An important aspect of organization that integrates an individual with the organization is the role assigned to him/her within the overall structure of the organization. It is through role that an individual interacts and gets integrated with the system. The study uses a descriptive research design. The instrument used for collecting data is 'Organizational Role Stress Scale' (ORS Scale). The ORS scale is a comprehensive tool to elicit data about the different role stressors afflicting a respondent. It covers a range of the stressors that may be experienced by an occupational group. The study finds the similar level of stress for male and female employees on the overall organizational role stress. However, on individual stressors, statistically significant differences have been reported on the basis of gender and marital status.
The basic aim of this research is to examine the mediating role of perceived stress between metacognition and happiness. The participants were 290 university students. In this study, the Metacognition Questionnaire-MCQ-30, the Perceived Stress Scale and the Short Form of Oxford Happiness Questionnaire were used. The relationships between meta-cognition, perceived stress, and happiness were examined using correlation analysis and Structural Equation Model (SEM). In correlation analysis, metacognition and perceived stress were found to be negatively related to happiness. On the other hand, metacognition was found to be positively correlated to perceived stress. Structural Equation Model showed that metacognition results in an increase in perceived stress in an unhappy person, whereas reduction in stress leads to happiness; however, metacognition also produces unhappiness. Results were discussed in the light of the related literature.
The aim of the study was to establish relationships between perceived psychosocial resources and styles of coping with stress utilized by adolescents. A total of 1326 students (aged 15-20, mean age 17.0 years) of 16 randomly selected secondary schools were examined using a set of self-report questionnaires. Personal resources (sense of coherence and optimism), environmental resources (family affluence, family strengths, support from parents, teachers and peers), and styles of coping with stress were measured. Two groups differing significantly in their perceived resources were distinguished. The group with high resources (HR) consisted of 502, while the low-resource group (LR) - of 570 adolescents. The level of perceived resources (high vs. low) turned out to be associated with utilization of specific coping styles. High-resource adolescents as compared to their low-resource counterparts more often utilized task-oriented coping and seeking interpersonal contacts, at the same time less often using emotion- and distraction-oriented coping styles.
Presented research deals with the issue of influence of contacting an animal on the level of stress perceived by human subjects as well as on performance level in a given task. There were 60 high school students participating in the study (33 women and 27 men). Their lower and upper blood pressure was measured and their behaviour was observed through two-ways mirror. The observation was meant to examine whether they took the opportunity to interact with an animal (rabbit or cat) or a mascot-cat. Participants were also asked to fill in two tests: Toulouse-Pieron attention test and the Square Test of visual-spatial intelligence (a subscale of a general intelligence battery APIS-Z). Results indicate significant influence of contacting an animal on physiological arousal among women, i.e. women that participated in the study and contacted the animal had significantly lower blood pressure than those playing with the teddy bear or those having no interaction. This effect was not detected in men.
Developmental research on coping assumes the observation not only of quantitative changes in the use of individual strategies or occurrence of various types of responses, but also the changes in the structure of coping. The present study focuses on the structure of coping and its changes during adolescence from a transactional approach; this is with a view to the interdependent relationship between stress and coping and to the mutual connections between the various responses to stress, given their parallel or sequential occurrence. The shifts that occur during adolescence are viewed in part from an analysis factor derived from a range of problems and responses, and in part through the help of structural models of the problems and the responses to them within two age groups. The data comes from 403 thirteen-year-old and 248 fifteen-year-old adolescents, longitudinally observed within the framework of the Czech part of the ELSPAC study.
Stephen Castles and Mark Miller have defined contemporary times as the age of migration. Similarly, in Poland labor migration that was intensified after Poland had joined the European Union, is a phenomenon forming numerous social processes. Poles' migrations share the general tendencies: globalization, acceleration, diversification and feminization. They have many consequences for marital and family life. One of them, that is the cause why other consequences occur, is stress. The present article tackles the issue of strategies of coping with stress used by the spouse of a labor migrant, who remains at home. The article consists of two parts. In Part One the specific character is presented of labor migrations after Poland had joined the European Union. The results brought by migration are sketched on the family and social planes. The effect of separation caused by economic factors on the marital bond and on the family life is emphasized. Among the many consequences also stress is mentioned, that is characterized from the angle of the migration process, starting from the decision about the trip, through successive 'visits of the migrant at home', to the consequences of the long absence in the relations with the wife/husband and with the children. The significance is emphasized of the choice of certain strategies of coping in the situation of a series of stressing events started by migration. In view of the fact that the problem had not been made the object of academic considerations before, research was conducted that aimed at describing the way that the selected traits in the spouses of labor migrants influence the choice of strategies and particular ways of coping. Hypotheses and research questions were formulated, taking into consideration such variables as sex, education, length of marriage, and the connection of these variables with the strategies of coping with stress. In order to verify the hypotheses and to answer the questions two research tools were used: a demographic questionnaire and the Ways of Coping Questionnaire by Richard S. Lazarus and Susan Folkman. Part Two of the article contains a description of the methodology of the authors' own research, as well as an analysis and interpretation of the obtained results. On the basis of the demographic questionnaire the population of the spouses of labor migrants who remain at home was characterized, as well as the difficulties that the subjects consider troublesome in the situation of separation caused by economic factors. In the summing up of the article the conclusions are included that may be a basis for planning family-marital counseling in the situation of labor migration.
