Employees in the Occupational Risk Division (ORD) of a large petrochemical company experience many difficult situations on a regular basis. This division of the company comprises the emergency services, the security and the occupational health divisions of the company. Even though every precaution is taken to ensure the safety of employees in the company, accidents and incidents do happen. The employees of the ORD are confronted with gruesome accidents, dangerous accident scenes where they have to enter when everyone else is evacuated, and security breeches where they may have to enter and resolve serious conflict situations. The possibility that their work climate may contributed to their mental health status is suggested. It is suspected that the stress of the job affects the mental health of the employees of the OCD, and ways need to be found to reduce these effects. The objective of this research was to determine the relationship between core self-evaluations, role overload, powerlessness and health indicators of employees in the ORD of a large petro-chemical company and to determine whether core self-evaluations act as a moderator in the relationship between role overload and powerlessness on the one hand and health indicators on the other hand. A cross-sectional design was used. The sample consisted of 299 employees from the Occupational Risk Division of the organization. Age, gender and level of education were included as control variables. A comprehensive survey containing the measuring instruments was administrated. Descriptive statistics and inferential statistics were used to analyse the data. Results obtained indicated that some of the scales were not reliable. Powerlessness was dropped from the analysis and qualitative and quantitative role overload were collapsed into a total overload measure. The results showed that a negative relationship exists between role overload and core self-evaluations. A positive relationship exists between role overload and neuroticism, poor health and depression. Self-esteem, self-efficacy and locus of control are negatively related to neuroticism and health, and neuroticism is positively related to poor health. Depression was predicted by experiences of overload, levels of self-efficacy, locus of control and negative affect (Neuroticism). General health was predicted by experiences of overload, locus of control, neuroticism and the interaction between overload and self-esteem. None of the scales predict medication use to a significant degree. Results further indicated that only self-esteem acts as a moderator in the relationship between role overload and general health, but none of the variables of core self-evaluations act as a moderator between role overload and depression or between role overload and the use of medication. By way of conclusion, recommendations for future research were made. / Thesis (M.A. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2008.

Psykisk ohälsa bland barn och unga är ett växande problem i Sverige. Kommunen bär den största samhällskostnaden för ett barn under uppväxten och därför är det extra viktigt att ta reda på hur resurser kan omfördelas i samhället för att gynna barns hälsa. Syftet med studien var att visa hur en investering i preventiva insatser kan förbättra barns psykiska hälsa och samtidigt spara på samhällets resurser. Kommunal statistik visar att barn i skolan som är i behov av särskilt stöd på grund av depression/ångest, ADHD och psykosocial problematik får insatser så som stöd från elevassistent, lärare eller placerad i särskild undervisningsgrupp. Kostnader för dessa insatser varierar mellan 4424-26000 kronor per barn och månad. Dessa kostnader kan ställas i relation till kostnader för universella preventiva skolprogram som har en bevisad positiv effekt på barns psykiska hälsa, vars driftskostnader för en hel intervention som mest är 1097 kronor per barn. Analysen visar att en omfördelning av resurserna till preventiva interventioner, såsom skolprogram, kan vara en lyckosam satsning för kommunen, både ekonomiskt och hälsomässigt då det kan förbättra barns psykiska hälsa men också leda till samhällsbesparingar. / Children’s mental ill-health is a growing public health problem in Sweden and for the municipality, being an important financial actor during a child’s upbringing, it is crucial to put resources where they give positive effect on the problem. The overall aim of the study is to describe how investing in prevention programs at children’s schools can improve children’s mental health and reduce the societal costs. Municipality statistics show that children in need of special support in school because of depression/anxiety, ADHD and psychosocial problems receive actions such as personal assistant, teacher or placed in a special education group. The cost of these actions varies between 4424-26000 Swedish krona [SEK] per child and month. These costs can be put in relation to preventive universal school interventions that have the highest cost of 1097 SEK per child and have a proven effect on child mental health. The analysis shows that preventing child mental ill-health can save societal costs and provide a healthier life for children compared to the current standard practice of targeting the children’s problems only after they have occurred.

