M.A. (Psychology) / Interest has grown over the past decade in the study of stress and more recently in the development and Implement at Ion of primary prevention programmes for various forms of stress related illnesses. Such programmes hold great promise for reducing , illness reactions in combination with, or, as an alternative to pharmacological medication. None of these programmes have been conducted amongst a sample of South African black blue-collar workers and it is important that these procedures are tested in order to evaluate their efficacy for specific cultural contexts. In this dissertation, an extensive review of the literature on the various models of stress is included as well as a proposed model for South African blue-collar workers. The stressors inherent in the lives of the sample population are also discussed. The sample consisted of sixty six male black blue-collar workers between the ages of twenty five and fifty five employed in the milling industry. Over a period of six weeks the effects on work-related stress of five different treatment regimes consisting of the following are evaluated: just lying down, relaxation tape, placebo, Royl 6 (vitamin B) and Panado (paracetamol). sUbjects completed the Job-related tension questionnaire and the Anxiety-stress questionnaire upon commencement of treatment and two weeks after' they had concluded treatment. An analysis of variance and a multivariate analysis of variance showed that there was no significant difference in the levels of work-related stress at the post-measurement stage of assessment.' This indicates that none of the five treatment regimes had any affect on the work-related stress levels of the subjects...

The research problem addressed in this study, was to identify strategies that could be employed to reduce stress related problems in the workplace. As the business environment is increasingly subjected to fast changing forces which include increased competition, the pressure for quality and advanced technology, innovation, and an increase in the pace of doing business, the demands on employees have grown equally dramatically. It is therefore essential to develop strategies for managing stress to give employees the required additional energy to handle particularly difficult and stressful work situations. It is important that organisations provide the assistance and support on the issue of stress as part of their proactive approach to managing employee health and safety, by drawing up contingency plans, and to have the necessary infrastructure to deal with such problems. This study investigates the strategies that can be implemented in organisations to reduce stressful situations affecting employees. The information gleaned from the literature and empirical studies enabled the development of a model for stress management in the workplace.

The purpose of this study was to identify the perceptions held by junior high school principals, their spouses, and school counselors regarding occupational stressors of the junior high school principals in the State of Texas. The occupational stressors center around five areas of concern: (1) administrative constraints, (2) administrative responsibilities, (3) interpersonal relations, (4) intrapersonal conflicts, and (5) role expectations. A randomly selected sample of 300 junior high school principals were sent questionnaires for themselves, their spouses, and their school counselors. Descriptive statistical methods were employed to calculate means and standard deviations of the principals', spouses', and counselors' perceptions of the occupational stressors of the principals. T-test and one-way analysis of variance were used to analyze the data.

There is a growing body of literature on the risk for secondary trauma amongst professional trauma workers. Nonetheless, there is scant published literature on the impact of trauma work on volunteers; particularly when such volunteers are indigenous to the highly traumatized communities which they serve. The study examined a group of parents (N=16) who volunteered in a school-based trauma support project in an impoverished, gang-ridden South African urban community in which they themselves reside. Aims were to 1) Explore the psychological impact of indigenous trauma volunteerism; 2) Explore volunteers’ perceptions of costs and benefits of volunteerism. Data collection was chiefly qualitative, using focus group and individual interviews. The Professional Quality of Life: Compassion Satisfaction and Fatigue Subscales (Stamm, 2002) were administered in order to determine risk for burnout, risk for compassion fatigue and potential for compassion satisfaction. The Stressful Life Experiences Screening Short Form (Stamm, 1997) was administered in order to gather descriptive information regarding personal trauma histories. Project documentation was reviewed. Analysis and interpretation of qualitative data involved a combination of both etic (theory-based) and emic (data and context-based) techniques. The volunteers’ experiences were co-constructed in interaction with three settings: 1) Experiences of training and supervision were affirming and empowering; 2) Experiences of the school context were mediated by the degree of access and integration into the school environment; 3) Experiences of the community context were mediated by the dynamics of identification, role fluidity and inter-setting negotiation. The primary cost of involvement was distress relating to limitations on capacity to help fellow community members with whom they strongly identified, and whom they felt intrapsychically, interpersonally and socially pressured to assist. These limitations included limited client resources, limited personal resources, limited occupational resources and limited systemic resources. Other sources of distress included context-related boundary management difficulties, institutional (school-related) stressors, difficulties in persuading children to disclose abuse and material costs of volunteering. Coping was facilitated by empowering training, supervision, peer support, and self-care practices. Benefits included acquisition of psychological, interpersonal and occupational skills, improved personal relationships, social support, validation, personal healing and role satisfaction.

