The Relationship Between Employees' Personal Work Standards and Perceived Work Stress.

Although it is recognized that employees with higher job demands imposed by organizations perceive higher work stress, how employees' personal work demands relate to their perception of work stress remains unclear. Two competing hypotheses have been proposed concerning the relationship between employees' personal work standards (personal work demands) and perceived work stress. Data from a survey of MBA degree holders in Taiwan supported the hypothesis that employees with higher personal work standards perceive lower work stress. This finding expands knowledge of the link between person variables and work stress. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Which Behaviors Do Attitudes Predict? Meta-Analyzing the Effects of Social Pressure and Perceived Difficulty.

A meta-analysis of 797 studies and 1,001 effect sizes tested a theoretical hypothesis that situational constraints, such as perceived social pressure and perceived difficulty, weaken the relationship between attitudes and behavior. This hypothesis was confirmed for attitudes toward performing behaviors and for attitudes toward issues and social groups. Meta-analytic estimates of attitude-behavior correlations served to quantify these moderating effects. The present results indicated that the mean attitude-behavior correlation was .41 when people experienced a mean level of social pressure to perform a behavior of mean difficulty. The mean correlation was .30 when people experienced social pressure 1 standard deviation above the mean to perform a behavior that was 1 standard deviation more difficult than the mean. The results suggest a need for increased attention to the "behavior" side of the attitude-behavior equation. Attitudes predict some behaviors better than others. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Relationship Between Person-Organization Congruence, Perceived Violations of the Psychological Contract, and Occupational Stress Symptoms.

Along with rapid changes in the workplace have been changes in the workforce, including decreased congruence between personal and organizational values (P-OC), an increase in perceived psychological contract violations (PCV), and an increase in work stress. This study examined the relationship between these variables in the context of age, gender, and job tenure. Results indicated that employees reporting higher levels of PCV are more likely to experience low P-OC, be relatively older, and have been in their current jobs for a relatively shorter time. Employees reporting higher stress symptoms are more likely to be male, and to have been in their current jobs and with the company relatively longer. Study findings have implications for consulting and human resource management practices. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Consequences of Boundary-Spanning Demands and Resources for Work-to-Family Conflict and Perceived Stress.

Using work-family border theory, this article examines relationships between boundary-spanning demands and resources and work-to-family conflict and perceived stress. The analysis uses data from 2,109 respondents from the 2002 National Study of the Changing Workforce. The demands that were positively related to work-to-family conflict and perceived stress were commuting time, bringing work home, job contacts at home, and work-family multitasking. Work-family multitasking partially explained the effects of bringing work home and job contacts at home on conflict and stress. For resources, time off for family responsibilities and a supportive work-family culture showed negative associations with conflict and stress. Work-to-family conflict partially mediated relationships between several demands and resources and perceived stress. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Stress and dietary practices in adolescents.

Baseline data from the Health and Behavior in Teenagers Study (HABITS) were used to investigate associations between stress and dietary practices in a socioeconomically and ethnically diverse sample of 4,320 schoolchildren (mean age=11.83 years). Male (n=2,578) and female (n=1,742) pupils completed questionnaire measures of stress and 4 aspects of dietary practice (fatty food intake, fruit and vegetable intake, snacking, and breakfast consumption) and also provided demographic and anthropometric data. Multivariate analyses revealed that greater stress was associated with more fatty food intake, less fruit and vegetable intake, more snacking, and a reduced likelihood of daily breakfast consumption. These effects were independent of individual (gender, weight) and social (socioeconomic status, ethnicity) factors. Stress may contribute to long-term disease risk by steering the diet in a more unhealthy direction. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Childhood maltreatment, perceived stress, and stress-related coping in recently abstinent cocaine dependent adults.

