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The purpose of this study was to validate an abbreviated interview schedule for the assessment of adolescent life stress based on the original Life Events and Difficulties Schedule (LEDS) by Brown and Harris (1978). The main objective of the abbreviated instruments was to elicit the severe stressors shown to be of etiological significance for predicting psychiatric disorder without requiring two hours to administer. A non-clinical sample of 58 adolescents (mean age = 15.67 years) completed the Childhood Depression Inventory (Kovacs, 1982), the Abbreviated Life Event and Difficulty Schedule - Adolescent version (ALEDS-A), and the full-length LEDS-Adolescent Version (LEDS-A). The abbreviated instrument elicited significantly fewer minor stressors, while retaining its ability to solicit the most severe stressors in a 30-minute time period. Results are interpreted with reference to Brown and Harris's (1978) sociological theory of major life stress and depression.

The present research compared a newly developed interview measure of adolescent life stress, the Life Events and Difficulties Schedule (Brown & Harris, 1978), to a self-report checklist The Adolescent Perceived Events Scale (Compas, Davis, Forsythe, & Wagner, 1997). Participants consisted of a community-based sample, of 58 adolescents in grades 9--11. The life strew interview and checklist were compared on a number of factors, namely accuracy and comprehensiveness of obtained stressor data and accuracy of stressor dating. Moreover, the relative performance of the two measures in predicting current depressive symptomatology was assessed. Results revealed differences in the stress profiles obtained by the two measures. Respondents reported stressors in a redundant manner on the checklist and reported a number of stressors on the checklist that did not qualify as stressors according to interview criteria. The checklist was found to lack in comprehensiveness, as many stressors elicited during the interview had no counterpart on the checklist. Respondents were unable to precisely date stressors on the self-report checklist. Results indicated that stressor data obtained by the interview was more associated and more, predictive of current levels of depressive symptomatology than stressor data obtained by the checklist. The implications of these results in reference to life stress assessment and research in the area of adolescent life stress and depression is discussed.

This study addressed the location of the breathing movement and its relationship to stress levels. Sixty-three Ball State students voluntarily participated by completing the A-State and A-Trait forms of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI). Under the pretense that they would be questioned about music later, each participant also listened to preselected music for about 4 minutes in both seated and reclining positions. The participants were unaware that their breathing was being observed. During the listening portion of the study from behind a one-way mirror, 3 trained observers rated each breath as either thoracic or non-thoracic. The percentage of total breaths that were thoracic was calculated for each subject in both positions. Interrater reliability was determined inadequate for data of participants in the reclining position. The scores on the STAI and the percentage of thoracic breaths were the variables analyzed. A Pearson R correlation was then used to test the hypotheses. Null hypothesis 1, that there is no relationship between percentage of total breaths that are thoracic in a seated position and scores for AState, was upheld. Also, no relationship was found between percentage of total breaths that are thoracic in a seated position and scores for A-Trait, therefore, null hypothesis 2 was also upheld. This study also found that 71% of the participants breathing style is primarily thoracic. These findings and procedural effects on the outcome as well as implications for further research were discussed. / Fisher Institute for Wellness

The purpose of the study was to identify factors which cause job stress during school closures due to declining enrollments. An additional purpose was to identify possible techniques to manage or reduce job stress associated with school closures.A questionnaire was designed to identify stress factors associated with school closings. The questionnaire was mailed to 165 school personnel of two middle schools and three elementary schools closed due to declining enrollments. Responses were received from 109 school personnel. Mean scores for each questionnaire item according to demographic information were computed.A second questionnaire was designed to identify techniques helpful in reducing or managing stress factors associated with school closings. The second questionnaire was mailed to the 109 school personnel responding to the first questionnaire. Mean scores for each technique according to demographic information were obtained.Certificated personnel perceived "uncertainty of choice of job assignment"; "uncertainty caused by not knowing future school assignment"; "knowing when new job assignments would be made"; "extra work during the year due to closing of the school"; and "uncertainty caused by not knowing future administration" as the five most stressful factors during school closures.Non-certificated personnel perceived "uncertainty caused by not knowing future school assignment"; "uncertainty of choice of job assignment"; "knowing when new job assignment would be made"; "loss of preferred working schedule"; and "loss of familiar building surroundings as the five most stressful factors during school closures.Certificated and non-certificated personnel perceived receiving the greatest amount of help from the following five techniques: "personal conference with principal of school closed"; "group meetings with principal of school closed"; "meeting with the new principal"; "visiting building where yo4 might be assigned"; and "discussion with central office personnel."

This thesis is concerned with the direct and indirect mechanisms through which psychosocial stressors affect well-being, within the framework of the Michigan Model (House, 1981). An additional aim is to examine the stress process during workplace transitions. Empirical studies were conducted in three occupational settings: a cross-sectional pilot study with a sample of white-collar employees of several companies (N=144), and two longitudinal studies with samples drawn from a single retail chain, the "manager study" (N=261) and the "relocation study" (N=175). Although statistical control for individual differences (including response style) attenuated associations between work characteristics and strain outcomes, in all three samples work characteristics jointly contributed to the explanation of job satisfaction and psychological distress. More specifically, perceptions of control and social support were associated with job satisfaction, while work demands played a significant role in explaining symptom report. Furthermore, symptom levels predicted work absence in a combined sample of retail employees (N=221). In addition to direct effects, mediation and moderation patterns were examined. Results suggested that work perceptions partially mediated relations between personality (specifically locus of control beliefs and neuroticism) and strain. A similar pattern of mediation was apparent for social support. However, evidence for moderation of the stress process by individual and work characteristics was equivocal. Cross-sectional analyses using the manager sample data revealed significant interactions of control and Type A behaviour with work characteristics, but these interactions were not consistent in form with theory and past research. In contrast, in the longitudinal relocation study interactions were consistent with expectations: the negative impact of change was buffered by social support from senior colleagues and perceptions of control. Longitudinal analyses also demonstrated negative effects of workplace change; decreasing job satisfaction was observed during organisational restructuring, and transfer to a new branch was associated with increased psychological distress. Furthermore latent variable models revealed that changes in support, role ambiguity, and control over time were predictive of changes in job satisfaction. Overall, the present studies emphasise the need to examine simultaneously the joint influences of individual and work characteristics in occupational stress research. In this way the direct and indirect mechanisms through which psychosocial factors influence strain may be more fully understood, and strain-reducing interventions devised.

Thesis (MPsy(Specialisation))--University of South Australia, 2002.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Tufts University, 2002. / Adviser: Julio Garcia. Submitted to the Dept. of Psychology. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 65-73). Access restricted to members of the Tufts University community. Also available via the World Wide Web;

Thesis (M. Nurs.)--University of Hong Kong, 2007.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Toronto, 2005.