Stress In Everyday Life- Part 2
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!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!