Employees in the Occupational Risk Division (ORD) of a large petrochemical company experience many difficult situations on a regular basis. This division of the company comprises the emergency services, the security and the occupational health divisions of the company. Even though every precaution is taken to ensure the safety of employees in the company, accidents and incidents do happen. The employees of the ORD are confronted with gruesome accidents, dangerous accident scenes where they have to enter when everyone else is evacuated, and security breeches where they may have to enter and resolve serious conflict situations. The possibility that their work climate may contributed to their mental health status is suggested. It is suspected that the stress of the job affects the mental health of the employees of the OCD, and ways need to be found to reduce these effects. The objective of this research was to determine the relationship between core self-evaluations, role overload, powerlessness and health indicators of employees in the ORD of a large petro-chemical company and to determine whether core self-evaluations act as a moderator in the relationship between role overload and powerlessness on the one hand and health indicators on the other hand. A cross-sectional design was used. The sample consisted of 299 employees from the Occupational Risk Division of the organization. Age, gender and level of education were included as control variables. A comprehensive survey containing the measuring instruments was administrated. Descriptive statistics and inferential statistics were used to analyse the data. Results obtained indicated that some of the scales were not reliable. Powerlessness was dropped from the analysis and qualitative and quantitative role overload were collapsed into a total overload measure. The results showed that a negative relationship exists between role overload and core self-evaluations. A positive relationship exists between role overload and neuroticism, poor health and depression. Self-esteem, self-efficacy and locus of control are negatively related to neuroticism and health, and neuroticism is positively related to poor health. Depression was predicted by experiences of overload, levels of self-efficacy, locus of control and negative affect (Neuroticism). General health was predicted by experiences of overload, locus of control, neuroticism and the interaction between overload and self-esteem. None of the scales predict medication use to a significant degree. Results further indicated that only self-esteem acts as a moderator in the relationship between role overload and general health, but none of the variables of core self-evaluations act as a moderator between role overload and depression or between role overload and the use of medication. By way of conclusion, recommendations for future research were made. / Thesis (M.A. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2008.

Most employers agree that the effectiveness and success of their organisations depend on the effective utilisation of their human resources. Ill health in the workplace is a threat to optimal productivity, reduced absenteeism, provision of sustainable employee benefits, a motivated workforce, staff retention and maximisation of profits. Burnout and engagement are therefore important fields of investigation in the industrial psychology field. The aim of this study was to: test a model of work-related well-being; develop and evaluate a resilience intervention programme for a large financial services institution in South Africa. Article 1 used a cross-sectional survey design. The participants were predominantly in the administrative, call centre and IT divisions (N = 192). Article 2 was the development of a resilience model, which was based on the integration of thinking from an extensive literature review by the researcher. Article 3 used an experimental design, with a control group (n=51) and an experimental group («=55). Information was collected in a longitudinal research. The research method for each of the three articles of this study consisted of a brief literature review and an empirical study. The measuring instruments used in this study were the Maslach Burnout Inventory - General Survey (MBI-GS), Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES), Job Demands-Resources Scale (JD-RS), Health subscales, Organisational Commitment subscales, the ASSET questionnaire, the Life Orientation Test - Revised (LOT-R) and a biographical questionnaire. In both article 1 and article 3, descriptive statistics were computed to describe the data; as were Pearson product-moment correlation coefficients to specify the relationship between the variables. In article 1, multiple regression analyses were conducted to determine the proportion of variance in the dependent variable that is predicted by the independent variables. In article 3, paired-samples f-tests were used to determine the difference in results for year 1 and year 2. Article 1 showed the central role that low optimism plays in contributing to burnout, and high optimism plays in work engagement. Interestingly, high social support was linked to increased cynicism, whilst low social support contributed to dedication. Burnout contributed to both physical and psychological ill health. Dedication and low cynicism contributed to affective commitment, whilst engagement and low cynicism contributed to behavioural commitment. Article 2 was the development of a multidimensional, proactive coping approach which consistently strives to develop and enhance the individual's resilience coping reservoir pools (mental, spiritual, socio-emotional and physical) leading to improved resilience, wellness and quality of life. Each reservoir pool has activities that enhance the fitness of the individual, namely physical (rest and relaxation, exercise and nutrition), mental (stimuli, reflection and empowering thinking), spiritual (coat of arms, pay it forward and gratitude), socio-emotional (breaking destructive relationships and nurturing relationships, responsibility). Article 3's results showed that the resilience intervention resulted in a statistically significant difference decrease in psychological ill health. Recommendations for future research were made. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2009.