The authors examined associations between a personal history of childhood maltreatment and the perceived stress and stress-coping styles of recently abstinent and treatment-engaged cocaine dependent adults. Fifty men and 41 women at an inpatient treatment and research facility were administered the short form of the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (D. P. Bernstein & L. Fink, 1998; D. P. Bernstein et al., 2003), the Perceived Stress Scale (S. Cohen, T. Kamarck, & R. Mermelstein, 1983), and the COPE Questionnaire (C. S. Carver, M. R. Scheier, & J. K. Weintraub, 1989). Simple and multiple linear regression analyses were used to analyze relationships while adjusting for relevant covariates. Findings indicate that overall childhood maltreatment severity was significantly associated with greater perceived stress and greater use of avoidance stress-coping strategies. These findings suggest that having a history of childhood maltreatment may influence how recently abstinent cocaine dependent individuals experience and cope with stress. Stress and stress-coping focused interventions may be particularly indicated for cocaine dependent individuals with histories of childhood maltreatment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Traumatic Stress, Perceived Global Stress, and Life Events: Prospectively Predicting Quality of Life in Breast Cancer Patients.

The authors investigated the relationship between stress at initial cancer diagnosis and treatment and subsequent quality of life (QoL). Women (n = 112) randomized to the assessment-only arm of a clinical trial were initially assessed after breast cancer diagnosis and surgery and then reassessed at 4 months (during adjuvant treatment) and 12 months (postadjuvant treatment). There were 3 types of stress measured: number of stressful life events (K. A. Matthews et al., 1997), cancer-related traumatic stress symptoms (M. J. Horowitz, N. Wilner, & W. Alvarez, 1979), and perceived global stress (S. Cohen, T. Kamarck, & R. Mermelstein, 1983). Using hierarchical multiple regressions, the authors found that stress predicted both psychological and physical QoL (J. E. Ware, K. K. Snow, & M. Kosinski, 2000) at the follow-ups (all ps     

Perceived Partner Critical and Avoidant Behaviors as Predictors of Anxious and Depressive Symptoms Among Mothers of Children Undergoing Hemopaietic Stem Cell Transplantation.

This prospective study examined the role of perceived partner criticism and avoidance in the anxiety and depressive symptoms of 148 mothers of children undergoing hemopaietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). The roles of indicators of transplantation risk and posttransplantation medical course were also examined. Perceived partner criticism (e.g., criticizing coping efforts) and perceived partner avoidance (e.g., changing the topic), objective indicators of transplantation risk, and anxiety and depressive symptoms were assessed at the time of HSCT and again 3 and 6 months later. Growth curve modeling analyses indicated that perceived partner criticism was associated with higher average depressive symptoms. However, perceived partner criticism did not predict changes in mother's anxiety. Contrary to predictions, perceived partner avoidance was associated with decreases in maternal anxiety. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Job attitudes in management: IV. Perceived deficiencies in need fulfillment as a function of size of company.

This study was concerned with the relationship between size of organization and perceptions of need satisfaction and need importance in management jobs. A questionnaire provided data from a nationwide sample of 1916 managers. Results showed that at lower levels of management small company managers were more satisfied than large company managers, but at higher levels of management large company managers were more satisfied than small company managers. Size of company had little relationship to the other attitude variable, perceptions of the importance of various needs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Job attitudes in management: I. Perceived deficiencies in need fulfillment as a function of job level.

This questionnaire study investigated perceived need fulfillment deficiencies in nearly 2000 managerial positions. Respondents represented all levels of management and a wide variety of companies. 5 need categories, chosen to represent a hierarchy of prepotency of needs, were studied. Results showed: (a) Vertical level of position within management had a strong relation to the degree of perceived satisfaction of the 3 highest-order needs—Self-actualization, Autonomy, and Esteem; for these needs, satisfactions increased at each higher level of management. (b) For the 2 lower-order types of needs, Security and Social, there were no systematic changes in satisfaction in relation to management level. (c) Among the 5 need categories, Self-actualization and Autonomy were consistently regarded as the least fulfilled needs at all levels of management. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Health-Related Stress, Affect, and Depressive Symptoms Experienced by Caregiving Mothers of Adults With a Developmental Disability.

