajczak, 2009) . It must be emphasized that, we prefer the term “Emotional Competence” (EC) to that of “Emotional Intelligence” (EI) because it corresponds to recent results (Nelis et al., 2011) , Kotsou, Nelis, Grégoire, & Mikolajczak (2011) show that these competences, unlike intelligence, can be taught and learned. Individual differences related to emotions have been conceptualized as abilities (Mayer, Caruso, & Salovey, 2000) , personality traits (Petrides & Furnham, 2001) or a mixture of both. This has led to different and important lines of research and to some debates concerning the status of individual differences and emotions as traits (best assessed by personality tests) or abilities (best assessed by intelligence type tests).
Emotional Competence (EC) plays a key role in the demonstration of human behavior in which one challenges different emotional situations, responding to one’s needs. This includes the necessary efforts to maintain harmonious relationships with one’s environment. EC refers to individual difference in order to identify, understand, express, regulate and use one’s own emotions and those of the others (Brasseur et al., 2013) . Mikolajczak (2009) proposes a three-leveled CE that includes knowledge, abilities and related to emotions dispositions. An individual’s CE level implies that he or she has a sufficient knowledge to manage interpersonal conflicts through the controlled use of emotions as they apply to real-life situation. The level of ability associated with emotions does not depend on what people know but on what they are able to do. Substantial studies have established the importance of EC; Indeed, EC seems to influence most crucial spheres of life such as psychological well-being, physical health, social relationships and professional success. Psychologically, higher EC is for example associated with higher self-esteem, greater well-being and better life satisfaction (Gallagher & Vella-Brodrick, 2008; Schutte, Malouff, Simunek, McKenley, & Hollander, 2002) , and a decreased risk of developing psychological disorders or burnout (Mikolajczak, Menil, & Luminet, 2007) . This is not surprising in a meta-analysis because EC decreases the neuro-endocrine reactivity to stress and reduces the probability of adopting unhealthy behaviors such smoking, excessive alcohol consumption and reckless driving (Brackett & Mayer, 2003; Trinidad & Johnson, 2002) . In spite of the differences between the authors and their definitions, Mikolajczak, is developing a relative consensus out of the various works, five major emotional competences which are:
1) Identification which makes it possible to identify one’s own emotions and the emotions of the others;
2) Understanding where it is possible to understand the causes and consequences of one’s own and others’ emotions;
3) Expression that allows you to express your emotions in a socially acceptable way and at the same time allows the others to express theirs, too;
4) Regulation that helps you managing your own stress and emotions and those of the others;
5) Use that enables the use of one’s emotions and those of the others to increase their efficiency.
The aim of this study is to determine the differences between the emotional competences of athletes and non-athletes with regard to their interpersonal and intrapersonal emotional competences.
2. Methods
2.1. Participants
In accordance with the Code of Ethics of the psychological association, the participants involved in our research were volunteers and handed in their informed consent. The sample is composed of N = 30 (Tunisian athletes) and N = 33 (non-athletes), aged (between 14 and 26 years, ET = 3926).
2.2. Measurements
All subjects have completed the French version of the “Emotional Competence Profile” ECP (Brasseur et al., 2013) . A preliminary validation of the Arabic version of ECP questionnaire among Tunisian sports and non-sports teenagers proved that the Arab World could use the EPC questionnaire as a valid and reliable instrument. The scale consisted of 50 items rated on five-point scale, ranging from 1 (Completely disagree) to 5 (Completely agree) including two sub-scales of second order: intrapersonal CE and interpersonal CE. Each second order factor involves five first-order sub-scales: intrapersonal EC includes identifying, understanding, expressing, regulating and using one’s own emotions while interpersonal EC incorporates identifying, understanding, listening, regulating and the emotions of the others. Cronbach’s alphas concerning intrapersonal and interpersonal EC were in the order of 0.80, 0.84 for the total sample which would suggest an adequate internal consistency.
2.3. Procedures
Participants were asked to provide demographic information such as age, gender, whether they practiced any sport and in which sport discipline they were primarily involved. Both samples, the experimental group, “Tunisian sportsmen” and the group of students have been recruited on the database of the network and have completed the ECP questionnaire.