Most employers agree that the effectiveness and success of their organisations depend on the effective utilisation of their human resources. Ill health in the workplace is a threat to optimal productivity, reduced absenteeism, provision of sustainable employee benefits, a motivated workforce, staff retention and maximisation of profits. Burnout and engagement are therefore important fields of investigation in the industrial psychology field. The aim of this study was to: test a model of work-related well-being; develop and evaluate a resilience intervention programme for a large financial services institution in South Africa. Article 1 used a cross-sectional survey design. The participants were predominantly in the administrative, call centre and IT divisions (N = 192). Article 2 was the development of a resilience model, which was based on the integration of thinking from an extensive literature review by the researcher. Article 3 used an experimental design, with a control group (n=51) and an experimental group («=55). Information was collected in a longitudinal research. The research method for each of the three articles of this study consisted of a brief literature review and an empirical study. The measuring instruments used in this study were the Maslach Burnout Inventory - General Survey (MBI-GS), Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES), Job Demands-Resources Scale (JD-RS), Health subscales, Organisational Commitment subscales, the ASSET questionnaire, the Life Orientation Test - Revised (LOT-R) and a biographical questionnaire. In both article 1 and article 3, descriptive statistics were computed to describe the data; as were Pearson product-moment correlation coefficients to specify the relationship between the variables. In article 1, multiple regression analyses were conducted to determine the proportion of variance in the dependent variable that is predicted by the independent variables. In article 3, paired-samples f-tests were used to determine the difference in results for year 1 and year 2. Article 1 showed the central role that low optimism plays in contributing to burnout, and high optimism plays in work engagement. Interestingly, high social support was linked to increased cynicism, whilst low social support contributed to dedication. Burnout contributed to both physical and psychological ill health. Dedication and low cynicism contributed to affective commitment, whilst engagement and low cynicism contributed to behavioural commitment. Article 2 was the development of a multidimensional, proactive coping approach which consistently strives to develop and enhance the individual's resilience coping reservoir pools (mental, spiritual, socio-emotional and physical) leading to improved resilience, wellness and quality of life. Each reservoir pool has activities that enhance the fitness of the individual, namely physical (rest and relaxation, exercise and nutrition), mental (stimuli, reflection and empowering thinking), spiritual (coat of arms, pay it forward and gratitude), socio-emotional (breaking destructive relationships and nurturing relationships, responsibility). Article 3's results showed that the resilience intervention resulted in a statistically significant difference decrease in psychological ill health. Recommendations for future research were made. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2009.

Bakgrund: Psykisk ohälsa är ett vanligt förekommande fenomen. Trots detta så existerar fortfarande ett stigma mot de som drabbas i form av negativa föreställningar om denna grupp. Stigmatiserande attityder finns i samhället i stort samt inom vården och kan resultera i negativa konsekvenser för den som blir utsatt. Detta är inte i linje med vårdens uppdrag där alla ska behandlas med värdighet och respekt. Syfte: Beskriva hur personer med psykisk ohälsa upplever stigma inom vården. Metod: Studien är en litteraturöversikt av kvalitativ design med en induktiv ansats. Resultatet är baserat på nio artiklar som kvalitetsgranskades utifrån ett protokoll framtaget av Hälsohögskolan i Jönköping samt analyserades utifrån Fribergs analyssteg. Resultat: Stereotypisering samt bristande vård utgör studiens övergripande teman. I dessa ingår underteman upplevelser av att anses vara inkompetent, upplevelser av social stämpling, upplevelser av bristande interaktion, upplevelser av att inte uppfattas som en hel människa samt upplevelser av kränkande bemötande. Slutsats: Det faktum att patienterna har psykisk ohälsa kan påverka vårdrelationen negativt. Stigmat kan skapa barriärer mellan patienter och vårdgivare samt kan ge upphov till lidande för patienterna. Vårdgivaren bör se människan bakom sjukdomen. / Background: Mental ill health is a widespread phenomenon. There is in spite of this still a stigma around the people affected that takes form of negative notions about this group. Stigmatizing attitudes exist both in society as a whole and in health care and may result in negative outcomes for the people affected by them. This is not in line with the commitment of health care where everyone should be treated with dignity and respect. Aim: To describe how people with mental ill health experience stigma in healthcare. Method: The study is a literature review with a qualitative design and an inductive approach. The result is based on nine scientific papers which were examined by quality through a protocol made by Hälsohögskolan in Jönköping and analysed with Friberg’s model of analysis. Results: Stereotypization and insufficient care are the general themes of the study. These themes includes the subthemes experiences of being considered incompetent, experiences of social labelling, experiences of insufficient interaction, experiences of not being perceived as a whole person and experiences of offensive treatment. Conclusions: The occurrence of patients having mental ill health may affect the relationship between caregivers and the patients in a negative manner. The stigma may create barriers between patients and caregiver and may result in suffering for the patients. The caregivers should see the person behind the illness.

