International Journal of Stress Management

This study examined the role of three personal resources (self-efficacy, organizational-based self-esteem, and optimism) in the Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) model. The authors hypothesized that personal resources (1) moderate the relationship between job demands and exhaustion, (2) mediate the relationship between job resources and work engagement, and (3) relate to how employees perceive their work environment and well-being. Hypotheses were tested among 714 Dutch employees. Results showed that personal resources did not offset the relationship between job demands and exhaustion. Instead, personal resources mediated the relationship between job resources and engagement/exhaustion and influenced the perception of job resources. The implications of these findings for the JD-R model are discussed.

The literature is replete with evidence that the stress inherent in health care negatively impacts health care professionals, leading to increased depression, decreased job satisfaction, and psychological distress. In an attempt to address this, the current study examined the effects of a short-term stress management program, mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR), on health care professionals. Results from this prospective randomized controlled pilot study suggest that an 8-week MBSR intervention may be effective for reducing stress and increasing quality of life and self-compassion in health care professionals. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.

The job demands-resources (JD-R) model was tested in a study among 3,092 employees working in 1 of 4 different home care organizations. The central assumption in the model is that burnout develops when certain job demands are high and when job resources are limited because such negative working conditions lead to energy depletion and undermine worker motivation and learning opportunities, respectively. A series of multigroup structural equation modeling analyses provide strong evidence for the JD-R model. Specifically, results showed that job demands are primarily and positively related to the exhaustion component of burnout, whereas job resources are primarily related to cynicism (negatively) and professional efficacy (positively). The theoretical and practical implications of the JD-R model are discussed.

Arie ShiromTel Aviv UniversitySamuel MelamedTel Aviv University and National Institute of Occupational & EnvironmentalHealthThe authors studied certain aspects of the construct validity of the MaslachBurnout Inventory–General Survey (MBI-GS), the most popular measure ofburnout, and that of the Shirom-Melamed Burnout Measure (SMBM). Theseburnout measures were compared with respect to their psychometric char-acteristics and factorial validity in two groups of professionals, humanservice and other professionals (N 196 and 226, respectively), whocompleted questionnaires at work. As hypothesized, the conrmatory factoranalyses supported a two-factor and a three-factor structure invarianceacross the two groups considered for the SMBM and the MBI-GS, respec-tively, with superior t found for the SMBM.

The Burnout Measure (BM; Pines & Aronson, 1988) is a widely used self-report measure of burnout. It includes 21 items, evaluated on 7-point frequency scales, assessing the level of an individual's physical, emotional, and mental exhaustion. In this article, a shorter, 10-item version of the BM (BMS)

The aim of the present study was to make a clear distinction between work and home domains in the explanation of burnout. First, a 3-factor structure of job and home demands was hypothesized, consisting of quantitative demands, emotional demands, and mental demands. Next, a model was tested that delineates how demands in both life domains are related to occupational burnout through workhome interference (WHI) and homework interfer-ence (HWI). In doing so, the partial mediating role of WHI and HWI was examined. Consistent with hypotheses, empirical support was found for the 3-factor structure of both job and home demands as well as for the partial mediating effects of both WHI and HWI. Job demands and home demands appeared to have a direct and indirect effect (through WHI and HWI, respectively) on burnout. KEY WORDS: burnout; home demands; job demands; workhome interference; homework interference Changes in family structures, increasing participation by women in the workforce, and technological changes (e.g., mobile phones and portable computers) that enable job tasks to be performed in a variety of locations have blurred the boundaries between job and home life. For many workers,

Two studies including 108 nurses and 101 police officers tested the proposition that emotionally demanding interactions with recipients may result in emotional dissonance, which, in turn, may lead to job burnout and impaired performance. More specifically, on the basis of the literature on burnout and emotional dissonance, the authors hypothesized that emotional job demands would explain variance in burnout (i.e., exhaustion and cynicism/disengagement) through their influence on emotional dissonance. In addition, the authors predicted that emotional dissonance would be (negatively) related to in-role performance through its relationship with burnout. The findings of a series of structural equation modeling analyses supported both hypotheses. The implications for research and practice are discussed, as well as avenues for additional research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved).

This study compared academic stressors and reactions to stressors between American and international students using Gadzella’s Life Stress Inventory (B. M. Gadzella, 1991). Five categories of academic stressors (i.e., frustrations, conflicts, pressures, changes, and self-imposed) and four categories describing reactions to these stressors (i.e., physiological, emotional, behavioral, and cognitive) were examined. The sample consisted of 392 international and American students from 2 Midwestern universities. American students reported higher self-imposed stressors and greater behavioral reactions to stressors than international students. Respondent’s status (American or international) and interaction of status and stressors emerged as the 2 strongest predictors of their behavioral, emotional, physiological, and cognitive reaction to stressors. Five stressors attained statistical significance in the regression model. The findings emphasize the need to recognize cultural differences in stress management. Implications for mental health providers in the university arena are discussed.

