The mining industry is driven by performance and intense working environments, accompanied by high demands, hazardous working conditions and socially undesirable working hours. These factors could impact on the interaction between work and home, as well as contributing to health problems of employees. The objectives of this research were to test the construct validity, construct equivalence and reliability of a work-home interaction measuring instrument, the Survey Work-Home Interaction - Nijmegen (SWING), to determine if work-home interaction differences exist between different demographical groups, and to test a structural model of job characteristics (job demands and job resources), ill health and negative work-home interference. Random samples (n = 320) were taken from employees working in the mining industry (gold, platinum and phosphate mines) in the Gauteng, North West and Northern provinces. The SWING, a self-developed job characteristics questionnaire and an adapted version of the General Health Questionnaire were administered. Structural equation modelling, descriptive statistics, Cronbach alpha coefficients, Pearson product-moment correlations, multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) were used to analyse the data. Structural equation modelling confirmed the four-factor structure of the SWING and the construct equivalence for two language and ethnic groups. The four factors showed acceptable internal consistencies. Statistically significant differences were found based on age, ethnicity, gender, qualification, marital and parental status, language, flexibility at work and whether individuals had a partner with a paid job. Regarding the structural model, the results showed that job demands and job resources have an impact on ill health, and that ill health is associated with negative WHI. It was also found that job demands and job resources have a direct relationship with negative WHI on their own, but when both high demands and a lack of resources are present, only an indirect relationship with negative WHI exists though ill health. / Thesis (M.Com. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2007

Denna studie undersöker hur samverkan upplevs fungera mellan skola, socialtjänst och Barn-och ungdomspsykiatri (BUP) som möter barn med psykisk ohälsa i samverkansmöten. Studien bygger på sex semistrukturerade intervjuer med två skolkuratorer, två socialsekreterare samt två kuratorer från BUP. Empirin har analyserats med innehållsanalys och har därefter tolkats genom Sociala representationer och Institutionell teori. Resultatet består av kategorierna Möjligheter med samverkan, Svårigheter med samverkan, Ansvarsfördelning, Sätt att främja samverkan och sist Sociala representationer. Resultatet visade att det som fungerade bra med samverkan var att det fanns tydliga rutiner och ansvarsområden samt att aktörerna lärde sig om varandras professioners sätt att tänka utifrån deras olika kompetenser. Resultatet visade att det inte existerade någon maktobalans mellan professionerna men att det kunde förekomma i deras handlingsförmåga. Det som kunde påverka samverkan negativt var resurshinder inom de olika organisationerna. Intervjupersonernas synsätt om varandra var positivt i övergripande bemärkelse och det framkom att det fanns åsikter om varandra som påverkade samverkan positivt. Slutsatsen är att samverkan genom samordnad individuell plan (SIP) haft en positiv utveckling för samverkan, då den gett möjlighet att träffas och få kännedom om varandras organisationer, kompetenser och ansvarsområden. Aktörernas olika organisatoriska förutsättningar ledde ofta till att det uppstod olika tolkningar om hur ett socialt problem skulle tolkas och lösas, vilket bidrog positivt till en helhetsbild av en klients situation. / This study aims to investigate how the collaboration between Social services, Child and adolescent psychiatry (BUP) and School are being perceived regarding children with mental ill-health. The study is based upon six semi-structured interviews with two school social workers, two social service workers and two counselors from BUP. The results has been analysed with content analysis and thereafter interpreted through Social representations and Institutional theory. The emerging categories were: Possibilities with collaboration, Difficulties with collaboration, Responsibility distribution, Ways to improve collaboration and Social representations. The results showed that what was perceived as a positive collaboration was distinctive routines, clear areas of responsibility and to learn about each of the professions way of thinking, as they have different expertise. The results also showed that it did not exist a balance of power, but that it could affect their professional ability to act. What could affect the collaboration negatively was the difficulty of resource management within the organizations. The view the participants had of each other was generally positive, and it did exist thoughts of each other in some way affecting the collaboration. The conclusion is that collaboration through Specialized individual plan (SIP) has had a positive effect, as it has given the opportunity for professionals to meet and get knowledge about each other’s organizations, competences and areas of responsibility. The participants different organizational conditions often led to different interpretations on how a social problem should be interpreted and solved, which contributed positively to an overall picture regarding a client’s situation.

