The Lens of Success

### **Chapter 4**

## Building Success: The Intersection of Emotional Intelligence, Self-Regulation, Grit and Mindset, and High Approval Teaching

*Susan Polirstok*

### **Abstract**

This chapter will explore how Emotional Intelligence, Self-Regulation, Grit and Mindset, and High Approval Teaching are building blocks for later life success and what teachers and parents can do to foster development of these important skills. Success in life depends on students being able to learn how to be emotionally intelligent, how to self-regulate one's behavior, how to take on academic challenges and persevere, and how to identify resources that can facilitate success. Learning about these skills and being able to perform them leads to success, not all at once and not in isolation, but with consistency and helpful feedback. Determining how to be emotionally appropriate in a given setting can generate acceptance from peers and adults. Children need to learn how to recruit reinforcement in the environment from teachers and parents. High approval interactions between children and significant others in the environment helps to create an atmosphere where children do not feel threatened and are encouraged to try out new behaviors and take on more challenging tasks. Reciprocity of approval often does not receive the attention that is warranted, when discussing what makes classroom and home environments conducive to positive and appropriate interactions.

**Keywords:** emotional intelligence, self-regulation, grit, mindset, and high approval teaching

### **1. Introduction**

This chapter will explore the how Emotional Intelligence, Self-Regulation, Grit and Mindset, and High Approval Teaching are building blocks for later life success and what teachers can do to foster development of these important elements. Success in life is everything, especially when considering the low literacy levels one might find in the prison population; prisons are filled with individuals who were not successful academically or socially in school. Helping students learn how to be successful is an important part of teaching and one that is not only based on academic achievement. One's emotional quotient (EQ ) may be more important than one's intelligence

quotient (IQ ) over the course of a lifetime [1]. Emotional intelligence involves not only being intelligent or aware of one's own feelings, but also being intelligent about the feelings of others.

Being able to "read" the body language, facial expressions, and voice tone of those in the immediate environment provides an opportunity to modulate or self-regulate one's behavior so that it appropriately responds to those in the immediate environment. If someone is upset and crying, entering the room, and persisting with humming a tune or maintaining a smile on one's face, would be inappropriate. Someone with good emotional intelligence would know that he/she would have to adjust or modulate their behavior so that it would convey genuine concern for the person who was crying. Being able to take on the perspective of someone else in the environment is a hugely important skill, where others in the environment would genuinely appreciate your sensitivity and kindness. Being "smart" about one's own emotions and being able to read the emotions of others provides a road map as to how to respond emotionally and behaviorally in various situations. Once someone can understand his/her own emotions and the emotions of others, he or she can then modulate or regulate responses so that they are appropriate to the context [2]. To paraphrase Maya Angelou, while you may not remember what someone said to you years ago, you will never forget how that person made you feel!

Reading the emotional context and regulating one's behavior accordingly are important first building blocks. The pursuit of success also must include tenacity and task persistence in the face of challenge, what Duckworth et al. (2007) referred to as "grit" [3]. Helping children to develop grit in the face of challenge involves the supports teachers establish in the classroom; students must learn to identify and use resources in the environment to solve problems [4]. This is best explained by Dweck's (2007) [5] notion of "mindset," a sense of one's own efficacy. Dweck discusses two kinds of mindset: fixed and growth. In a fixed mindset, students perceive their abilities as adequate for a given situation and take limited chances when engaging in academic tasks. They may see their intelligence as finite and do not wish to take chances that may show others they are not as intelligent as one may think.

For early adolescence in particular, the need to "blend in" or "not stand out for any reason" governs one's willingness to take on challenges academically or emotionally. For students in middle school, this posture defines many children who seem to do the very minimum at best. A growth mindset on the otherhand, is best illustrated by children who are willing to be challenged academically and who have confidence in themselves as learners that over time they can overcome challenges. Developing growth mindsets in children, how they feel about themselves as learners and their willingness to take on challenges, is significant in terms of later life success.

So how does a student develop self-efficacy? Believing in oneself as capable and up to the task does not develop in isolation. Developing feelings of success comes directly from one's experiences as a student both socially and academically, as a family member, and as a friend. Being able to experience oneself as successful in these different arenas requires opportunities over time that give rise to a sense of acceptance, competence, task completion, problem solving ability, and valuing oneself as a "good person." Developing self-efficacy does not happen in a specific moment or in a vacuum, but evolves over time, contingent on the amount of approval one receives in the environment from parents, teachers, siblings, and peers.

High approval teaching is one concrete way that students can develop selfefficacy. Not only is high approval teaching a way to develop a warm and supportive classroom environment, but high approval itself is reciprocal, and students in such

### *Building Success: The Intersection of Emotional Intelligence, Self-Regulation, Grit and Mindset… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.107327*

environments become engaged in ongoing cycles of positive outcomes [6–8]. Once a student has received approval, that student will keep engaging in whatever behaviors earned that approval initially. Reciprocal cycles of reinforcing consequences can be established and maintained; the student engages in appropriate behavior which the teacher reinforces, which then strengthens the target behavior and makes it more likely to occur, which in turn reinforces for the teacher that what he/she is doing is working and so the teacher again provides this reinforcement for the student when appropriate. Unfortunately, the same reciprocity is evident when cycles of disapproval are evident. A child engages in an inappropriate behavior, the teacher then scolds the child, which causes the child to engage in that behavior again or in another inappropriate behavior that will generate more teacher disapproval and so on. Teachers and students and parents and children often become locked in ongoing cycles of disapproval, which negatively impact one's sense of self-efficacy [8].