The interrelationships among health-related stress, positive and negative affect, and depressive symptoms patterned in the dynamic model of affect (J. Reich, A. Zautra, & M. Davis, 2003) were examined using data from 932 women having an adult child with a developmental disability. Results indicate that women experience a moderate inverse correlation between positive and negative affect under conditions of low levels of health-related stress, whereas at high levels of stress, positive and negative affect become more strongly inversely correlated. Under high-stress conditions, both negative affect and positive affect have a stronger relationship to depressive symptoms than they do under low-stress conditions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of Pain on Functioning and Well-Being in Older Adults With Osteoarthritis of the Knee.

The effects of pain on functioning and well-being were examined in 367 older adults with osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee. The relationship of OA-related pain to depressive symptoms and perceived health was hypothesized to be direct as well as mediated by physical and social functioning. Results showed that OA-related pain was related to poorer physical and social functioning, had a direct effect on depressive symptoms, and direct and indirect effects on perceived health. Lower social functioning was related to more depressive symptoms, and both lower social and physical functioning predicted worse perceived health. Thus, distinguishing between physical and social functioning when examining the costs of OA-related pain is useful. Moreover, existing pain-psychological well-being models can be generalized to perceived health. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The separate and combined effects of nicotine and alcohol on working memory capacity in nonabstinent smokers.

Research indicates that nicotine and alcohol are often used on the same occasion. However, the reasons for their concurrent use are not well understood. We hypothesized that one reason smokers use tobacco when they drink alcohol is to compensate for alcohol’s negative effects on processing capacity with nicotine’s enhancement of processing capacity. As such, the present study tested this theory by using an independent groups design to examine the separate and combined acute effects of alcohol and nicotine on working memory (WM) capacity. Nonabstinent daily smokers (n = 127) performed the counting span task (CSPAN) after consuming either an alcohol (men: 0.8 g/kg; women: 0.7 g/kg) or placebo beverage and smoking either nicotinized (1.14 mg nicotine, 15.9 mg tar) or denicotinized (.06 mg nicotine, 17.9 mg tar) cigarettes. Analyses revealed that smokers who smoked the nicotinized cigarettes performed significantly worse on the CSPAN task than smokers who smoked the denicotinized cigarettes. Although there was no main effect of alcohol on WM performance, women exhibited better WM performance than men after consuming alcohol whereas men performed better than women on the WM task after consuming the placebo beverage. Findings also revealed no interaction between the two substances on WM performance. Taken together, results suggest that nicotine impairs nonabstinent smokers’ verbal WM capacity and that gender moderates the effects of alcohol on WM. Furthermore, the present findings failed to support the notion that nicotine compensates for alcohol-related decrements in working memory capacity. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Gender differences in perceptions of stressors and utilization of social support among university students.

Although researchers have found that social support is an effective coping mechanism to deal with stress, there has been little research on gender differences in perceived stress and use of social support. In the present study, 186 undergraduate students from a Maritime university rated the perceived stressfulness of five scenarios, and identified the type and source of social support they would use to cope with each of the situations. Women perceived three of the five scenarios as significantly more stressful than did men. Women indicated that they would turn to their partner and friends to a greater extent than men would. Women also reported that they would seek emotional support to a greater degree than did men. However, when the perceived stressfulness of the scenarios was controlled, some of the gender differences in the sources and types of support disappeared. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Longitudinal analysis of the relationship between changes in smoking and changes in drinking in a community sample: The Winnipeg Health and Drinking Survey.

Smoking cigarettes and drinking alcohol are positively correlated in cross-sectional studies of the general population. However, it is unclear whether changes in quantity of drinking over time are related to changes in amount of smoking over time. This investigation examined, with structural equation modeling, the relationship of changes in drinking to changes in smoking over 2 years among 344 adults who reported cigarette smoking and alcohol use at baseline in 1989-1990 or at follow-up in 1991-1992 or both. Surprisingly, no significant relationships were found between changes in smoking and changes in drinking. This lack of effect suggests that changes in the quantity or intensity of drinking and of smoking are not related in any important way in nonclinical populations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Perceived victimization moderates self-reports of workplace aggression and conflict.