Persons with serious mental illness (SMI) are in worse physical health compared to persons in the general population and are more likely to develop medical conditions, such as obesity and diabetes, which place them at risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD). There is some evidence that Hispanics with serious mental illness are at greater risk for developing CVD risk factors compared to non-Hispanic Whites with SMI mainly due to health disparities. This study asks the questions: 1) What self-management behaviors do Hispanics with SMI and at risk of CVD engage in or attempt to engage in?, 2) How do measures of self-efficacy and patient activation correspond to self-management behaviors and barriers?, and 3) How do patients’ and stakeholders’ reports of barriers converge or diverge? Self-efficacy theory and social ecology theory were used as theoretical frameworks. Twenty four consumers were recruited from an outpatient mental health clinic. Seventeen stakeholders were recruited through various sites. A convergent mixed methods approach was used. Quantitative measures of self-efficacy and patient activation were compared to qualitative data on self-management behaviors and barriers to healthy living. Additionally, two sets of qualitative data on consumers’ and stakeholders’ perceptions of barriers to healthy living were compared to determine if they converged. Self-management behaviors identified included: healthy eating, seeking medical care, engaging in physical activity, involving others, self-motivation, use of faith, and engaging in structured and unstructured activities. Consumers with high levels of self-efficacy and patient activation tended to engage in more self-management behaviors regularly and perceived fewer barriers. Consumers with the lowest levels of self- efficacy and patient activation engaged in fewer self-management behaviors regularly and encountered more barriers. Consumer and stakeholder perceptions of barriers to healthy living experienced by consumers did converge, with the exception of the following additional barriers which were only identified by stakeholders: lack of health education, lack of formal education, consumer beliefs and fears, and body image. Using an ecological approach, barriers were identified at different environmental levels, often interacting. Overall, self-efficacy and patient activation may have an important influence on self-management behaviors among Hispanics with SMI and at risk for CVD. There is the possibility that barriers may moderate this relationship. Additionally, an ecological approach to understanding barriers to healthy living can be used to locate barriers and develop interventions which address them.

Thesis (M.Com. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2007.

Background: In Sweden, as well as in most Western countries, sickness absence is a major public health problem that has increased in recent years. This is a complex phenomenon related not only to ill health factors, but also to other factors on the levels of the individual, the family, the workplace, and the society. Most studies of sickness absence are cross sectional, which makes it difficult to investigate aetiological factors. A longitudinal study design is preferable, because sick-leave spells can have a long duration and are often due to chronic or recurrent disorders. Objectives: The aim of the present research was to conduct a pilot study to gain further information about factors associated with sickness absence and disability pension, perceptions of contacts with rehabilitation professionals, and self-rated health over time among younger persons initially on sick leave with low-back, neck, or shoulder diagnoses. Material and methods: An eleven-year prospective cohort study of all individuals who, in 1985, were aged 25–34 years, lived in the municipality of Linköping, Sweden, and had a sick-leave spell ≥ 28 days with low-back, neck, or shoulder diagnoses (n = 213, 61% women). The following information was obtained from registers: number of sick-leave days and spells in 1982–1984; diagnosis and demographical data in 1985 (age, sex, occupation, citizenship, marital status, and income); data on each sick-leave period (date, full/part time), disability pension (date, diagnoses, temporary/permanent, full/part time); emigration (date), and death (date, cause) from 1985 to 1 September 1996. In 1996, a questionnaire was sent to members of the cohort (response rate 73%). Different measures were used to analyse sickness absence and disability pension over the eleven-year period, possible risk factors for disability pension were tested by Cox regression, and possible factors predicting future low levels of sickness absence were tested by logistic regression. Based on the questionnaire perceptions of encounters with rehabilitation professionals were analysed with factor analyses and linear regression, and the so called health-line (a method to collect data on self-rated health over time) was tested, and the results were compared with data on sickness absence and disability ension. Results: The members of the cohort turned out to be a high-risk group for disability pension. After 11 years, 26% of the women and 14% of the men had been granted such benefits, mainly due to musculoskeletal diagnoses, but also with psychiatric diagnoses for half of the men and 17% of the women. Full-time pension was granted more often to men than to women. The women had higher levels of sickness absence. An extended Cox regression model proved suitable for prediction of disability pension. Taking citizenship and long-term sickness absence into consideration, the women had a 1.9 times higher risk of being granted disability pension than the men. Predictors for future low levels of sickness absence were a history of low sickness absence, having a white-collar job, and being married. These associations were not discerned when a pathogenic approach was used, which implies that factors other than the opposite risk factor for disability pension are associated with future low sickness absence. Three dimensions of the individuals’ contacts with professionals were identified: supportive treatment, distant treatment, and empowering treatment. Women perceived both social insurance officers and health care professionals as more supportive than the men did. Contact with social insurance officers was experienced as more supportive and empowering by persons on disability pension than by those not receiving such benefits. Data collected using the health-line (i.e., self-rated health from 1985 to 1995) was correlated with data on annual mean number of sick-leave days and days on disability pension. No tendency to recall bias was noted. Conclusions: Additional research is needed to elucidate the situation of women on sick leave with low-back, neck, and shoulder diagnoses. Further testing and practical application of statistical and epidemiological models for analysing sickness absence and disability pension data should be carried out to ascertain the validity and usefulness of such models. / On the day of the public defence the status of the article I was: Submitted; article III was: Accepted; article IV was: Submitted and article V was: In press.

