Stress In Everyday Life-

Part 2

WORKPLACE STRESS

Work place stress in one of the major sources of stress for people and may cause:

• Poor work performance.• Absenteeism• Burnout• Alcohol and drug abuse.• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvw2V

bymKYs&list=PL6cNh2ygSTqxnDXSdmECveJdiT35WGSr5&index=2

EXAMPLES OF WORK

PLACE

STRESSORS

WORKLOADENVIRONMENT

COMMUNICATING/

CONFLICTING

PERSONALITIES

DEADLINES

HOME ENVIORNMENT- WHICH YOU BRING TO

WORK

TOO LITTLE/TOO MUCH

•LIGHTING•HEATING•DECORATION

KARASEK (1979) MARMOT ET AL (1997)

He produced a outline theory of the relationship between job demand (workload) and levels of control.

HIGH DEMAND

LOW DEMAND

LOW CONTROL

STRESSFUL JOB

(more demand is on you but no control)

PASSIVE JOB

(sit down)

HIGH CONTROL

ACTIVE JOB

(always something to do)

NOT STRESSFULL JOB

(low levels of stress)

There were 7,000 participants in the Whitehall 2 study. These participants were followed up for 5 years, all these participants were free of heart problems when the study began.CONCLUSION:-•Significant factor- Degree of Control.•CHD 1.5x greater in lower pay grade.

ISSUES:-•Biased Sample.•Social Desirability Bias.•Inaccuracies.•All factors?•Informed Consent•Protection from harm•Debrief

Cooper et al. (1998) -

The occupational

stress indicator

Very important for organizations to identify and minimize the stress to help employees.

Findings used to devise strategies – reduce negative effects on individual & organisation...

Self-report questionnaires at workplace.

LIFE CHANGES AND DAILY HASSLES

Stress is a major factor of everyday life that can be minor or long lasting.

Every day stress examples include:• Work• Exams

• Moving houses

Major life events include:• Marriage• Death

• Becoming a parent • Holidays

Holmes and Rahe (1967) : Life changes

Conclusion of findings:

• Death of spouse was rated as the event that requires most adjustment

therefore most stressful.

• This was followed by divorce and marital separation

• Last was holidays was seen as the least stressful

•They constructed a SRRS.• Examined 5,000 patients records making a list of 43 life events that seemed to come before an illness.•Asked 4000 participant to rate each item in terms of the amount of stress produced .•Upon this they compared each event to marriage and averaged everyone's results divided by 10 to get a measure of individual events in terms of LCU’s.

•Methodological issues

•Ethical issues•Culture biased/specific – study based in US & can not be generalized for everyone

•Wide range of participants – age, gender, ethnicity

•Representative data – large sample size

•Quantitative Data – easy to analyse/compare/illustrate

• Privacy and confidentiality• Informed consent• Debrief• Protection from harm

SRRS EVALUATION•Strengths •Weaknesses• Based on correlations which can

identify the relationship between two variables

• Representative data as there is a large sample size so results can be generalized

• Questionnaire – common way of measure –used for many studies

• Quantitative data – operationalized so easy to compare results

• Scale does not consider individual differences – eg; divorce perceived differently via primary/ secondary appraisal

• Results in correlation form – only shows association between variables & not cause of stress related illness

• Retrospective/prospective studies – unreliable and cannot be generalized

Other life event scales•Sarason et al. (1978) – Life events scale

•Kanner et al. (1981)– The hassles scale

• Allowed rate of 57 life events – severity of impact – positive /negative impact

•Allowed individual differences

•Specialized sections for certain groups –eg; students

•3 scores produced – negative change, positive change, total change

•Generally, negative life change scores correlate highest with illness outcomes

•Original scale – 117 items covering daily life

•Could be modified for groups eg; students – study problems/unfriendly tutors

•Argued life has positive events (uplifts) – could counteract negative effects of daily hassles

•Scale correlate with stress-related problems – especially depression & anxiety

•Uplifts – unrelated to health outcomes

PERSONALITY FACTORS

Researchers have been interested in whether certain personality characteristics or behaviors may

make an individual more prone to suffering from stress.