### **2. Methodology**

The research studies reviewed and cited in this chapter were selected because they fall into four discrete categories: theoretical foundations (emotional intelligence, self-regulation of behavior, grit and mindset, and high approval teaching); applied behavior analysis (ABA) methodology (self- evaluation, self-talk, classroom management); behavioral intervention strategies teachers and parents can implement with typical and special needs children (principles of reinforcement and punishment, selective ignoring, peer tutoring) and the application and extension of the principle of "reciprocity of approval" (mutually pleasing cycles of positive interaction). The last category, the application and extension of "reciprocity of approval," represents the primary focus of this author's research work across an extended academic career. "Reciprocity of approval" explores how high approval interactions between teachers and parents with individual children and/or classes of children is both interactional and transactional; the teacher or parent approves of a child's behavior and he or she in turn maintains that behavior or acknowledges the praise and approval of the teacher or parent by smiling, making eye contact, following rules, and completing tasks correctly. In turn, the parent or teacher feels reinforced for their efforts and the cycle begins anew. Parents and children and teachers and children can create ongoing cycles of mutually pleasing interactions, which help to build grit and resilience in children and can prevent teachers and parents from burning out. Overall, the selection of studies reviewed in this chapter emphasize the skills children need to learn to be able to recruit reinforcement in the environment from teachers and parents, which sets the stage for success overtime.

### **3. Emotional intelligence/emotional quotient**

EQ has been reported to be as significant a factor or even a more significant factor than IQ in predicting success in life including developing and maintaining friendships, graduating from high school and/or college, earning promotion at work, and staying married [9]. According to Goleman in his first book, *Emotional Intelligence* [10], IQ contributes only 20% to the determinants of life success. Peter Salovey and John Mayer [11] coined the term, Emotional Quotient (EQ ), and defined it as the ability to understand one's own feelings and the feelings of others in the environment as a way of regulating one's behaviors and choices. More concretely, Salovey and Mayer [11] and Goleman [10] conceptualized EQ as: (1) understanding one's own feelings and relying on them to make good decisions; (2) directing one's feelings to keep painful events and interactions from limiting one's ability to think; (3) encouraging oneself in the face of continued failure and other roadblocks; (4) delaying gratification; (5) empathizing and developing rapport with others; (6) reading non-verbal cues in the environment; and (7) monitoring one's emotions and regulating them so that they are displayed appropriately relative to setting and context.

The research offered by Goleman [10] in his book, *Emotional Intelligence*, suggests that school-age children and adolescents who have learned these skills seem to have lower rates of delinquency and substance abuse, score higher on achievement tests, and fare better in their later life careers and relationships as adults. Clearly one way to be successful is to be emotionally intelligent and be able to self-regulate one's own feelings and behaviors [12]. The extent to which a child can understand his/ her own feelings, make appropriate decisions, and stay the course despite various setbacks can be seriously compromised by distractibility, problems in focusing, and low self-esteem, characteristics commonly seen in children and adults with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Moreover, as children and adults spend more and more of their time engaged digitally, there are fewer opportunities to be engaged with others to be able to practice effective emotional responding. Helping a child to develop a positive sense of oneself as a competent and worthwhile individual requires less "screen time" and more opportunities for positive interactions in the environment.

Parents and teachers can help children and adolescents to better develop EQ by teaching them to: (1) distinguish differences among their feelings and to provide the correct vocabulary to describe various feelings; (2) express feelings in acceptable ways appropriate to given situational contexts; (3) read body language and other non-verbal cues in order to enhance communication; (4) treat others in the environment sensitively; and (5) try to see a situation from another's point of view. Parents and teachers must also recognize their own importance as models of emotional and behavioral responding in the environment, from which children and adolescents learn via direct observation. Discussions with children and adolescents about the emotional and behavioral responses adults in the environment elect to make provides insight into how "emotional" information is processed, responses regulated within given situational contexts, and ultimately viewed in the environment by others. Helping children and adolescents to be reflective about their own feelings and behaviors means that parents and teachers must find time after some inappropriate behavior has been displayed to process the event with the child or adolescent, pinpointing antecedents and consequences of that behavioral display and identifying more appropriate, alternative ways of responding. Understanding one's emotions and their appropriateness to a given situation is learned via observation of adults in the environment and being able to read social cues successfully.

More and more public schools are incorporating mindfulness training into their daily routines, helping students learn to feel calmer and more focused. According to the National Association of School Psychologists, "With a full repertoire of social skills, students will have the ability to make social choices that will strengthen their interpersonal relationships and facilitate success in school" [13]. Among the types of social skills that need to be trained are survival skills (listening, following directions, rewarding oneself) interpersonal skills (sharing, joining an activity, waiting one's turn), problem-solving skills (asking for help, deciding wat to do, apologizing), *Building Success: The Intersection of Emotional Intelligence, Self-Regulation, Grit and Mindset… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.107327*

and conflict resolution (peer pressure, dealing with bullies). Typical children learn these skills as a consequence of daily experiences and discussions with parents and teachers. However, for many children with disabilities, learning to read social cues in the environment and regulating one's actions so that they are appropriate requires direct instruction, either through a structured social skills group, psychotherapy, or a teacher/trainer skilled in helping students learn self-regulation.

### **4. Self-regulation of behavior**

Self-regulation or self-evaluation training is one type of metacognitive activity that can enhance both academic and social performance [14]. In self-regulation, children or adolescents are taught by either parents or teachers to monitor specific academic or social behaviors by providing the child with feedback concerning the frequency, accuracy, appropriateness, and intensity of those target behaviors and how they were rated in the environment by a parent, teacher, or peer. When the child or adolescent has come to understand the rating criteria, (s)he then rates his/ her own behaviors independently and matches those ratings to those conducted simultaneously by the parent, teacher, or peer. This matching component is extremely valuable in teaching the child or adolescent to understand the rater's perspective. Bonus points or other reinforcers can be earned for the degree of match between the child or adolescent and the rater, thereby increasing the motivation to evaluate his/ her own behavior from the rater's perspective. Overtime, once the degree of match between ratings is high, the child or adolescent can then rate his/her own behavior independently and even self-reward as well, if the parent or teacher has empowered the student to self-determine reinforcers and self-consequate when goals are met. As a training package, this not only teaches behavioral control, but heightens responsibility for one's actions [6].