Political liberalization and increased public costs have placed new demands on the Swedish public sector. Two ways of meeting these novel requirements have been to corporatize and privatize organizations. With these two organizational changes, however, comes a risk of increased insecurity and higher demands on employees; the ability to handle these changes is likely dependent on their social status within an organization. The general aim of the thesis is to contribute to the understanding of how corporatization and privatization might affect employees’ work climate, work attitudes and ill-health. Special importance is placed on whether outcomes may differ depending on the employees’ social status in the form of hierarchic level and gender. Questionnaire data from Swedish acute care hospitals were used in three empirical studies. Study I showed that physicians at corporatized and privatized hospitals reported more positive experiences of their work climate compared with physicians at a public administration hospital. Study II showed that privatization had more negative ramifications for a middle hierarchic level (i.e., registered nurses) who reported deterioration of work attitudes, while there were no major consequences for employees at high (physicians) or low (assistant nurses) hierarchic levels. Study III found that although the work situation for women and men physicians were somewhat comparable (i.e., the same occupation, the same organization), all of the differences that remained between the genders were to the detriment of women. The results of this thesis suggest that corporatizations and privatizations do not necessarily imply negative consequence for employees. However, the consequences appear to differ between groups with different social status. Employees whose immediate work situation is affected but who do not have sufficient resources to handle the requirements associated with an organizational change may perceive the most negative consequences. / At the time of the doctoral defense, the following papers were unpublished and had a status as follows: Paper 3: Manuscript.

Det har skett stora förändringar på arbetsmarknaden, där visstidsanställning/ behovsanställning blivit alltmer vanligare anställningsformen i Sverige. Individer som inte har fast anställning har även sämre psykosociala arbetsförhållanden och upplever större stress på arbetsplatsen, vilket i sin tur kan leda till mental ohälsa. Även kvinnor upplever sig ha sämre psykosociala arbetsförhållanden jämfört med män. I denna studie undersöks sambandet mellan psykosociala arbetsförhållanden, arbetsbelastning, anställningsform samt kön och mental ohälsa. De psykosociala förhållanden mäts genom den så kallade krav- och kontrollmodell som omfattar vilken typ av arbete individen utför. Resultatet uppvisade positiva samband mellan både psyksociala arbetsförhållanden, alltför många arbetsuppgifter, visstidsanställning, kvinna och mental ohälsa då mental ohälsa var större hos de individer som upplever sig ha höga krav och låg kontroll i arbetet (spänt arbete) än hos individer med låga krav och hög kontroll på arbetsplatsen. Även alldeles för stor arbetsbelastning hade en stor betydelse när det gäller mental ohälsa. Detta gäller även anställningsform då resultatet visade att visstidsanställda var i högre utsträckning utsatta av mental ohälsa än de som har fast anställning. Emellertid vad gäller kön så resultatet uppvisade att kvinnor drabbas i högre utsträckning av mental ohälsa jämfört med män däremot kan detta inte kopplas till krav och kontroll på arbetsplatsen. Studien avslutas med diskussion kring de resultat som har erhållits från regressioner. / There have been major changes in labor markets, where temporary employments have become increasingly more common form of employment in Sweden. Individuals who do not have a permanent job have also worse psychosocial working conditions and experience greater stress in the workplace, which in turn can lead to mental ill health. Although women perceive themselves as having poorer psychosocial working conditions compared to males. The present study examines the relationship between psychosocial working conditions, workload, employment status, sex and mental ill health. The psychosocial working condition measured by the so called demands and latitudes model that includes the type of working the individual performs. The result showed a positive correlation between psychosocial working conditions, too many tasks, temporary employment, women and mental ill health where mental ill health was grater in those individuals who have high demands and low control at work than those with low demands and high control in the workplace. Also heavy workload had a major role in the mental ill health. This also applies to employment status when the results showed that temporary workers were more often affected of mental ill health than those with permanent employment. However, in terms of gender, the results showed that women are affected more often of mental ill health compared to men; however, this cannot be linked to demand and control in the workplace. The study concludes with discussion of the results obtained from the regressions.