TYPE A BEHAVIOUR (TAB)• A behaviour pattern that has long

been linked to stress related illnesses.

Friedman and RosenmanBEHAVIOUR PATTERNS OF TYPE A

EXAMPLES

TIME PRESSURED • WORKING TO DEADLINES• MULTI-TASKING• UNHAPPY DOING NOTHING

COMPETITIVE • FOCUSES ON ACHIEVMENT• PLAYS TO WIN• WORK AND LIFESTYLE

HOSTILITY • EASILY IRRITATED• IMPATIENT AND ANGERED• PERFECTIONIST• SELF PROJECTED ANGER

TYPE B BEHAVIOUR• Opposite of Type A Behaviour• Relaxed(Not competitive &

hostile)• Not driven to succeed and

impress• Easy going • Patient

Rosenman et al. (1976) • 3454 middle aged men in

the US• They were characterized

as Type A or B using structured interviews.

• As Participants answered questions, trained interviewers analysed behaviour to detect signs of Type A personality (e.g.) fast paced, finger tapping, restlessness.

• Participants were followed up for 8.5 yrs.

• During this time there were 257 heart attacks and 69% were Type A.

CONCLUSION:• High TAB individuals were

vulnerable to heart disease even when lifestyle factors such as obesity and smoking were controlled.

• Methodological issues

•Ethical issues • Criticisms• Culture & gender

specific – study based on men only in US

• Not all variables accounted – lifestyle factors – major events; eg: moving house

• TAB is based on western societies; definition of TAB may vary in other countries

• Informed Consent

• Debrief

• People with TAB can prevent heart disease - by engaging in sports & having social support networks

• Likely to be high achievers – can afford to reduce negative effects of stress in life

Other personality types...EYSENCK(1988) DENOLLET(2000) TEMSHOK(1987)

He proposed 2 types of personality:TYPE C• Vulnerable to cancer• Characterized with

difficulties in expressing emotions and with social relationships

TYPE D• Vulnerable to heart

disease• Characterized with

high levels of anger and hostility

TYPE D• More prone to heart

disease • People with this type

of personality experienced high levels of negative emotion and avoid interacting with others e.g. shyness

TYPE C• Linked to cancer• Describes people

who have difficulty in expressing emotions

Hardiness

ELEMENTS OF HARDINESS

DESCRIPTION

CONTROL Able to influence life events including stressors

COMMITMENT Sense of involvement and purpose in life

CHALLENGE Life changes are seen as opportunity rather than sources of stress

KOBASA(1979)The concept of hardiness was introduced by Kobasa who was interested in factors that might protect people against the effects of stress.

HIGH HARDINESS SCORE = LESS LIKELY TO SUFFER STRESS RELATED

ILLNESSES

WIEBE & SMITH(1992)

ALSO SUPPORTS THIS.

COPING WITH

STRESS

Coping StrategiesPsychological Physiological

Informal

Problem Focused Coping

CBT

HT

DRUGS

Beta-Blockers

Alternative MethodsProgressive

Muscle Relaxation

and Meditation

Physical Exercise

Informal Psychological Methods

Emotion-focussed coping:- Targets the emotional impact of

stressors, strategies include: Denial Seeking support from friends

(moaning to friends) Cinema / Drinking/ Smoking. Usually used when stressor is

uncontrollable, for example a bereavement.

CARVER ET AL. (1993)- THIS STRATEGY OF DENIAL LED TO BETTER ADJUSTMENT IN WOMEN WITH BREAST CANCER + SOCIAL SUPPORT HELPS IN COPING WITH CANCER.

Problem-focussed coping:- Directly reduce the impact of a

stressor in a practical and systematical manner:

Revision Timetable Work through notes regularly. Used when the stressor is

controllable… work-based problems (The light is irritating you… change the light bulb?)

