IS THERE A RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN TEAMWORK SKILLS, PERSONALITY STYLE AND EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE IN UNDERGRADUATE OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY STUDENTS?

Objectives: To investigate the relationship between teamwork skills, personality style and emotional intelligence in occupational therapy students. Methods: 117 undergraduate occupational therapy students completed the... [ view full abstract ]

Objectives: To investigate the relationship between teamwork skills, personality style and emotional intelligence in occupational therapy students.

Methods: 117 undergraduate occupational therapy students completed the Ten-Item Personality Inventory (TIPI), Genos Emotional Intelligence Inventory (GEII), and the Team Skills Scale (TSS). Data was analysed using multiple linear regression where the TSS was the dependent variable and the TIPI and GEII subscales were the independent variables.

Findings: When the TSS was the dependent variable and the GEII subscales were the independent variables, the total regression model accounted for 30.8% of the total TSS variance. In this model, it was also found that the GEII ‘Emotional Reasoning’ and ‘Emotional Management of Others’ subscales each made unique contributions of 8.3% and 2.4% of the TSS’s total variance. When the TSS was the dependent variable and the TIPI subscales were the independent variables, the total regression model accounted for 13.3% of the total TSS variance. In this model, it was also found that the TIPI ‘Extraversion’ and ‘Emotional Stability’ subscales each made unique contributions of 7.6% and 3.6% of the TSS’s total variance.

Practice & Education Implications: It appears that the personality styles and emotional intelligence factors of occupational therapy students are predictive of their team work skills.

Conclusion: Personality style and emotional intelligence factors are both predictive of undergraduate occupational therapy students’ team work abilities. Academic and practice educators should be aware of this and when introducing students to team work concepts, consider the impact of their personality style and emotional intelligence.