This research aimed to investigate the contributions of emotions and Emotional Intelligence (EI) to social work practice with children and families in Malaysia. A mixture of methods within an ethnographic approach was used. The Assessing Emotions Scale (AES) (Schutte et al., 2007) was completed by 105 child social workers. The levels of EI and differences in EI according to certain demographic characteristics were identified. Individual interviews with 25 child social workers were conducted to explore their perceptions concerning emotions and EI in the workplace. Observations were carried out over a period of three months to investigate how emotions were expressed in terms of behaviour. The quantitative results showed that levels of EI were high (mean=131.69, SD=12.483). The workers were reported to be emotionally intelligent in perceiving emotions, dealing with their own and others’ emotions and utilising emotions in their professional conduct. There were no significant differences by gender (p-value=0.367 > 0.05), marital status (p-value=0.694 > 0.05), age group F (d=3, 101), P > .05=1.468) or length of service F (d=4,100), P > .05=0.331), but there was a difference with regard to educational level F (d=3,101), P < .05=6.878). The qualitative research findings seemed to show that skills in empathising, expressing and regulating one’s and others’ emotional experiences, as well as religious practice factors, contributed to EI. The qualitative research findings also revealed the strength of religious beliefs in Malaysian social workers, which facilitate the qualities of EI. The present study implies that the spiritual and religious dimension of practice should not be ignored in social work education and training.

This research aimed to investigate the contributions of emotions and Emotional Intelligence (EI) to social work practice with children and families in Malaysia. A mixture of methods within an ethnographic approach was used. The Assessing Emotions Scale (AES) (Schutte et al., 2007) was completed by 105 child social workers. The levels of EI and differences in EI according to certain demographic characteristics were identified. Individual interviews with 25 child social workers were conducted to explore their perceptions concerning emotions and EI in the workplace. Observations were carried out over a period of three months to investigate how emotions were expressed in terms of behaviour. The quantitative results showed that levels of EI were high (mean=131.69, SD=12.483). The workers were reported to be emotionally intelligent in perceiving emotions, dealing with their own and others’ emotions and utilising emotions in their professional conduct. There were no significant differences by gender (p-value=0.367>0.05), marital status (p-value=0.694>0.05), age group F (d=3, 101), P>.05=1.468) or length of service F (d=4,100), P>.05=0.331), but there was a difference with regard to educational level F (d=3,101), P<.05=6.878). The qualitative research findings seemed to show that skills in empathising, expressing and regulating one’s and others’ emotional experiences, as well as religious practice factors, contributed to EI. The qualitative research findings also revealed the strength of religious beliefs in Malaysian social workers, which facilitate the qualities of EI. The present study implies that the spiritual and religious dimension of practice should not be ignored in social work education and training.

The aim of this study was to examine what students with a foreign background think about mental illness (students at Karlstad University, between the ages of 19-25 years old), that are born in the Middle-East or have parents from the Middle-East. These students have been living in Sweden for more than five years. It was a qualitative study with ten interviews, and the interviews were analyzed thematically. In order to perform the interviews, an interview guide was used. The interview guide consisted of 20-30 questions, depending on how the interview went and whether any supplementary questions appeared, and also contained a short clip from the movie “A beautiful mind” Ron Howard, 2001. The results showed that there is a connection between people with a foreign background and a lack of knowledge about mental illness. The themes that appeared in the study were the following: conflict and fear, shame, repudiation, ridicule and the last theme where the view of mental illness. All the respondents in this study had experienced a negative perception of people with mental illness in social media. The main conclusion of the study was that in the respondents’ native countries mental illness is not acknowledged, people disassociate themselves from sufferers, and these are stigmatized instead of being offered the right care or support.