In this study, human movement studies, physical education, recreation and its contributions and stress have been placed in proper perspective. Conditions within the Department of Correctional Services regarding situations leading to the generation of stress in employees are also placed in perspective. Stress within the Department of Correctional Services is a growing concern both for Management and employees. This study is aimed at identifying stressors both from within as well as outside the work context as well as reviewing the relationship between stress and physical activity (sport and recreation) in general as well as in the context of the Department of Correctional Services sport policy. Heads of prisons have been selected for the purposes of this study as they are constantly under pressure. Heads of Prisons in the Department of Correctional Services are ranked according to the size of the prisons they supervise. Subsequently a Head of Prison could be ranked from a Correctional Official (CO) to an Assistant (ASD) or Deputy Director (DD). Although there are many methods of reducing stress this study proposes to view physical activity and recreation as a central part of life, much like sleeping and to show that sport and recreation can serve to balance work by providing restorative refractory periods as well as reducing stress. This study has shown that conditions in the workplace are a major contributor to stress. The study also shows that the DCS has excellent sporting facilities in most Management Areas and that these need to be utilised fully. The DCS sport and recreation policy should be reviewed to ensure that DCS employees make optimum use of the opportunities to participate in sport and recreation. Copyright 2001, University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria. Please cite as follows: Bhoodram, PA 2001, Stress levels as a rationale for the establishment of an employee recreation programme in the Department of Correctional Services in South Africa, MA dissertation, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, viewed yymmdd < http://upetd.up.ac.za/thesis/available/etd-11072005-161621 / > / Dissertation (MA (Human Movement Science))--University of Pretoria, 2006. / Biokinetics, Sport and Leisure Sciences / unrestricted

Please read the abstract in the section 00front of this document / Dissertation (MA (Research Psychology))--University of Pretoria, 2005. / Psychology / unrestricted

The aim of this study was to determine whether coping strategies of police officers help moderate the outcome of burnout resulting from job stress. The nature of the job demands of police officers is such that they may experience high levels of stress. A convenience sample (N = 89: n Males = 58; n Female = 29) of police officers in police stations in the Eastern Cape was surveyed. The Maslach Burnout Inventory – General Survey, Police Stress Inventory and COPE questionnaire were administered. Results for all the participants indicate that when the occupational stressor Lack of Resources occurs police officers implement Avoidance Coping (COPE) as a strategy, which leads to the experience of Exhaustion. Results also indicate that police officers use Active Coping, Cognitive Coping and Turning to Religion as means of moderating the stress-burnout relationship. Results also show that the coping strategy Avoidance Coping, used by male officers lead to Cynicism. When female police officers experience Job Demands and a Lack of Resources they make use of Seeking Emotional Support as a coping strategy. Male police officers were shown to make use of Active Coping as a strategy to regulate the stress-burnout relationship while female police officers implemented Active Coping and Turning to Religion to act as a buffer between job stress and burnout.

