Linear relationships among stressors, mediators and coping
- Authors: Mellor, David , Moore, Kathleen , Wall, Cindy
- Date: 2012
- Type: Text , Book chapter
- Relation: Stress and Anxiety: Application to economic hardship, occupational demands, and developmental challenges. p. 81-90
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- Description: Occupational stress is a principal workplace concern because of the deleterious effects it can have both for employees and the organisation. Much research has investigated the impact of workplace demands on the physical and mental health of employees and related organizational outcomes, such as loss of productivity and intention to quit. Such studies often have included factors such as job control as a mediating variable and role demands as stressors. Despite sophisticated analyses, the relationships among these factors have not been elucidated clearly or consistently. It is the aim in this paper to explore the linear relationship among three distinct groups of factors previously identified in the literature, stressors: workplace demands, work to family conflict; mediators: job control and sense of challenge; and outcome variables: burnout, somatic symptoms, job satisfaction, professional efficacy and intention to quit in a sample of 126 call centre representatives (59% female; age M = 27.3 years, SD = 8.18) from 11 call centres in metropolitan Melbourne. The results of a Multidimensional Scaling Analysis indicate four clusters: work related variables including role ambiguity, excessive performance monitoring, thoughts of quitting, role conflict; personal outcomes: work-family conflict and somatic symptoms; job impact outcomes: depersonalisation and emotional exhaustion, to positive outcomes: professional efficacy and job satisfaction. These quadrants can be used to suggest a progressive relationship from stressors through job control, a sense of problem-solving to either positive or negative outcomes. While these results are cross-sectional and must be interpreted with caution, a pivotal point of the MDS map suggests that participants' level of timing and method and attention demanded by their role might be factors which differentiate the two outcomes.
The Relationship of attachment to resilience and their impact on perceived stress
- Authors: Marriner, Patricia , Cacioli, Jon-Paul , Moore, Kathleen
- Date: 2014
- Type: Text , Book chapter
- Relation: Stress and anxiety : applications to social and environmental threats, psychological well-being, occupational challenges, and developmental psychology Chapter 8 p. 73-81
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- Description: Early attachment relationships are important, as the bonds made with significant others in childhood affect the emotional and physical health of individuals throughout life. The aim of this study was to explore how early Attachment relationships relate to levels of Resilience, and how these are related to levels of perceived stress and use of coping strategies. It was hypothesised that individuals with a secure attachment style would relate to higher levels of Resilience, and these variables in turn would correlate positively with proactive coping strategies and negatively with perceived stress. A cross-sectional sample of 196 volunteers (16 males, age M = 38.63 years, SD = 15.56 and 180 females, age M = 32.74 years, SD = 9.98) completed an online questionnaire assessing Attachment style, Resilience, perceived Stress, and coping styles. The results indicated a secure attachment style correlated with Resilience (r = .55). Both Secure attachment and Resilience correlated with greater use of proactive coping strategies (r > .24), and negatively with ratings of stress (r = -.20 and -.53, respectively). An exploratory analysis failed to support Resilience as a mediator of Attachment on Stress. Directions for future studies and implications of the findings are also discussed.
Impact of meditation on physical and mental health and life satisfaction
- Authors: Alexi, Nektarios , Moore, Kathleen
- Date: 2012
- Type: Text , Book chapter
- Relation: Stress and Anxiety: Application to Economic Hardship, Occupational Demands, and Developmental Challenges Chapter 9 p. 99-106
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- Description: Many people in the western world perceive the practice of mediation as a mystic, exotic practice beyond the boundaries of everyday life; meditation is often associated by non-practioners with a specific life style, diet , and specific activities in which a meditation practioner should engage. The focus of this paper is to ascertain if the practise of meditation has an impact of people's well-being. Data from 100 participants of whom 50 were regular practioners of meditation and 50 volunteers from the community were available for analysis. All participants provided demographic data on gender and age, and completed a questionnaire containing the Beck Depression Inventory, Perceived Stress Scale, Diener's life satisfaction scale, and Pennebaker's Health Questionnaire. Results indicated that those who practiced meditation reported less depressive symptomology and greater life satisfaction but there were no differences on physical health symptoms or stress levels after controlling for years practising meditation. Implication of these findings will be discussed.
Exercise beats anxiety : So why not do it? A lack of time you say!
- Authors: Moore, Kathleen , Bouchoucha, Stephane
- Date: 2016
- Type: Text , Book chapter
- Relation: Stress and Anxiety : Strategies, Opportunities and Adaptation Chapter 1 p. 7-16
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- Description: Exercise has been shown to have numerous health benefits including reductions in anxiety. Despite the known benefits of exercise, few people actually engaged in the recommended level of health activity. One major reason people report for their failure to exercise is a lack of time. The aims in this study were to determine 1) whether or not exercisers do report lower levels of anxiety than non-exercisers, 2) if non-exercisers have less discretionary time than exercisers and 3) to compare exercisers and non-exercisers on their time structure. One hundred and thirty-one volunteers (70% females) provided information on their typical exercise behavior, completed the anxiety subscale of the Profile of Mood States, and the Time Structure Questionnaire. Results indicate a tendency for non-exercising females to report higher scores on anxiety than all other participants, that exercisers were more focused on task completion, and that there is no difference in the discretionary time of exercisers and non-exercisers thus challenging the myth that lack of time prevents people from exercising. These results are discussed in terms of future programs.