Abstract  Individual psychological factors have been recognized to play an important role in the development of stress-related symptomatology. Despite extensive comorbidity between stress-related ill health and mood disorders, the advances in research on emotion regulation and transdiagnostics, have not been recognized in stress research to any considerable degree. In the current study, using a single subject design with multiple baselines across individuals (n=6), a transdiagnostic treatment intervention targeting maladaptive emotional regulation strategies was implemented on patients suffering from stress-related symptomatology. Results show that symptoms of exhaustion decreased in five of six participants on post-measures, with considerable convergence between measures of depression, anxiety and stress. Further investigation of treatment effects, alongside the processes linking emotion regulation and stress-related symptomatology are needed. / Sammanfattning  Individuella psykologiska faktorer spelar en viktig roll i utvecklingen av stressrelaterade symtom. Trots en omfattande samsjuklighet mellan å ena sidan stressrelaterad ohälsa, å andra sidan depression och ångest, har framsteg inom emotionsforskning och transdiagnostik inte uppmärksammats i någon stor utsträckning inom stressforskningen. I den aktuella studien användes en single subject design med multipla baslinjer mellan individer (n=6), för att implementera en emotionsinriktad transdiagnostisk behandling på patienter som lider av stressrelaterade symtom. Resultaten visar att fem av sex deltagare visade minskade tecken på utmattning efter genomgången behandling, med avsevärd konvergens mellan mått på depression, ångest och stress. För att kunna påvisa behandlingseffekter, samt förklara de processer som förbinder emotionsreglering och stressrelaterade symtom, behövs ytterligare forskning på området.

Continuous exposure to things like high job demands, lack of job resources, change, competitiveness and rivalry, can result in stress and burnout. Stressful events may lead to ill health and might impact negatively on the work-related well-being of employees. Because of the emergence of positive (organisational) psychology, the study of positive aspects of health and well-being are increasingly popular in Occupational Health Psychology. One of these positive aspects is work engagement, which is considered to be the antipode of burnout. Successful diagnoses of work stress, burnout and work engagement is the first step in facilitating the work-related well-being of employees. To measure stress, burnout and work engagement, it is important to use reliable and valid instruments. However, there is a lack of empirical research systematically investigating burnout and work engagement in South Africa, as well as serious limitations, including poorly designed studies, a lack of sophisticated statistical analyses and poorly controlled studies. South Africa is a multicultural society and therefore, when burnout and work engagement measures are applied to different cultural groups, issues of construct equivalence becomes important. Furthermore, little information exists regarding the causes and effects of work stress, burnout and work engagement of teachers in South Africa. The general objective of this research is to standardise the Maslach Burnout Inventory- General Survey (MBI-GS) and the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES) for teachers in the North West Province, to determine causes of occupational stress for teachers, to assess the relationship between occupational stress, organisational commitment and ill-health, and to develop and test a causal model of work-related well-being for teachers in the North West Province. A cross-sectional survey design was used. Random, stratified samples of teachers in the North West Province (N = 1177) were taken. An adapted version of the Maslach Burnout Inventory - General Survey (MBI-GS), the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES), An Organisational Stress Screening Tool (ASSET), the Affectometer 2, the Job Characteristics Inventory (JCI), and a biographical questionnaire were administered. Descriptive statistics, Cronbach alpha coefficients, inter-item correlations, exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, Pearson correlations, multivariate analysis of variance, one-way analysis of variance and t-tests were used to analyse the data. Structural equation modelling was used to test causal models of work-related well-being. Structural equation modelling confirmed a three-factor model of burnout (Exhaustion, Mental Distance and Professional Efficacy). All three factors showed acceptable internal consistencies and construct equivalence for two language groups. Structural equation modelling also confirmed a three-factor model of work engagement, consisting of Vigour, Dedication and Absorption. Two of the sub-scales, namely Vigour and Dedication showed acceptable internal consistencies. Both the MBI-GS and the UWES showed acceptable construct equivalence. The results showed that practically significant differences exist between demographic groups in their experience of burnout and work engagement. The results confirmed the construct validity and internal consistency of the ASSET. Occupational stress and low individual commitment to the organisation explained 3 1 % of the variance in physical and psychological ill-health. Commitment from the individual to the organisation moderated the effects of occupational stress on physical and psychological health of teachers. The results showed that role overload, unfavourable task characteristics, a lack of control and low positive affect predicted exhaustion. Favourable task characteristics, positive affect and low negative affect predicted professional efficacy. Burnout was related to physical and psychological ill-health. Regarding a model of work-related well-being, the results showed that job demands, a lack of job resources and low positive affect contributed to burnout. Burnout mediated the relationship between job demands and ill-health, while positive affect moderated the relationship between burnout and ill-health. Job resources predicted work engagement. Work engagement mediated the relationship between job resources and organisational commitment. Recommendations for future research were made. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2004.