Have a good chance of removing the stressor through this strategy.

Problem-focused is limited as we can’t control all the stressors in our lives, for example a chronic illness.

Meichenbaum (1997)’s STRESS INOCULATION THERAPY (SIT)

Cognitive restructuring Prepare individuals for future stressors,

promote resilience, consequently reduce the negative effects of stress.

Easy as 1,2,3:1. Conceptualisation2. Skills Training and Rehearsal3. Application and Follow Through. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCH8qR-7OTg

Kobasa’s Hardiness Training...

1. Focussing- Think about sources of stress + How to deal with it.

2. Reliving/Reconstructing- Coping strategies.3. Self-Improvement- Take on challenges, commit

and control...

=STRESS MANAGMENT.

SIT requires time, commitment, money – not suitable for everyone

Training in relaxation techniques gives clients some control over stressful situations –can be emotion focused

1. Meichenbaum’s SIT

2. Kobasa’s Hardiness Training

Hardiness Training provides more confidence within clients – can deal with future stressful situations

Studies shown effectiveness of HT – improves health & performance in adults and children

Physiological Methods:- Drugs

Beta-Blockers https://www.youtub

e.com/watch?v=CyJlGXwjRQY

Benzodiazepines (BZ’s)

Act on the brain increasing the action of GABA inhibitory neurotransmitter.

G

Relatively safe in overdose compared to barbiturates

Do not target source of stress but can be effective coping strategy if combined with psychological methods

Side effects – tiredness, impaired motor coordination, memory impairment if used long-term

Physical dependence – withdrawal symptoms include: sleeping patters, increased heart rate, tremors (shaking)

Benzodiazepines (BZs)

Beta-Blockers No major side effects – do not penetrate brain easily

Act rapidly/directly on heart & blood pressure (lifesaving function)

Target physiological stress response by lowering bodily arousal

Do not target sources of stress – psychological methods needed

ALTERNATIVE METHODS: Biofeedback- connected to machines,

combining physiological with psychological. Progressive Muscle Relaxation and

Meditation- common component of CBT, reduces arousal, Jacobson (1938)

Physical Exercise- Lowers stress, positive mood says Biddle (2000) or is it enkephalins?

Social Support- Emotional, practical, informational and general network support, Constable and Russell (1996).

Biofeedback Progressive Muscle Relaxation

Physical Exercise

No side effects – harmless

Requires motivation & commitment for training programme to be successful

Biofeedback can hold same effectiveness as relaxation techniques

Muscle Relaxation & Meditation can reduce arousal associated with stress

Increased sense of control over stressful situations

Can be extremely useful when combined with more focused/systematic methods

Lowers resting heart rate & blood pressure

Positive effects of raising mood

Can reduce reported levels of stress & depression

Risk of injury – vigorous exercise/ starting exercise programme

Evidence Evaluation Research – social support

reduces vulnerability to stress- related arousal

Vogt et al. – mortality from heart disease shows as closely related to social support

Constable & Russell – social support within workplace reduces job-related stress

Social support reduces physical effects of stress

Social networks can provide – emotional, practical, informational & self-esteem support

Allen et al. – presence of a pet lowered heart rates during performance of stressful tests

Social Support...

GAME TIME …

Which 1 of the 3 is a workplace stressor?

1. Death2. Farting

3. Lighting

LIGHTING!!!!!

Ali is forming a habit of being late to work…could it be because of stress?

1. Yes2. No

YES

What does SIT stand for?1. Stress inoculation therapy.

2. Sometimes ingesting things.

STRESS INOCULATION THERAPY

Who conducted the Whitehall 2 study?

1. Marmot et al.2. Karasek et al.

3. My dad.

MARMOT ET AL.

What is the SRRS a measure of?

1. Speed2. Wealth3. Stress

STRESS

WELL DONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!