According to the job demands–resources (JD–R) model, job demands and resources evoke two relatively independent processes: health impairment and employee motivation. The robustness of the JD–R model was tested in two different occupational samples, the first of 654 Spanish employees and the second of 477 Dutch employees. Structural equation modeling analyses provided partial evidence for the two processes. Multigroup analyses showed that the structural paths of the model were invariant across countries, although the strength of the relationships differed. We conclude that the basic structure of the JD–R model is maintained, even when applied in different national and occupational contexts, when using different ways of gathering data (computerized versus paper and pencil), and when using slightly different measures to assess the key variables of the model.

This literature review presents an overview of occupational stress and burnout in correctional institutions, based on 43 investigations from 9 countries. First, the prevalence of various stress reactions among correctional officers (COs) is discussed: turnover and absenteeism rates, psychosomatic diseases, and levels of job dissatisfaction and burnout. Next, empirical evidence is summarized for the existence of 10 specific stressors in the CO's job. It appears that the most notable stressors for COs are role problems, work overload, demanding social contacts (with prisoners, colleagues, and supervisors), and poor social status. Finally, based on 21 articles, individual-oriented and organization-oriented approaches to reduce job stress and burnout among COs are discussed. It is concluded that particularly the latter (i.e., improving human resources management, professionalization of the CO's job, and improvement of the social work environment) seems to be a promising avenue for reducing job stress and burnout in correctional institutions.

Dark personality traits are often viewed as merely negative; however, recent research suggests they can exhibit context-dependent adaptive associations, such as supporting stress and cognitive performance, when interacting with music preference and listening. This study aimed to further investigate how dark personalities directly and indirectly relate to stress and performance outcomes. We investigated Dark Tetrad facets, state stress, maths anxiety, and music preferences through a survey, followed by a stress-inducing experimental task with time and social pressures and music or radio listening conditions, with radio acting as the control. Participants (N = 86; mean age = 30.41 years; 54.7% female) showed changes in subjective and physiological stress (heart rate), task accuracy, and calculation time. Both music and radio listening reduced stress during the wait period between tasks. Psychopathic stability and Machiavellian agency negatively predicted state stress and psychopathic stability was associated with faster arithmetic performance. Agentic narcissism was associated with higher accuracy. Moderation analyses showed that high agentic narcissism, combined with a preference for classical music, linked to lower subjective stress. Classical music preference moderated the relationships of psychopathic stability and verbal sadism with subjective stress. Findings suggest that higher levels of these facets may buffer stress and aid arithmetic performance when combined with music preferences. Given the exploratory nature of this study, the findings should be considered preliminary and interpreted with caution. Results highlight the potential value of facet-level personality assessments and suggest that music preferences may support more tailored stress-management for individuals high in specific dark personality facets.

Emergency medical service clinicians face significant mental health risk. This randomized controlled pilot trial examined 1) feasibility, acceptability, and adoptability of Self-Reflection Resilience-Recovery Activity Promotion Training (SRR-RAPT); 2) SRR-RAPT's effect on hypothesized mechanisms of action (HMAs: meaning made from stressors, adaptive self-reflection, recovery activities, recovery experiences); and 3) SRR-RAPT's impact on mental health outcomes (MHOs: PTSD, anxiety, depression). Participants were ≥18 years with ≥1 shift scheduled within 8 days. Overall, 83/126 workers were eligible and randomized to intervention (n = 37) or control (n = 46). Most were White (89%) and male (51%). Both groups completed 8 daily assessments monitoring HMAs/MHOs. Intervention participants received 10 additional reflection questions on stressors, lessons learned, and recovery strategies. We recruited >80% of respondents within 3-weeks; 70/83 submitted ≥1 complete assessment (M = 6.07, SD = 2.20); SRR-RAPT was rated helpful, useful, and acceptable. The intervention group reported more meaning made across assessments (b = 1.46, 95% CI = 0.17, 2.75, p = .027) and higher levels on each subsequent assessment (b = 0.35, 95% CI = 0.16, 0.53, p < .001). Higher adherence predicted more meaning made across assessments (b = 1.53, 95% CI = 0.03, 1.02, p = .039) and higher levels on each subsequent assessment (b = 0.13, 95% CI = 0.06, 0.20, p < .001). No significant differences were detected on other HMAs or MHOs. Results support the intervention's feasibility and acceptability, but refinement is necessary to detect expected differences on all HMAs/MHOs before definitive trials.