The aim of this research was to measure temperament traits, as a part of J.Strelau's (1998) Regulative Theory of Temperament (RTT) and the styles of coping with stress, formulated by M.S. Endler and J.D.A. Parker (1990) in a group of women after miscarriage. The anonymous survey was carried out by patients of department of obstetrics and gynecology, as well as by volunteers from the internet forum dealing with the issue of miscarriage. The age range of women subjected to this research was between 24 and 37 years. The main research method was The Formal Characteristics of Behavior-Temperament Inventory (FCB-TI) by B. Zawadzki and J.Strelau and Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations (CISS) adapted by J. Strelau, A Jaworowska, K. Wrzesniewski i P. Szczepaniak. The results showed that women after miscarriage are less brisk, less persistent and more perseverative and emotionally reactive than women in the comparative group. Furthermore they achieve lower score in the task of oriented coping scale as well as higher score in the following scales: emotion oriented coping, avoidance coping and in the component of avoidance coping - distraction.
A natural disaster - such as a flood - is a sequence of events: swollen water level leading to the flooding of homesteads - primary stressor and later environmental consequences - secondary stressor syndrome. In order to be valid, an experimental model must ensure similarity of the stress-evoked behavioral symptoms. The most frequently administered behavioral tests measure exploratory behavior in the broad sense (the authors used the following test battery: self-exposition chamber, open field and elevated cross-maze). The authors also included emotional reactivity in the experimental design in order to test the idea that lower emotional reactivity alleviates the consequences of stress and therefore acts preventively. Reduced emotional reactivity and increased stressor intensity additively contribute to increased exploratory behavior. A main handling effect is found for most indices of emotional behavior. The proposed experimental model seems to meet two important criteria: it has face validity and it evokes very clear behavioral consequences, ones which are universal for most indices of exploratory behavior.
Wroclaw and Opole were the two biggest Polish cities afflicted by the huge flood of 1997. Research conducted 9 months and 3 years after this disaster (Wroclaw and Opole, respectively), compares the opinions of people who lived in (a) flooded areas, (b) places threatened with flooding which avoided the calamity thanks to inhabitants and rescue teams' heroic struggle, and (c) areas under no threat of flooding due to their location. The research analyzed whether the place of residence influenced perceptions of varied advantages which research participants could perceive as consequences of the flood. Quite surprisingly, it turned out that the perception of interpersonal relations was better in places where the inhabitants struggled against the disaster than in those not threatened by the flood.
The paper gives an overview of cortisol, stress hormone - its physiological functions, circadian rhythm and relationship with stressful situations. Cortisol plays a critical role in metabolism by mobilizing energy resources (this hormone elevates blood glucose levels). Cortisol circadian rhythm is characterized by acrophase in the morning (9 a.m.), after awakening. Psychological stressors increase cortisol levels, particularly when tasks were uncontrollable or characterized by social-evaluative threat (task performance could be negatively judged by others). Cortisol augmentation peaks about 15 min. after stressor and recovery time to basal level takes about one hour. Cortisol is an important regulator of many physiological rhythms, e.g. sleep - wakefulness and immune system. There is strong evidence that cortisol can suppress the immune response and consequently, the release of more cortisol under stress is associated with greater susceptibility to infectious agents. It seems therefore, that morning hours could be the time of day when the vulnerability to viruses or bacteria is particularly high. Studies on cortisol responses during stressors in naturalistic conditions (work overload, shiftwork, familial and marital problems, chronic somatic disease) revealed that the change of typical diurnal rhythm is the most pronounced effect (acrophase in the afternoon or during night, 'blunted' rhythm, i.e. too small amplitude or rhythm amplitude too great than typically).
The present investigation was undertaken to resolve the controversy regarding clouding of results on the dimension of extraversion and performance. Hence the impulsivity component of extraversion was separated from sociability to see its effect on performance in terms of letter cancellation task and Anagram task under instructionally induced stress in the two sexes. The general pattern in three factor interaction reveals that high impulses coupled with stress performed less efficiently than their counterparts in both the sexes.
People who are stereotyped by the society as less able minority members, perform poorly when the stereotype threat is present. Numerous research has shown that the content of the stereotype can be automatically activated by information even remotely connected with it. The paper describes the empirically documented factors that can reduce the stereotype threat. Seeking similarities to more successful members of the group, using sense of humor in reducing stress, and changing beliefs concerning human intelligence, as well as processes of individuation, they all seem to play an important role in eliminating the stereotype threat effect.
The article deals with stress mainly in managerial positions. Stress is much extended in all aspects of our life and employment is an important factor which increases the level of stress. Managers have specific place between other occupations. At first the paper describes the most frequent stressors generally and kinds of coping stress methods. Then there are introduced some groups of stressors which are more frequent in managerial positions. The paper is closed by preventive methods of coping stress.