Studies suggests that there are differences between minorities from the Middle East in Western countries and natives regarding their attitudes to psychiatric illness, where the minority from Middle East have more negative attitudes towards psychiatric illness. While minorities from the Middle East comprise a significant share of the population in Sweden, there is a lack of studies that specifically investigates how their attitudes towards mental illness compares to the attitudes of Swedish born. The aim of this study is to investigate if men and women from the Middle East living in Sweden differ in their attitudes towards mental illness compared to men and women born in Sweden. The investigation is based on CAMI-S three attitude factors: “open-minded/pro-integration”, “fear/avoidance” and “community mental health ideology”. The study is based on questionnaires from 80 respondents, 48 born in Sweden and 32 born in the Middle East, where the respondents have answered questions based on CAMI-S. The answers have been compiled based on the three attitude factors and the relationship between the attitude factors and country of origin and gender have been analyzed with ANOVA. The null hypothesis is that there is no relationship between the three attitude factors and the independent variables “country of origin” and “gender”. The results show that there is a relationship between country of origin and the two first attitude factors, where the respondents from the Middle East had more negative attitudes towards mental illness compared to Swedes. Gender, on the other hand, had no statistically reliable relation with the three attitude factors. The results also indicate that the tool CAMI-S is ill adjusted for individuals with little knowledge of the Swedish care system.

No description available.

Denna kvalitativa studie har till syfte att öka förståelsen kring tjänstemännens egen upplevelse om sin arbetsmiljö inom socialförvaltningen, och de möjliga risker som arbetsmiljön kan komma att innefatta. Studien genomfördes med semistrukturerade intervjuer som kom att tematiseras och presenteras i resultatet. Det resultat som framkommit i studien presenteras genom tre teman; Förväntning och verklighet, Samverkan samt Utveckling. Det finns delar som socialförvaltningens tjänstemän upplever vara påtagligare än andra, och det är de riskfaktorer som kom att belysas genom dessa teman. Riskfaktorerna som framkom var dock inte de som förväntades enligt forskningsgenomgången, utan det påvisades finnas större betydelse av de interna faktorerna (strukturer, handlingsplaner, samverkan med mera) än det tidigare förväntade externa faktorerna (möten med klienter, politiska beslut med mera). Detta gjorde att det finns ett större intresse för vad vidare forskning kan komma att finna utifrån förutsättningen av de inre påverkningarna hos socialförvaltningen. Den teori som studien använt sig för att tolka resultatet om framgång och ett hållbart arbetssätt för socialförvaltningens tjänstemän är det salutogena perspektivet samt arbetets förutsättning utifrån KASAM. / The purpose of this qualitative study is to increase the understanding of the employees' own experience of their work environment in the social administration, and the possible risks that the work environment may include. The study was conducted with semi-structured interviews that came to be thematized and presented in the results. The results obtained in the study are presented through three themes; Expectation and Reality, Collaboration and Development. There are parts that social service officials find to be more evident than others, and these are the risk factors that were highlighted through these themes. However, the risk factors that emerged were not those expected according to the research review, but the internal factors (structures, action plans, collaboration, etc.) were found to be more important than the previously expected external factors (meetings with clients, political decisions, etc.). This meant that there was a greater interest in what further research might find based on the assumption of the internal effects of social management. The theory that the study used to interpret the results of success and a sustainable way of working for social service officials is the salutogenic perspective and the work's premise based on KASAM.

Syftet med studien var att undersöka vilka förklaringar kuratorerna anger till psykisk ohälsa bland ungdomar och hur de arbetar för att motverka psykisk ohälsa. Åtta kvalitativa intervjuer genomfördes med kuratorer inom skolans elevhälsa, ungdomsmottagningar och barn- och ungdomspsykiatrin. Resultatet visar att kuratorernas förklaringar till psykisk ohälsa hos unga är individ-, familje-, relations- och skolrelaterade. Stressen att alltid vara tillgänglig via mobilen och destruktiva beteenden har stor betydelse för ungdomars psykiska ohälsa och stress. Skolans struktur utgör även en stor risk till psykisk ohälsa bland ungdomarna. Resultaten visar även att kuratorernas arbetssätt i form av ett professionellt bemötande och alliansbyggandet har stor betydelse för att ungdomarna ska uppnå psykisk hälsa. Samverkan samt främjande och förebyggande insatser på grupp, individ och samhällsnivå, är viktiga för att motverka psykisk ohälsa hos unga. Studien indikerar att det finns ett behov för vidare forskning om psykisk ohälsa bland unga. / The study’s objective was to investigate counselors’ view of mental ill-health among young people and their work to prevent it. Eight qualitative interviews were conducted with counselors in schools, youth clinics, and youth psychiatry wards. The outcome shows that mental ill-health among young people relates to sense of self, family and relationship issues, and school related issues. The stress to always be accessible via mobile phones and other self-destructive behavior gravely impact youths’ sense of wellbeing. The educational system is also at risk of inducing mental ill-health among young people. Counselors’ ability to work with a professional approach and alliance building between young people is of great importance for the youths to retain their mental health. Preventative efforts at the individual, group, and community levels are important for helping adolescents with mental ill-health. This study indicates that further research on mental ill-health among young people is essential.