Another cognitive behavioral strategy that parents and teachers can employ to help children or adolescents learn to self-regulate their emotions involves the use of "verbal self-instruction" or "self-talk" [15, 16]. This technique can be effective in reducing emotional outbursts by training through active rehearsal, a series of pivotal questions that the child or adolescent can ask her/himself in the face of increased feelings of anger or other problematic emotions or behaviors. The "self-talk" can serve to diffuse the child or adolescent's anger and delay response long enough to avoid a major altercation or deliberate sabotage of oneself. The key here is to train the child or adolescent to first recognize specific feelings and the depth of those feelings in each situation and to provide the child with a strategy to stop and explore what the behavioral/emotional options related to the active display of those feelings might be. For example, when the child or adolescent recognizes that (s)he is angry and starting to "lose it," a series of self-questions might be learned including: "What am I getting so mad about?" "What should I do?" "What's the best choice of action?" and "What's the worst choice I could make?" By the time the child or adolescent recognizes the emotion and "self-talks" the behavioral choices, (s)he may have already passed the moment when the outburst would have occurred. Through "self-talk," the child or adolescent may become more deliberate in evaluating response options and ultimately make better choices about which responses might be more appropriate, given the situational context and the ensuing consequence. By engaging in this technique, we can help children and adolescents avoid "emotional melt downs," helping to increase peer acceptance, limiting rejection, and strengthening the understanding that one's

behavior is based on choices one makes. "Self-talk" helps children to understand that their responses in the environment involve making choices, and that those choices can either be 'good' or 'bad' in terms of what might follow. This can be a powerful skill to learn in that a child can literally impact what happens to him/her in the environment by making 'good' choices.

### **5. Teachers and parents as emotional role models**

How teachers and/or parents deal with stress, anger, sadness, and fear themselves provides an emotional map for children and adolescents. The adage "do as I say, not as I do" may be problematic for adults who hide their own feelings behind a defensive posture. Challenging commonly held gender stereotypes as displayed in the media and discussing how one's responses may be different from those portrayed, can serve as a strong emotional compass for children and adolescents who constantly monitor what their parents and teachers do and say and how those responses are viewed in the community in terms of appropriateness. Simplistically, if you want a child or adolescent to show empathy for others or to demonstrate anger without being lost in it, a parent or teacher must be a responsible emotional model!

An important lesson for children and adolescents to learn is that emotional and behavioral responding is situationally governed. What might be appropriate to do or say at recess or on the block with friends may not be appropriate for the classroom or the work environment. This raises an interesting question. Who decides what makes something "appropriate for the setting?" The answer must be seen through the lens of the "significant rater" in that setting.

Helping children and adolescents to be reflective about their own feelings and behaviors means that parents and teachers must find the time after some inappropriate behavior or emotional outburst has been displayed to talk about what happened and why it happened. Alternative ways of responding more appropriately need to be explored. The best question a parent or teacher can ask a child or adolescent after an inappropriate emotion or behavioral response is "What should the child or adolescent do the next time?" Helping children and adolescents to explore what other emotional or behavioral choices might be more acceptable is where valuable learning takes place. Simply punishing a child or adolescent does not teach the correct response; punishment teaches a child what not to do. A parent or teacher's goal should be to help a child or adolescent identify better options for emotional and behavioral responding the next time a similar situation presents itself. This is where learning a vocabulary to express the "feelings" connected with emotions makes a big difference the next time the child or adolescent confronts a similar or comparable situation [17].

Students who do not have good Emotional Intelligence, behavioral self-control, and/or sustained on-task ability (characteristics often see in children with disabilities) typically do poorly in school, not only because of academic deficiencies but because they are often rejected by their peers. Not being able to "fit in" with peers and struggling academically often puts these children and adolescents in situations where they bond with other students who are seen as not successful in the environment as well. Overtime, this path can lead to dropping out of school, delinquent behavior, depression, and/or criminal activity. Breaking the cycle of failure and peer rejection from both IQ and EQ perspectives are complex challenges that teachers and parents need to be prepared to address, both academically and behaviorally [18].

*Building Success: The Intersection of Emotional Intelligence, Self-Regulation, Grit and Mindset… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.107327*

EQ and self-regulation can be important factors in achieving success not only in school, but in the world of work and in the social life of individuals. Being able to "read" what is warranted in terms of being emotionally and socially appropriate to the demands of a given setting, is an important component of later life success and acceptance. Moving beyond the social/emotional, how one performs academically in school in terms of task persistence, identification of resources to assist and bolster performance and willingness to take on academic challenges are essential components to later life success. These important elements are often referred to as Grit and Mindset [3, 5].

### **6. Grit and mindset**

Over the last number of years, concepts of Grit and Mindset have been given a lot of attention in the research literature in exploring what makes students successful. The middle school grades are an important developmental period where grit and mindset play significant roles in later life outcomes. Polirstok [4] cited the work of Balfanz et al. [19] in noting the degree of "student disengagement in high-poverty middle school grades, its impact on student achievement, and ultimately the role it plays in driving the nations' graduation rate crisis" (p.2). Young adolescents are especially interested in "fitting in" with their peer group and often work hard to "fly under the radar," so that they are not seen as different or smart or talented. Dweck [5] characterizes these students as being "closed" as learners, unwilling to take on academic challenges, and notes that they have a "fixed mindset."

Dweck's concept of fixed mindset is best explained as "an implicit theory about oneself that is defensive, not wanting anyone to see into one's real academic abilities or lack thereof" ([4] p. 2). Students with fixed mindsets view their own intelligence as finite or limited, without the ability to grow and develop. Polirstok [4] notes that "students who adopt a fixed mindset, may become trapped in a recursive pattern of low achievement, low motivation, and low effort" ([20] p. 4). The fixed mindset may result in academic avoidance of specific tasks. As Mawer [21] points out, avoiding a task can enable students to fool themselves into believing that they have not failed.

This notion of limited achievement is well supported by the 2019 U.S. reading and math achievement data for 8th grade and 12th grade students reported by the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), National Center for Educational Statistics (NCES), [22]. The data show that roughly 2/3 s of these students are not proficient in reading and math and that these gaps are chronic, persistent, and resistant to change over time. The question here would be what percent of those who are not proficient could be characterized as having a fixed mindset? While the answer to this question may be elusive, addressing the problem must begin early in students' school careers, beginning with learning to reading and engaging in mathematical thinking. The fix involves high approval teaching, lots of success in completing academic tasks, and access to high value reinforcers. One might argue that this fix seems overly simplistic but building an implicit theory of oneself as a successful learner requires consistent feedback about one's successes over time and extends across the school years all the way through college [23].