Background: The examination of the physicians' special stress burden and burn-out syndrome are the aim of our pilot-study. Previous studies have shown that physicians have an increased risk of somatic and mental health problems such as depression, suicide and substance abuse. Work-related stress symptoms and burnout seemed to be the most important factors. Method: The 57 participants of the qualitative survey were physicians chosen randomly from the public health system in Hungary. Their special stress burden and burn-out syndrome have been examined through structured in-dephts interviews. Results: Three factors of the work related stress were investigated and proved to be interconnected: the special aspects of medical profession (on-call duties, high working tempo, long-working hours, frequency of stressful situations and emotionally provoking problems) work environment and control above the work. Female physicians (balancing their work and family responsibilities) and young doctors are especially at burnout and also at work-stress risk. Conclusions: Burnout correlates mostly to work-stress and role conflicts. It is affected by outer reasons, appreciation of stress and simultaneous compliance of roles beset with difficulties in particular. Further monitoring of work-stress and burnout causes could contribute to more efficient conflict treatment and health promotion methods in behalf of the Hungarian physicians.
Stress of participles in Ukrainian literary heritage of XVI - XVIII centuries, which are compared with stresses in contemporary modern literary language are investigated in the article. The cases of divergence in stresses of participles are analyzed in details investigating evidences of the ancient Ukrainian literary heritage, dialectological works and Ukrainian dictionaries.
The paper studies the literature on the connection between optimism constructs (dispositional optimism, attributional optimism, unrealistic optimism, therapy-specific optimism) and physical health. Most of the reviewed studies find a positive connection between optimism and health indicators. The optimists have less symptoms measured both subjectively and objectively. Optimism is connected to better immune functions (with the exception of the presence of uncontrollable stressors) and a faster rate of recovery. Optimists live longer compared to less optimistic people. There are several factors influencing the positive connection between optimism and health. The optimists have less stressors, evaluate them differently and cope with them differently than pessimists. The level of optimism influences the health behaviour and sickness behaviour. Finally it is possible that a third variable, neuroticism, influences the connection between optimism and health. The article's view is critical and stresses the theoretical and methodological difficulties of the field.
The purpose of this study was to test the moderation effect of affective coping (i.e., action vs. state orientation) on the relationship between life stress and life balance (i.e., the appropriate proportion of time spent in major life domains). It was hypothesized that affective coping buffers have the negative impact of life stress on balancing life activities. A hundred and thirty-six persons participated in the study. Consistent with expectations, action oriented individuals were able to maintain their balance as stress increased. State oriented individuals benefited in pleasant (low stress) situations. Under high stress, however, they lost their balance. In sum, action orientation ameliorated the negative impact of stress on balancing life activities.
The paper concerns on the child’s and adolescent’s needs to empower his/her inner resources which build one’s stress protection. The review of four psychological conceptions shows importance of individual abilities in problem solving situations. The role of temporal psychic destabilization in the human life is analyzed in the approaches of E. Erikson, K. Dąbrowski, A. Antonovsky, N. Garmezy, E. Werner and G. Richardson. The author describes shortly such concepts as stress vulnerability and resilience, risk factors and protection factors in the field of mental health. The question of mental health is especially important in the contemporary life, that is a great challenge for children’s and youth’s coping abilities in face of stress. Many mental health promotion programs base on empowering of life skills and learning of new, effective stress coping strategies. The positive prophylactics underlines promotion of inner resources development instead of dangerous activities inhibition only. The basic presumption of this positive way of thinking assumes, that early achieved problem and conflict solving abilities build a good preparation to stress coping in the adolescence and adult life.
This study investigates the relationship between rational and experiential thinking styles, perceived stress and life satisfaction in university students. The research sample included 259 students (56.8% females, Mage = 21.57) of psychology and informatics. Lower stress and higher life satisfaction are predominantly related to the thinking style preferred by the given gender – the rational style in males and the experiential style in females. More positive results in stress and life satisfaction were observed in the groups scoring higher in both styles compared to those scoring lower in both thinking styles. The relationships between thinking style preferred by the given gender and life satisfaction are mediated by the perceived stress. The present results indicate the possibility of increasing life satisfaction through changing information processing modes.
The study focuses on the analysis of relations between personality dimensions of adolescents and the preference for reactive and proactive coping strategies, and indicates the differences between these two types of strategies. Personality dimensions were studied with NEO-FFI (Costa, McCrae, 1992), reactive coping strategies were studied with COPE inventory (Carver et al., 1989) and proactive coping strategies with Proactive Coping Inventory (PCI; Greenglass et al., 1999). The results are discussed in terms of the differences between boys and girls. In comparison with boys, the girls showed significantly higher neuroticism, extraversion, openness, agreeableness and no significantly higher conscientiousness. The boys more often preferred problem- focused strategies and among their avoidance strategies are behavioural disengagement and humor. The girls more often apply emotion-focused strategies, seeking instrumental and emotional support especially, but also avoidance strategies of denial, mental disengagement, use of alcohol or drug.
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