by Samuel Ng Ka Chiu. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1999. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 64-66). / Abstracts in English and Chinese, questionnaire in Chinese. / ABSTRACT --- p.ii / ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS --- p.iii / TABLE OF CONTENTS --- p.iv / LIST OF TABLES --- p.vi / LIST OF APPENDICES --- p.viii / Chapter CHAPTER 1 - --- INTRODUCTION --- p.1 / Religious population and church's community involvement --- p.2 / What is religious coping --- p.2 / Religious coping styles and coping outcomes --- p.4 / Factors contributing to religious coping styles --- p.5 / The Need for a theoretical framework to study religious coping styles --- p.10 / Transactional model of stress and coping --- p.10 / Objective of the present study --- p.18 / Chapter CHAPTER 2 - --- METHOD --- p.19 / Participants --- p.19 / Measures --- p.20 / Procedures --- p.23 / Chapter CHAPTER 3 - --- RESULTS --- p.25 / Internal consistency of the measures --- p.25 / Descriptive statistics of the participants --- p.25 / Relationship between religiousness and religious coping styles --- p.27 / "Relationship between internal control, God-mediated control, optimism and religious coping styles" --- p.30 / Predictive power of dispositional factors on religious coping styles --- p.32 / Manipulation check and differential use of religious coping styles --- p.36 / Mediational role of situational control appraisals --- p.39 / Chapter CHAPTER 4 - --- DISCUSSION --- p.48 / The role of dispositional factors in religious coping styles --- p.48 / Situational variation of religious coping styles --- p.52 / Interaction between dispositional and situational factors --- p.55 / Implications for psychotherapy --- p.57 / Limitations of the present study --- p.59 / Future research direction --- p.60 / Summary --- p.62 / REFERENCES --- p.64 / APPENDIX --- p.67

Nonclinical frontline employees (FLE) work in a complex role that provides critical administrative support to healthcare organizations and they are extremely vulnerable to workplace stress. These employees frequently encounter challenging situations and routinely interact and serve many demanding customers. The purpose of this exploratory study was to understand how FLEs have learned the abilities they utilized to cope with workplace stress and how these relate to emotional intelligence. Utilizing a comprehensive survey; comprised of a demographic questionnaire, three assessment instruments (PSS, Brief COPE and SSEIT), a critical incident series and individual interviews, this study sought to understand the learned strategies acquired through personal and professional experiences and how those experiences impacted coping tendencies. FLEs were found to perceive high self efficacy and routinely regulated emotions in an effort to manage stress. Employees also adeptly managed routine conflict and impromptu difficult interactions. Formal, Nonformal and informal learning were pivotal to cultivating the strategies utilized in the workplace. Despite unpredictable stress levels, role ambiguity and the desire for stress management training, FLEs were optimistic, demonstrated the ability to use emotional intelligence and coped relatively well in the workplace.

This research investigated the main sources of occupational stress that tertiary English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers experience in the United Arab Emirates. A secondary focus was to identify the coping strategies used by EFL teachers who exhibit low levels of stress, and what types of support were needed by EFL teachers who exhibited moderate to high levels of stress. While theories abound in the literature on the reasons for stress and its consequences for teachers, little is known about the role of coping strategies and their specific usefulness in eradicating stress. Given the nature of the research questions, an interpretivist mixed methods approach was deemed appropriate. Data collection methods included a pre-tested online survey followed by 26 semi-structured interviews and a Likert-style questionnaire which were used to gain an in-depth understanding of the quantitative aspects of stress levels. Qualitative, semi-structured interviews were used to examine the coping strategies of 113 self-identified EFL teachers with low stress levels. They were analysed through theme analysis and triangulated with other data to increase the robustness of the results. The sources of teacher stress derived from the analysis are ranked according to the 20 cited as most significant by the participants. They are discussed in detail under the headings of stressors related to classroom teaching, administration leadership style, professional issues and their own assessment as teachers. The strategies teachers use to cope with these stresses are varied and range from activities to attitudes. Key recommendations for the teaching faculty centre on general health and well-being, and overall workplace focus. Clearly, EFL teachers suffering from workplace stress must take care of themselves physically, psychologically and emotionally. Yet teachers in the UAE also expressed a desire for administrators who practice more democratic leadership styles, and acknowledged that the attitudes of their students toward learning English had a considerable impact on their own practices. Further inquiry is recommended into a more complete examination of teacher stressors and their relationship to cultural factors, specifically two of the cultural dimensions found in the UAE (power distance and uncertainty avoidance), which were found to be particularly relevant to stressors in the category of leadership style and practices.