In contrast with a fixed mindset, a growth mindset is what Dweck [24] describes as a student who is willing to learn new concepts, and take on new academic challenges, even as the academic content becomes more complex. Students with growth mindsets believe that they can be successful in mastering this more challenging

content, even if it takes more time or requires them to identify resources that can help them to learn this new content. What is important to this group of students is their beliefs in themselves as learners who can be successful, even if they must struggle to achieve this result. Having a growth mindset will enable a learner to persevere; relying on his/her implicit theory of themselves as a learner gives them the impetus to keep working until mastery is achieved.

*Duckworth, Peterson, Matthews, and Kelly (2007) call this persistence in the face of challenge "grit." Students who are successful, able to sustain their effort, and ultimately reach their targeted goal over time are gritty. According to Hochanadel and Finamore (2015), "It appears that when teachers teach students how to persist, a growth mindset develops, thus improving grit to overcome any challenges" ([4] p. 2).*

The overlap of grit and growth mindset makes it difficult to know if grit fosters mindset? or if mindset fosters grit? and/or to what degree? To date, there are no definitive answers to these questions; understanding that both theories are so integrally intertwined requires that interventions with students must address both issues [25]. According to Polirstok [4], grit and mindset intervention strategies that teach students how to persist and make choices that lead to success can include: personal student narratives about overcoming obstacles and persevering [26, 27]; biographies and adolescent literature about well-known individuals in pop culture who have made difficult choices that have propelled them to success [28]; computer programs about mindsets [29]; choices and outcomes [20, 30]; self-evaluation [14, 31, 32] and selftalk protocols [15]; and training students to serve as peer tutors in order to strengthen their own ideas about following rules and on-task behavior that help students to be successful [7, 33, 34].

### **7. Motivating students for success: high approval teaching and building growth mindsets**

High Approval Teaching (HAT) can facilitate persistence, resilience, increased academic achievement, and foster a sense of self-efficacy. Most of the research I have conducted and explored over the mainstay of my career addresses the impact of high approval teaching. Discussions of classroom management typically highlight how high approval teaching helps to establish a warm classroom climate, an environment free of fear from answering questions incorrectly, and increased motivation to do well academically and behaviorally. My early research on reciprocity of approval between teachers and students [8] and peer tutors and tutees [7, 35] demonstrates that approval increases not only proacademic behaviors, but fosters increased appropriate social behaviors that prompt more approval from the teacher/tutor. Establishing cycles of reinforcement help students learn how to recruit reinforcement more effectively in the environment for being appropriate, a major shift from recruiting attention for inappropriate behavior. High approval teaching, coupled with high value reinforcers, can change the overall daily operation of a class and the trajectory of individual students from problematic to cooperative and on-task [36]. Once students experience themselves as successful, academically, and socially, students become *grittier* and display changes from fixed to growth mindsets.

The work of Paul Tough [27] at the University of Texas at Austin offers meaningful insight here. Tough discussed how minority freshmen felt, lacking confidence in

### *Building Success: The Intersection of Emotional Intelligence, Self-Regulation, Grit and Mindset… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.107327*

their ability as well as in their learning strategies, when enrolling in a rigorous science course. Tough had minority students who had completed this rigorous curriculum record digital messages for students to view. First, the minority students talked about where they came from and their experiences in high school, demonstrating that their experiences and backgrounds were similar to these new freshmen. The videos captured the students' fears about not fitting in at the University, about not feeling smart enough to succeed when they began, and then highlighted the actions and strategies they used to help them belong and succeed. The digital stories that were most effective emphasized the themes of belonging or growth mindset. Additionally, students read an article on how the brain can grow and change because of practice and new connections made. This directly challenged students who had a fixed mindset and believed intelligence was static. For the students who viewed these digital stories, they were able to complete the rigorous science curriculum and earn more credits than comparison peers. These digital stories helped to develop grit in these freshmen and an implicit theory of themselves as successful learners.

*This article, written by Tough about the program at the University of Texas at Austin, connects with a book he authored in 2012, titled How Children Succeed: Grit, Curiosity and the Hidden Power of Character [37] and to a more recent book authored in 2016, titled Helping Children Succeed: What Works and Why? [38]. In both these texts, Tough argues that overcoming the problems associated with growing up poor requires that students learn the skills associated with character including grit, curiosity, and an embrace of challenges that are linked with opportunities ([4] p. 3).*

In essence, developing grit and mindset can lead to success and increased academic, social, and vocational opportunities. Teachers need to create classroom environments that provide children with chances to see themselves differently as learners who can be successful.

### **8. Conclusion**

If you are reading this chapter, it is likely that you were successful in school. Try to identify what helped you to be successful and what motivated you when you were of school age? Chances are that today you have good emotional intelligence and know how to collaborate with peers and colleagues. How was this great skill set that you currently display developed? What elements did you learn in school? What elements did you learn at home or on your block when you played with other children? Can you identify some things your teachers or parents did with you that directly impacts your everyday functioning as a successful person? If you can answer some of these questions, you will get a good idea of what children in school and at home need to learn to be successful and how the topics discussed in this chapter can be useful in developing skills for success.

Emotional Intelligence, Self-Regulation, Grit and Mindset, and High Approval Teaching are building blocks for later life success. Teachers as well as parents have an important responsibility to help children grow and develop these important skills. Peer acceptance and self-efficacy as learners set successful children apart from those who struggle in school. Prisons are filled with adults for whom school was not a place of success. School success is the most important determinant of later life success. What makes someone successful in school and motivates them to do better is not only their academic ability, but their interpersonal skills as well as their desire to fit in.

As teachers and parents, we need to determine what social skills are deficient and how we go about addressing those gaps [31]. While some skills can be trained utilizing a whole class approach, other elements of self-regulation and emotional intelligence will need to be trained on an individual basis. The key here is understanding that acquiring these skills, especially for students who have disabilities, does not happen on automatic pilot. Like reading and writing, these skills require direct instruction, practice, and lots of feedback. Helping children learn to be successful is among the hardest jobs required of teachers and parents but represents the most important work we do!