In the current research, ECP (Brasseur et al., 2013) has been used to assess EC. Participants answered all the 50 items using a five-point Likert scale questionnaire (ranging from “strongly disagree” to “strongly agree”. The inventory was assigned for assessing the five core competences, namely, Identification (I), Understanding (U), Expression (E), Regulating (R) and Emotion Use (U), separately and distinctly for oneself and for the others’ emotions. In further details, the assessment tool, was designed to quantitatively and separately study intrapersonal relationships, emotional competences (i.e., competences related to one’s own emotions) and interpersonal emotional competences (or competences related to the others’ emotions). In addition, The ECP produces an overall score associated with the overall level of emotional competence. Indeed, it has shown a satisfactory discriminant and convergent validity (Brasseur et al., 2013) . The mental coaching sessions spread over six weeks, from mid-March to the end of April, 2020, and had the following content:
1) Video sessions for psychological support accompanied by imagery exercises;
2) Breath control using the Cardiac Coherence method in order to manage containment stress;
3) Exchanges between groups of athletes, reporting testimonies concerning their containment’s experiences;
4) Exchange photos and videos on home activities and household chores.
2.4. Statistical Analyses
All statistical analyses have been carried out using the commercial software Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS, version 26.0, IBM, Chicago, IL, USA). The value data of p < 0.05 were regarded as statistically significant.
3. Results
The general descriptive characteristics of each item and sub-scale of the ECP are given in Table 1 and Table 2. The comparison of the two sports and non sport groups is shown in Figure 1. The reliability statistics are presented in Table 2.
Here, we point out that the coefficient value is 0.739, which is considered excellent since it exceeds the minimum required threshold of 0.70 (Nunnaly, 1978) . This tag, being arbitrary, is widely accepted by the scientific community. Accordingly, we would actually say that we obtain for this 50 item scale a satisfactory internal consistency.
The t-test analyses for interpersonal and intrapersonal subscales are shown in Table 3.
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Figure 1. Histogram of non elite and elite means ± SD.
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Table 3. Student’s t-test of both athletic and non-athletic groups (independent samples test).
Values in bold have significance levels alpha = 0.05.
4. Discussion
Our purpose, in this study, is to examine the emotional competences of athletes and their peers. The findings have brought strong support for the key research question: do athletes differ from non-athletes with regard to the impact of their emotional competences during the period of containment?
More specifically, significant discrepancies have been observed in the measurement. The EC play a key role in sport sciences. The studies carried out to date have yielded contrasting results. This document provides data concerning the questionnaire’s properties: “Emotional Competence Profile” (ECP) developed by Brasseur et al. (2013) , and administered to a sample of 30 Tunisian athletes and 33 non-athletes. However, from an applied sport psychological perspective, very few studies have explored the theoretical differences between athletes and non-athletes in terms of emotional competences, securing contradictory or mitigated evidences. Pasand (2010) , for example, found no difference between athletes and non-athletes in terms of EI, whereas Sohrabi, Garajeh, & Mohammadi (2011) discovered statistically significant differences. These results confirm both the link between the intrapersonal and the interpersonal EC dimensions and their relative independence. They support the relevance of the assessment of the two dimensions, separately. The convenience of distinguishing the two dimensions is illustrated in a recent study concerning talented students by Brasseur & Grégoire (Under preparation).
The use of ECP allowed reinforcing the results obtained previously, and more specifically, showing some specificity in EC profile of talented students. In comparison to controls, they had lower intrapersonal EC and higher interpersonal EC (while they find it difficult to identify, express and understand their emotions, they are particularly talented at regulating and using others’ emotions). These results which are corroborated are interesting both theoretically and practically (by showing asymmetries in the development of intrapersonal and interpersonal EC) (by suggesting areas for improvement).
Recent studies have shown that it is possible to develop ECs even at adulthood. The clinical availability of a tool that details an individual’s EC Profile and that helps us to find out the targeted purpose, seems to be relevant. From the same perspective, a meta-analysis developed by Durlak, Weissberg, Dymnicki, Taylor, & Schellinger (2011) and based on a sample of 213 studies has shown statistically positive effects, six months after an intervention in the form of SEL (Social Emotional Learning). These interventions were destined to improve students’ social and emotional competences. Indeed, the authors have observed improvements in their social behavior, academic performances, positive impacts on competences and social and emotional attitudes. On the hand, and on the basis that the primary function of emotional competences is to anticipate and adapt to evolving situations According to these results, athletes with high level of emotional competences, usually better anticipate the emotional consequences of a risk, which would allow them to make a better decision with less risk. It would also appear that athletes in team games differ from those in individual sports (The expression of emotional skills among individual and team sports male athletes, 2018) in that they develop a better self-awareness and the ability of self-regulation. These competences may therefore be highly required for adapting to stress and to situations of uncertainty.
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