Emotional intelligence and coping skills as predictors of counselor self-efficacy with genetic counseling graduate students

This study investigated how well emotional intelligence and coping skills predicted perceived counselor self-efficacy for 98 genetic counseling graduate students (97 females, 1 male; M age = 25.5, SD = 3.8). The sample was recruited from 29 Genetic Counseling graduate programs in North America. Participants completed an on-line survey including a demographics questionnaire, two predictor measures (emotional intelligence and proactive coping inventory), and one criterion measure (counselor self-efficacy). Stepwise multiple regression analysis yielded a model with five significant predictors accounting for 49% of the total variance in counselor self-efficacy: Deference, Empathy, Proactive Coping, Student Year, and Preventive Coping. Participants with the strongest self-efficacy tended to be more advanced students, low on deference, and high on empathy and proactive and preventive coping. Limitations and implications for training and research are discussed.