### **Acknowledgements**

This chapter addresses topics that I have researched across my academic career that examine the impact of positive reinforcement across a variety of applied settings. I have been very fortunate to work with wonderful colleagues as co-researchers on many publications including Dr. Douglas Greer, Dr. Jay Gottlieb, Dr. Larry Dana, and Dr. Sandra Levy. As a faculty member and former Dean of Education at both Lehman College, CUNY, and Kean University, I am grateful for the ongoing support and feedback I have received from colleagues on the faculty from both institutions about my research over the course of my career.

### **Conflict of interest**

The author declares no conflict of interest with respect to this chapter.

### **Author details**

Susan Polirstok Professor of Special Education, Kean University, New Jersey, USA

\*Address all correspondence to: polirsts@kean.edu

© 2022 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

*Building Success: The Intersection of Emotional Intelligence, Self-Regulation, Grit and Mindset… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.107327*

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[28] Elish-Piper L. Parent involvement in reading. Illinois Reading Council Journal. 2014;**42**:59-63

[29] Shickler S, Waller J. The 7 Mindsets to Live your Ultimate Life. Excent. Austin, TX: Next Century Publishing Company; 2011

[30] Adams M. Teaching that Change lives: Mindset tools for igniting love of learning. Oakland, CA: Berrett-Koehler; 2013

[31] Polirstok SR. Understanding Social Skill Deficits of Mainstreamed Learning-Disabled Children and Specialized Strategies Teachers Can Use to Foster Greater Social Acceptance. Educational Resources Information Center: Clearing House on Urban Education; Institute of Educational Sciences, Washington, D.C.: *Building Success: The Intersection of Emotional Intelligence, Self-Regulation, Grit and Mindset… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.107327*

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[33] Alzahrani R, Leko M. The effects of peer tutoring on the reading comprehension performance of secondary students with disabilities: A systematic review. Reading and Writing Quarterly. 2017;**34**(1):1-17

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### **Chapter 5**

## Individual and Contextual Determinants of (mal)adjustment in College Students who Study Abroad

*Laura Di Giunta, Carolina Lunetti, Silvia Pagliarani, Giulia Gliozzo, Alessia Teresa Virzì, Clementina Comitale and Chiara Riccioni*

### **Abstract**

This study focuses on a sample of college students who study abroad and the individual and contextual factors that, interacting with each other, may affect their (mal)adjustment. Studying abroad is an immersive experience that could potentially bring great benefits for students' careers and personal growth, but at the same time, without the right tools, can lead to the risk of students' maladjustment. Self-efficacy in dealing with negative emotions and empathic self-efficacy were considered as individual factors, and an inclusive teaching environment was considered as the contextual factor necessary for promoting youths' adjustment (prosocial behavior and academic performance) and for preventing maladjustment (internalizing and externalizing problems). American college students (169 mean Age = 20.59, SD = 1.59; 78% males) participated to this study. A path analysis model showed that: internalizing problems were negatively predicted by self-efficacy beliefs in dealing with negative emotions; externalizing problems were negatively predicted by self-efficacy in dealing with negative emotions; prosocial behavior was positively predicted by empathic self-efficacy, self-efficacy beliefs in dealing with negative emotions, and inclusive teaching; scholastic performance was positively predicted by inclusive teaching.

**Keywords:** abroad students, self-efficacy, inclusivity, (mal)adjustment

### **1. Introduction**

Students' adjustment and well-being are the results of the interaction between individual and environmental factors. College students' mental health is a major issue to be dealt with considering that problems such as polysubstance abuse and dependence are more common among college-aged individuals [1, 2], as well as depression and suicide attempts [3].

Studying abroad is seen as one of the most effective ways of: (a) building students' global awareness and competence; (b) empowering cross-cultural competencies, interpersonal skills in problem-solving, and intercultural awareness [4–6]. College students who study abroad must face many challenges arising from interfacing and interacting with a new culture while living by themselves and taking care of their education. For example, one issue is that college students more than double their weekly alcohol use while abroad and, even if most of them reduce their drinking upon return, those who drink the heaviest tend to return home drinking at higher levels [7]. Therefore, having the personal resources and a supportive environment is a matter of crucial relevance to promoting psychophysiological health among these students.

For the purpose of this chapter, we considered as indicators of adjustment students' academic performance and prosocial behavior; conversely, we considered as indicators of students' maladjustment and their internalizing and externalizing problems. Finally, we examined the predictive values of individual factors, such as selfefficacy beliefs, and contextual factors, such as an inclusive teaching environment.

Among the individual factors, self-efficacy represents one of the key elements to improve youths' adjustment and well-being. Self-efficacy represents an important resource as it reflects the unique capability of humans to learn from experience and to handle challenging life situations [8]. Self-efficacy is defined as a person's belief of being able to successfully reach the desired outcome [8]: self-efficacy beliefs have an impact on the feeling of accomplishment, leading to a virtuous circle, therefore, if a person experiences success, this will contribute to building up self-efficacy, enhance their motivation and capabilities, and broaden their interests [8].

Specifically, empathic self-efficacy and self-efficacy in dealing with negative emotions have been proven to be essential in promoting youths' adjustment [9, 10].

Furthermore, emotion regulation is of high importance when it comes to adapting to various situations to meet the expectations of social and cultural environments [11]. The capacity for self-regulation is one of the core features of human agency in the social cognitive theory [12]: perceived self-efficacy plays a pivotal role in this process of self-regulation because it affects actions not only directly, but also through its impact on cognitive, motivational, decisional, and affective determinants [11]. According to Bandura and colleagues [10], perceived self-efficacy to regulate negative emotions is negatively associated with depressive symptoms and delinquent conduct, and positively associated with prosocial behavior both directly and indirectly through its impact on perceived academic self-efficacy, self-regulatory efficacy, and empathic self-efficacy.

Empathy, on the other hand, could be considered one of the main predictors of interpersonal functioning, of the development of meaningful affective bonds, and of understanding others [13]. Perceived empathic self-efficacy has been found to be associated with self-esteem, psychological well-being [14], and prosocial behavior [15].