A sample of 489 employed men between 32 and 36 years old responded to questions concerning rates of having engaged in workplace aggression and conflict. These individuals also completed a personality inventory and questionnaires related to past antisocial behavior and alcohol abuse. Consistent with prior research, workplace aggression and conflict were significantly correlated with particular personality variables (stress reaction, aggression, and control) as well as with general past antisocial behavior and alcohol abuse. Furthermore, these relationships were moderated by the perception of being victimized by others (alienation), with such perceptions strengthening associations between workplace aggression and other risk factors. These interaction effects, which cannot plausibly be attributed to the use of a self-report criterion, could have important implications for understanding and predicting aggression and conflict behavior within organizations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Coping Strategies as Mediators of the Relations Among Perceived Control and Distress in Sexual Assault Survivors.

Two studies assessed whether coping strategies mediate the relations among 2 forms of perceived control (past and present control) and postassault distress among female sexual assault survivors. In Study 1, longitudinal data were gathered from 2 weeks to 1 year postassault (N=171). Past control (behavioral self-blame) was associated with more distress partly because it was associated with greater social withdrawal. Present control (control over the recovery process) was associated with less distress partly because it was associated with less social withdrawal and more cognitive restructuring. In Study 2, cross-sectional data were gathered from a community sample of nonrecent survivors of sexual assault (N=131). Coping strategies again mediated the relations among the measures of past and present control and distress. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Working memory training in older adults: Evidence of transfer and maintenance effects.

Few studies have examined working memory (WM) training-related gains and their transfer and maintenance effects in older adults. This present research investigates the efficacy of a verbal WM training program in adults aged 65–75 years, considering specific training gains on a verbal WM (criterion) task as well as transfer effects on measures of visuospatial WM, short-term memory, inhibition, processing speed, and fluid intelligence. Maintenance of training benefits was evaluated at 8-month follow-up. Trained older adults showed higher performance than did controls on the criterion task and maintained this benefit after 8 months. Substantial general transfer effects were found for the trained group, but not for the control one. Transfer maintenance gains were found at follow-up, but only for fluid intelligence and processing speed tasks. The results are discussed in terms of cognitive plasticity in older adults. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Daily Mood and Stress Predict Pain, Health Care Use, and Work Activity in African American Adults With Sickle-Cell Disease.

This study examined the extent to which daily mood and stress were associated with pain, health care use, and work activity in 41 adults (mean age=36 years) with sickle-cell disease. Multilevel model analyses of daily diaries (M=91 days) indicated that increases in stress and negative mood were associated with increases in same-day pain, health care use, and work absences. Lagged models suggested bidirectional relationships, with evidence that pain may be the more powerful initiating variable in pain-mood and pain-stress cycles. Of importance, positive mood was associated with lower same-day and subsequent day pain, as well as fewer health care contacts, suggesting that positive mood may serve to offset negative consequences of pain and other illness symptoms. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relationships Among Life Stress, Social Support, Academic Stressors, and Reactions to Stressors of International Students in the United States.

This study examined the relationships among 4 constructs--life stress (primary stressor), academic stressors (secondary stressor), perceived social support (stress mediator), and reactions to stressors (stress outcome)--among 143 international students. Structural equation modeling was used to assess the relationships among latent and measured variables in the conceptual model. Results indicated no significant difference in academic and life stressors by gender. However, women exhibited higher reactions to stressors than men. Higher levels of academic stressors were predicted by higher levels of life stress and by lower levels of social support. Higher academic stressors predicted greater reactions to stressors. All of the regression weights in the model were statistically significant, and the model's predictors accounted for 82% of the variance in reactions to stressor. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)