The purpose of this study was to investigate administrative stress and coping in British Columbia elementary and secondary public school principals. Three research questions were posed: (1) How does administrative stress affect British Columbia public school principals? (2) What coping strategies do British Columbia school principals use to moderate the effects of stress? and (3) How do personal and environmental variables interact with stress and coping? A three-part questionnaire was mailed to the population of 1455 public school-based principals in B.C.. The questionnaire consisted of the Administrative Stress Index (ASI), the Coping Preference Scale (CPS), and the Demographic and Biographic Inventory. The response rate to the questionnaire was 44.2% (n = 643). The findings show that the typical principal perceives that approximately 80% of his total life stress is job related. Approximately 50% of the respondents have seriously considered leaving school administration. The overall stress level reported by school principals on the ASI is moderate. The greatest sources of stress are found to relate to heavy workload and lack of time, parent/school conflicts, and administering the negotiated contract. When items on the ASI are ranked according to their item means, nine of the top ten stressors identified are the same as those reported in other studies reviewed in the literature. The only exception is that, "administering the negotiated contract," is ranked among the top ten by B.C. principals. There is an inverse relationship between administrative stress and reported use of coping techniques. Principals reporting low stress scores have a significantly greater repertoire of coping techniques than do principals with high stress scores. When items in the CPS are classified according to the seven coping factors, the most popular coping techniques were found to be: keeping a realistic perspective, maintaining a positive attitude, following a good physical health program, and engaging in activities that support intellectual, social, and spiritual growth. Less popular coping strategies include: activities that require increased effort, time management and organization, and withdrawal and recharging techniques. A multiple regression analysis reveals that five of the personal and environmental variables can be combined to predict the total ASI score. Principals who perceive that administrative isolation is a problem for them, who report greater percentages of stress due to their jobs, who have seriously considered leaving school administration, who feel that they are under greater stress than other members of their community, and who report they have other relatives dependent upon them, are more likely to have higher stress scores. The following conclusions were stated: (1) The majority of B.C. school principals are able to deal satisfactorily with their job-related stress. (2) Principals need increased emotional and social support from their colleagues. (3) Managing and working within the constraints of negotiated collective agreements is a major source of stress for B.C. public school principals. (4) If school principals responsibilities are increased while their administrative time and support are not increased proportionately, greater stress for school principals is an inevitable result. (5) Principals who have more extensive coping repertoires are more likely to be in better health and experience lower levels of stress. (6) Person-Environment Fit Theory provides a useful model for investigating administrative stress and coping. / Education, Faculty of / Graduate

The problem of this study was to determine whether or not the variables locus of control, perceived anxiety, anxiety proneness, nursing experience and intensive care experience were better than chance predictors of job stress in intensive care nurses. The study was conducted using 200 volunteer nurses (RN's) who worked in the Intensive Care Units of two major hospitals in a large metropolitan area. All subjects were administered Spielberger's State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, Rotter Internal-External Locus of Control Scale and the Nursing Stress Scale as well as a demographic questionnaire. Multiple Regression Analysis was used to determine the predictive value of the characteristic variables to job stress and to determine the most efficient predictive model possible using these variables.

Bibliography: pages 105-116. / The present study investigated the relationships between work stressors, three moderator variables, and a variety of affective, behavioural and health outcomes. More specifically, it was hypothesized that the work stressors would be significantly associated with adverse affective, behavioural and health outcomes. Furthermore, it was hypothesized that personal and situational variables, in the form of the Sense of Coherence (Antonovsky, 1979, 1987), Job Decision Latitude (Karasek, 1979), and Participation in Decision Making, would moderate the relationships between work stressors and a variety of outcomes. The data were obtained from a sample of 111 male, white, blue collar workers at a large chemicals manufacturing organization from a questionnaire compiled for this study, and organizational records. The data were subjected to correlational analysis, supplemented by a form of moderated multiple regression analysis. It was found that the relationships between work stressors and outcome variables were insignificant which led to the conclusions that firstly, a priori specification of stressors may ignore the specificity of persons' appraisals of and responses to stressors, and secondly, consideration must be given to the affective meaning ascribed by subjects to job demands. The moderating effects of the Sense of Coherence, Job Decision Latitude and Participation in Decision Making were inconsistently related to outcome variables, frequently operating in the unexpected direction. It was, however, demonstrated that the main effects of the moderating variables which operated in the expected direction, outweighed the unanticipated negative interaction effects. It was observed that the inclusion of personality variables and situational variables in future studies of occupational stress are necessary, a conclusion which is consistent with more recent findings.