Prosocial behavior refers to voluntary actions undertaken to benefit others [16]. It includes a variety of behaviors, such as sharing, donating, caring, comforting, and helping. It is often associated with altruism because both pursue others' good and may imply common components such as empathic concern and sympathy [17, 18]. Prosocial behavior has been proven to be positively associated with well-being, for example, helping others increases overall happiness of one's own [19].

Self-efficacy beliefs are also negatively associated with internalizing (anxiety, depression, and somatic complaints) and externalizing problems (aggressive and rule-breaking behavior). In particular, self-efficacy beliefs in dealing with negative emotions reflect one's capability to deal with difficult situations and stressors that

### *Individual and Contextual Determinants of (mal)adjustment in College Students who Study… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.108238*

involve the insurgence of negative feelings, such as anger, irritability, discomfort, and sadness [20]: people with low self-efficacy in dealing with negative emotions usually engage in an emotion-oriented coping strategy that could lead to an inwardoriented reaction, also resulting in a higher risk of depressive symptoms, anxiety, and self-harm behaviors [21–25]; or, the same emotion-oriented reaction could lead to an outward-oriented reaction, resulting in the expression of anger outbursts, disruptive behaviors, delinquent conductus directed toward the surrounding environment and toward other people [10, 22–24, 26].

For what concerns contextual factors, the inclusivity of the college environment that deals with different students with unlimited individual differences in terms of personality, different cultures, and principles could play a fundamental role in promoting psychological health and adjustments of students who study abroad.

Therefore, in order to improve abroad students' mental health and well-being, reflected by their enhanced prosocial behavior and academic performance, and reduced internalizing and externalizing symptoms, it is relevant to examine the role played by individual factors, such as self-efficacy beliefs in dealing with negative emotions and empathic self-efficacy, that allow the students to face difficult challenges and to deal with theirs and others' emotions, as well as contextual factors, such as an inclusive environment that welcomes students' individual, cultural, and social differences.

According to previous studies on the role of empathic self-efficacy and of selfefficacy in dealing with negative emotions in promoting youths' adjustment [10, 18], as well as those ones on the role of inclusive teaching in predicting youths' well-being [27–31], the overall aim of the present chapter consists of examining the contribution of empathic self-efficacy, self-efficacy in dealing with negative emotions, and inclusive teaching in explaining prosocial behavior, academic performance, internalizing and externalizing problems, in a sample of college students who study abroad.

### **2. Methods**

### **2.1. Participants**

Participants were a sample of 169 American college students (mean *Age* = 20.59, SD = 1.59; 78% males) from Temple University, in the United States, who were studying abroad in Rome, at Temple University Rome (TUR).

Years of education for mothers and fathers of those college students were 11.01 (SD = 7.74) and 10.77 (SD = 7.05), respectively.

Regarding participants' status, 82,2% of college students reported being single, 4,8% reported being married, 2,7% reported to be cohabitating, and 10,3% reported being in an exclusive relationship but not living together.

Regarding participants' ethnicity, 82% of participants were Caucasians, 7,2% were African American, 8,6% were Hispanic, and 2,2% were Asian.

### **2.2. Procedure**

After receiving the IRB approval from the Ethics Committee of the Department of Psychology, La Sapienza University of Rome, a web link on the Qualtrics Platform was created, containing both the consent form and the online survey in English. The average time duration to complete the survey was around 20 minutes.

Data collection was conducted in May and April, and in November and December 2019. This project was advertised to all the TUR social media and with flyers at the TUR campus.

### **2.3. Measures**

*Social desirability*. Participants' social desirability was measured via the 13-item Social Desirability Scale-Short Form, which has demonstrated reliability and validity across various cultures [32]. Previous cross-cultural findings with our sample support the validity of this scale [33]. Participants were asked whether each of the items (e.g., "I'm always willing to admit it when I make a mistake") described them (1 = "Yes") or did not describe them (0 = "No"). Responses were averaged, with higher scores indicating greater social desirability. Cronbach's alpha for the total score of social desirability was 0.60.

*Prosocial behavior*. Participants' prosocial behaviors were measured via 15 items [33], on a five-point Likert scale (from 1 = never/almost never; to 5 = almost always/ always true), which assesses the frequency by which students apply behaviors of helping, sharing, and comforting (e.g., "I try to help others"). Cronbach's alpha for the total score of prosocial behavior was 0.92.

*Academic performance*. Participants were asked to report their grades in major university courses according to the grading system in North America (see **Figure 1**).


### **Figure 1.**

*North America grading system.*

*Internalizing and externalizing problems.* Participants were asked to fill in the Adult Self-Report questionnaire (ASR) [34] to assess their internalizing and externalizing problems. The questionnaire used in the present contribution consists of 76 items that are designed to have useful information on the behavior and emotional reactions of participants in different areas, such as academics and social skills. Participants' responses were recorded on a Likert scale (where 0 = not true, 1 = somewhat or sometimes true, and 2 = very true or often true). For the purpose of this chapter, we considered 41 items of the internalizing composite score (e.g., "I am unhappy, sad or depressed") and 35 items of the externalizing composite score (e.g., "I steal"). Participants were asked to answer those items by thinking about their behavior in the previous 6 months (internalizing problems alpha=0.94; externalizing problems alpha=0.88).

*Empathic self-efficacy* [10, 14]*.* Participants were asked to respond to a six-item scale that encompass their personal efficacy to read and understand others' emotions, needs, and feelings (sample item e.g. "How well can you recognize when someone wants comfort and emotional support, even if he/she does not overtly exhibit it?") on a 5-point Likert scale (from 1= not well at all, to 5= very well). Cronbach's alpha reliability coefficient was 0.87.

*Self-efficacy in dealing with negative emotions* [10, 21]*.* Participants were asked to respond to a 22-item scale that encompasses their personal efficacy to manage negative emotions, such as sadness, anger, shame, and guilt, in several situations (sample *Individual and Contextual Determinants of (mal)adjustment in College Students who Study… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.108238*

item e.g. "How well can you reduce your upset when you don't get the appreciation you feel you deserve?") on a 5-point Likert scale (from 1= not well at all, to 5= very well). Cronbach's alpha reliability coefficient was 0.94.