Academia is a demanding profession, as evidenced by a body of research that documents the debilitating impact of occupational stress and burnout on the personal and professional welfare of academics. In particular, high levels of these pathological phenomena, left unchecked, undermine the quality, productivity and creativity of the academics' work in addition to their health, well-being and morale. Despite these indicators of "weaknesses" and "malfunctioning", academics know that there is times that they operate in a "milieu" of work - there is an intense focus and pleasurable emotions, accompanied by high levels of enthusiasm. Especially, with the upcoming positive paradigm in Occupational Health Psychology, "positive" trends such as work engagement, optimism, organisational commitment and life satisfaction are also commonplace among academics. The first step in the enhancement of work wellness is the successful diagnosis of stress, burnout and work engagement. However, to measure these constructs, it is important to use reliable and valid instruments, and at the same time, take into account the cultural diversity in a multicultural setting such as South Africa. Clearly then, an assessment of this type should be concerned with the issue of construct equivalency. Furthermore, little information exists regarding the causes and effects of occupational stress, burnout and work engagement of academics in South Africa. The general aim of this study was to standardise an adapted version of the Maslach Burnout Inventory-General Survey (MBI-GS) and the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES) for academics in South African higher education institutions, to determine their levels of occupational stress, organisational commitment and ill-health, and to test a structural model of work wellness for South African academics. A cross-sectional survey design was used, with stratified random samples (N = 595) taken of academics in six South African universities. The Maslach Burnout Inventory - General Survey, Utrecht Work Engagement Scale, Job Characteristics Inventory, the Health and Organisational Commitment subscales of the ASSET, The Life Orientation Test and Satisfaction with Life Scale were administered. Cronbach alpha coefficients, exploratory factor analysis, Pearson correlations, multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA), one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), t-tests and multiple regression analysis were used to analyse the data. Structural equation modelling was used to test a structural model of work wellness. Exploratory factor analysis with target rotations resulted in a three-factor model of burnout, consisting of Exhaustion, Mental Distance and Professional Efficacy. The scales showed acceptable internal consistencies and construct equivalence for two language groups. Practically significant differences were found in the burnout levels of academics with regard to their age, marital status and working hours. Exploratory factor analysis with target rotations resulted in a two-factor model of work engagement, consisting of Vigour/Dedication and Absorption. The scales showed acceptable construct equivalence for two language groups (Afrikaans and English). One scale, namely Vigour/Dedication showed acceptable internal consistency. Practically significant differences were found between the work engagement of academics with different job levels and qualifications. Compared to the normative data, academics reported significantly high levels of stress relating to pay and benefits, overload and work-life balance. Academics also reported high levels of psychological ill-health, but experienced high levels of commitment both from and towards their organisation. Organisational commitment did not moderate the effects of occupational stress on ill-health. Analysis of variance revealed differences between the levels of occupational stress and ill-health of demographic groups. Regarding a model of work wellness, the results showed that job demands contributed to burnout, while job resources contributed to work wellness (low burnout and high work engagement). Burnout mediated the relationship between job demands and ill-health; work wellness mediated the relationship between job resources and organisational commitment. Dispositional optimism moderated the effects of a lack of job resources on work engagement. Work wellness and health contributed to life satisfaction. Recommendations for future research were made. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2005.