*Inclusive teaching.* We considered two sub-scales, adapted from the "Iowa Cultural Understanding Assessment – Client Form" [35], as part of a project that aimed to promote the cultural competence of staff in educational settings. Specifically, participants were asked to respond to five items relating to the perception of the role of professors in promoting an inclusive academic environment (e.g., item "On average, how easy do you think it is to ask for an individual meeting with your professors?"; "On average, how much do you think your professors are willing to listen your requests in the academic field?") on a 10-points Likert scale (1 = not at all; 10 = fully). Cronbach's alpha for the total score of an inclusive academic environment promoted by teachers was 0.71

Furthermore, participants were asked to respond to seven items related to the perception of the role of university staff in promoting an inclusive academic environment (e.g., item "TUR staff understands the ideas that I or others in my culture might have") on a 5-points Likert scale (1 = strongly disagree; 5 = strongly agree). Cronbach's alpha for the total score of an inclusive academic environment promoted by the TUR staff was 0.95.

Considering that Pearson's correlation between the two scales was equal to 0.39, p<.01, a single construct of inclusive teaching was created by averaging the two scores.

### **2.4. Statistical analyses**

We preliminarily computed the descriptive statistics (mean, standard deviation, skewness, and kurtosis) of the studied variables for the total sample and the Pearson's correlations among them using SPSS 19.0 software (SPSS Inc.)

To further investigate the identified associations among the variables, a path analysis model using MPlus 8 statistical software [36] has been implemented considering empathic self-efficacy, self-efficacy in dealing with negative emotions, and inclusive teaching as predictors, participants' prosocial behavior, academic performance, internalizing problems and externalizing problems as outcomes, and participants' gender and social desirability as covariates. We also estimated the correlations among the predictors and the correlations among the outcomes. The following parameters were used to evaluate the model's goodness-of-fit: Chi-square goodness-of-fit (χ <sup>2</sup> ) with its degrees of freedom (*df),* comparative fit index (CFI), Tucker–Lewis Index (TLI), root-meansquare error of approximation (RMSEA), and standardized root-mean-square residual (SRMR). In addition to nonsignificant χ <sup>2</sup> , we also considered CFI and TLI values > .90 [37], RMSEA < .07, and SRMR < .08 [37] as indicators of acceptable model fit.

### **3. Results**

### **3.1. Descriptive statistics and correlation analyses**

**Table 1** shows the means, standard deviations, skewness, and kurtosis for all the examined variables for the total sample. Values less than 2 for univariate skewness and less than 5 for univariate kurtosis were used as criteria or evaluating univariate normality [38].

**Table 2** shows the Pearson's correlation implemented on the full sample among the studied variables.


### **Table 1.**

*Descriptive statistics.*


### **Table 2.**

*Correlation analyses.*

The results show moderate positive significant associations between college students' prosocial behavior and empathic self-efficacy (.390\*\*), self-efficacy in dealing with negative emotions (.400\*\*), inclusive teaching (.413\*\*); a marginally significant association between college students' academic performance and inclusive teaching (.205+ ); moderate and negative significant associations between internalizing problems and self-efficacy in dealing with negative emotions (-.558\*\*) and between externalizing problems and self-efficacy in dealing with negative emotions (-.376\*\*); a moderate and positive significant association between participants' social desirability and their externalizing problems (-.229\*\*).

*Individual and Contextual Determinants of (mal)adjustment in College Students who Study… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.108238*

### **3.2. Path analysis**

To examine the effects of participants' empathic self-efficacy, self-efficacy in dealing with negative emotions and inclusive teaching on internalizing and externalizing problems, prosocial behavior, and academic performance, we implemented a path analysis model while controlling for the effects of participants' gender and social desirability, as covariates. This model fitted very well data: χ<sup>2</sup> (9)= 11.20, *p* = .26; RMSEA = 0.04 (90% CI 0.00, 0.12), CFI = 0.98, TLI = 0.94, SRMR = 0.04).

It emerged that: self-efficacy in dealing with negative emotions negatively predicted participants' internalizing and externalizing problems and positively predicted prosocial behavior; empathic self-efficacy positively predicted participants' externalizing problems and prosocial behavior; and inclusive teaching positively predicted participants' scholastic performance and prosocial behavior. Regarding covariates it emerged that: participants' social desirability positively predicted externalizing problems, and negatively predicted self-efficacy in dealing with negative emotions; it also emerged that women reported higher academic performance and lower self-efficacy in dealing with negative emotions than men (**Figure 2**).

### **Figure 2.**

*Path analysis model.*

*Note***.** \*= p < .05; \*\*= p < .01. Only significant standardized coefficients are reported. Gender: 0 = women, 1 = men.

### **4. Discussions**

The overall objective of this chapter was to examine the impact of empathic self-efficacy, self-efficacy in dealing with negative emotions, and inclusive teaching in affecting psychosocial and scholastic adjustment of college students studying abroad. Prosocial behavior, academic performance, and internalizing and externalizing problems were considered as outcomes.

Our first objective consisted of examining means, standard deviations, skewness, and kurtosis for all the studied variables for the total sample. Our second objective was to examine the associations between study variables. Consistently with the literature focused on the role of self-efficacy beliefs in affecting prosocial behavior [17, 39], results from the Pearson's correlation analyses showed moderate positive significant associations between college students' prosocial behavior and empathic self-efficacy, self-efficacy in dealing with negative emotions, and also inclusive teaching; furthermore, results showed also a marginally significant association between college students' academic performance and inclusive teaching, further confirming the beneficial role played by an inclusive educational environment in promoting students' social and academic adjustment [40].

In addition, in line with the literature suggesting that low levels of self-efficacy in dealing with negative emotions could be associated with internalizing and externalizing symptoms [10, 14, 21–24], results show moderate and negative significant associations between internalizing problems and self-efficacy in dealing with negative emotions and between externalizing problems and self-efficacy in dealing with negative emotions.

Finally, results showed a moderate and positive significant association between participants' social desirability and their externalizing problems. This could be interpreted as the participants' tendency to avoid giving responses that are not socially desirable that regard the tendencies to show aggressive and disruptive behaviors toward other people, in order to give a better image of themselves [41–43].

Our third and final objective was to further investigate the identified associations among the variables through the implementation of a path analysis model considering participants' prosocial behavior, academic performance, internalizing problems, externalizing problems as outcomes and empathic self-efficacy, self-efficacy in dealing with negative emotions, and inclusive teaching as predictors, while accounting for the correlations between the predictors, the correlations between the outcomes, and the impact of two covariates on the study variables, namely, students' gender and social desirability.

In agreement with previous studies [15, 39], it emerged the significant and positive effect of both empathic self-efficacy and self-efficacy in dealing with negative emotions on prosocial behaviors. Accordingly, an increased capability to perceive themselves as able to face challenges and difficult situations that often involve the insurgence of negative emotion, and the perceived capability to not feel overwhelmed by the others' emotions, but instead being able to feel other people while being helpful to them, could be considered important predictors of prosocial behavior [17, 39].

Furthermore, in line with our initial hypothesis about the role of inclusive teaching in promoting students' adjustment [28–30], also inclusive teaching significantly and positively predicted prosocial behavior. Therefore, it is reasonable to think that an environment that is open and welcoming to its students' needs and individual differences, promotes prosocial behavior among students.

Furthermore, according with previous studies**,** academic performance was positively and significantly by inclusive teaching. This is interesting considering that the literature is not still fully clear about this association [44]. For example, Fruth and Woods [45] questioned whether an inclusive environment would be beneficial also for those students who did not have any disability in a class with disabled students, and the results were not consistent: they had about the same academic performance, with a slight increase only in a few subjects and a decrease in others.

*Individual and Contextual Determinants of (mal)adjustment in College Students who Study… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.108238*

This means that these associations need more investigation, considering the heterogeneity of students and educational systems, this could be a challenging process.

In addition, consistent with previous studies [21–24] suggesting that the inability to regulate negative emotions is an important predictor of negative affect and anxiety/ depression, in the present study it emerged that self-efficacy in dealing with negative emotions significantly and negatively contributes to explain internalizing problems.

Lastly, consistent with previous research which supported that self-efficacy beliefs play a key role also in preventing externalizing problems [10], it was found that self-efficacy in dealing with negative emotions significantly and negatively predicted externalizing problems.

Unexpectedly, it emerged a positive association between empathic self-efficacy and externalizing behaviors. It might be speculated that being capable of understanding others' needs can be also a tool to be used against others and, thus, connected also with externalizing and antisocial behaviors. However, this result certainly needs further analysis to be corroborated.

Regarding study's covariates, participants' social desirability positively predicted externalizing problems, and negatively predicted self-efficacy in dealing with negative emotions. Finally, women reported higher academic performance and lower self-efficacy in dealing with negative emotions than men.

### **5. Limitations, future directions, and implications**

The present study has some limitations.

First of all, the sample is relatively small in its size, thus limiting the generalizability of the study's findings.

Also, considering that we are dealing with students who study abroad, that come from different environments and ethnicities, and that could affect self-efficacy beliefs [46]. Another important limitation of the present contribution consists of not having considered the role of students' socio-economic status that could affect the identified associations among the studied variables. Furthermore, the examined data are cross-sectional in their nature, thus preventing any causal relations among the study variables. Future research could overcome these limits by implementing longitudinal designs to examine the impact of the considered predictors on college students' psychosocial well-being. Although the study has several limitations, it is one of the few studies focused on a sample of college students' who study abroad considering both individual and contextual determinants of their psychosocial well-being.

This study's findings also provide useful information in terms of intervention programs aim at promoting well-being of college students who study abroad.

### **6. Conclusions**

The purpose of this study was to investigate the contribution of individual and contextual factors in determining (mal)adjustment of college students who study abroad. The opportunity of studying abroad is one of the best ways to build students' global awareness and global competence, ranging from cross-cultural competencies and interpersonal skills in problem-solving, to intercultural awareness [4–6]. Despite the major benefits of this experience, studying abroad could also lead to some risks concerning students' physical and mental health [47], as they could present culture

shocks, homesickness, and separation anxiety [48]; as well as the expression of risky behaviors [7]. Therefore, it is very important that these students have the right tools to engage in this opportunity and to be ready to face all the possible risks associated with it. A crucial personality factor for the student who studies abroad that needs to be addressed is self-efficacy in the domain of both emotion regulation and interpersonal relationships [9]. Specifically, self-efficacy in dealing with negative emotions has been found to increase attitudes in prosocial behavior and decrease delinquent behaviors [11, 22]; and empathic self-efficacy contributes to prosocial behavior both cross-sectionally and longitudinally [11, 15].

As for the contextual factors, inclusive teaching has been considered important for students' well-being [29, 30].

Therefore, the present study contributed to highlight those factors that promote psychological well-being in students who study abroad and that provide them with the necessary tools (both internal and contextual) to make the most of the study abroad experience, where they can feel both up to the task of facing all the opportunities that arise, as well as protected by an environment that accepts them in their uniqueness.

### **Acknowledgements**

We thank students who participated in the project and researchers who collected data.

### **Conflict of interest**

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

### **Author details**

Laura Di Giunta\*, Carolina Lunetti, Silvia Pagliarani, Giulia Gliozzo, Alessia Teresa Virzì, Clementina Comitale and Chiara Riccioni La Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy

\*Address all correspondence to: laura.digiunta@uniroma1.it

© 2022 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

*Individual and Contextual Determinants of (mal)adjustment in College Students who Study… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.108238*

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## *Edited by Simon George Taukeni*

This book is a collection of chapters addressing numerous features of motivation and success. It includes five chapters divided into two sections: "The Lens of Motivation" and "The Lens of Success". The book demonstrates how motivation can breed success with chapters on entrepreneurship, innovation, socio-culturalism and more.

Published in London, UK © 2023 IntechOpen © agsandrew / iStock

Motivation and Success

Motivation and Success

*Edited by Simon George Taukeni*