Submitted by Geyciane Santos (geyciane_thamires@hotmail.com) on 2015-05-20T12:46:00Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação - Paula Tatiana de Oliveira da Costa.pdf: 14373828 bytes, checksum: 660fd5c53b6eb069ab05fbca996c3711 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2015-05-20T12:46:00Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação - Paula Tatiana de Oliveira da Costa.pdf: 14373828 bytes, checksum: 660fd5c53b6eb069ab05fbca996c3711 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-03-30 / CAPES - Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / Stress in its various forms of expression has been occupying the ranks of higher incidence of injury to health, causing effects on physiological and psychological health. It is known that the main source lies within each individual, from the way each interprets each of the events of his life, coupled with a genetic predisposition to the stimulus of social interaction, family, and relationship with relatives, friends, life experiences, etc. You could say that stress is a complex response of the organism, involving hormonal reactions, physical and psychological against any event that is interpreted as challenging, which instigates the need for adaptation to preserve the well-being and life. This research aimed to study the effects of clinical intervention for stress management techniques from cognitive-behavioral and biofeedback. Among the proposed therapeutic approach for cognitive-behavioral coping with this condition, we used behavioral training in the form of relaxation techniques and biofeedback, as an adjuvant, which was applied by monitoring the Galvanic Skin Response (RGP), by an instrument that feeds back information to a physiological monitor the making be controlled. We started from the application of a standard six sessions and their reassessment after an interval of 25.26 months (on average). 23 subjects participated voluntarily, 73.9% of them were female and 26.1% male, mean age of 40.8 and standard deviation of 11.153. 65.2% of the sample is from the State of Amazonas and the remainder corresponds to the other units of Brazil. The evaluation of the results provided knowledge on how to use strategies acquired the practice of diaphragmatic breathing, as well as the benefits from the training and improvement in family relationships, work environment, traffic behavior, and emotional selfregulation. This study provided an important social relevance for promoting significant and lasting improvement in the participants. However, if necessary making the continuation of studies in the area, besides the improvement of road ever built. / O estresse em suas diversas formas de expressão vem ocupando os ranques de maior incidência de danos à saúde, causando efeitos na saúde psíquica e fisiológica. Sabe-se ainda, que a principal fonte de estresse se encontra no interior de cada indivíduo, a partir da forma como cada um interpreta cada um dos eventos de sua vida, somada a uma predisposição genética associada aos estímulos da interação social, familiar, relação com parentes, amigos, experiências de vida, etc. Pode-se dizer que o estresse é uma resposta complexa do organismo, envolvendo reações hormonais, físicas e psicológicas frente a qualquer evento que seja interpretado como desafiante, o qual instiga a necessidade de adaptação para preservar o bem-estar e a vida. A presente pesquisa objetivou o estudo dos efeitos da intervenção clínica para manejo de estresse a partir de técnicas cognitivo-comportamentais e de biofeedback. Dentre as propostas terapeuticas da abordagem cognitiva-comportamental para o enfrentamento desta condição, foi utilizada o treino comportamental sob forma de técnicas de relaxamento e o biofeedback, como técnica auxiliar, que foi aplicada por meio do monitoramento da Resposta Galvânica da Pele (RGP), através de um instrumento que retroalimenta informações fisiológicas para um monitor as tornando passíveis de controle voluntário. Partiu-se da aplicação de um roteiro padronizado com seis sessões e sua reavaliação após um intervalo de tempo de 25 meses (em média). Participaram voluntariamente do presente estudo 23 indivíduos, sendo 73,9% do sexo feminino e 26,1% do sexo masculino, com idade média de 40,80 e desvio padrão de 11,15. 65,2% da amostra são do Estado do Amazonas e o restante corresponde às demais Unidades Federativas do Brasil. A avaliação dos resultados propiciou conhecimento sobre uso estratégias adquiridas como a prática da respiração diafragmática, assim como os benefícios advindos do treinamento como melhora no relacionamento familiar, ambiente de trabalho, comportamento no trânsito e autorregulação emocional. Este estudo revelou-se de importante relevância social por promover melhora significativa e duradoura em seus participantes. Contudo, se faz necessário a continuidade dos estudos na área, além do aprimoramento do roteiro já construído.

Humanitarian aid workers live and work in harsh circumstances far from loved ones and support mechanisms. The problem is that international aid must continue to work effectively despite stress levels. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to understand how aid workers perceive their work-related stressors, examine their subsequent experiences of in-house stress management services, and describe the factors that influence aid workers' decisions to access in-house stress management services. The conservation of resources theory was used to understand aid workers experience of stress. A purposive sampling technique was used to identify 12 aid workers with a minimum of 5 years of field experience. Data were collected through semistructured interviews conducted via Skype. After the data were reviewed, unit meanings were assigned and grouped to develop themes. The themes generated were organizational culture, social support, operational environment, the aid worker, adapting and strategizing, stress management services, and services. The greatest stressors participants reported related to the lack of safety and unpredictable working environments, and their experience of accessing stress management services were varied. Assurances of confidentiality and professionalism were the key factors that influenced aid workers engagement with stress management services. Participants received a summary of the findings which included recommendations for aid organizations on improving stress management services for aid workers. The results of this study contribute to the body of knowledge regarding the well-being of aid workers, supporting social change to improve the quality of care for the affected populations they serve.

Teaching is stressful. The demands placed on teachers can result in emotional exhaustion and burnout, causing many to leave the profession. Teachers early in their careers seem to be at special risk, with desistence rates estimated as high as 40% in the first five years. This study was based on the notion that constructive coping can be a resource for teachers, and that teachers later in their professional lives may provide a model for adaptive ways of dealing with professional demands. The goal of the study was to examine whether the coping process utilized by teachers (including reported demands, appraisals, ways of coping, resolutions, and post-coping assessment) differed at different stages of their career. Participants (n = 57) were teachers (90% female) ranging in age from 28-63, teaching in grades 4 to 12. The current study utilized a portion of the baseline open-ended interview of a randomized waitlist control study conducted to explore the effects of a mindfulness-based program. After coding the interview data for each step of the coping process, frequency analyses revealed that: (1) as in previous studies, the most frequently reported demands were problems with students (40%), followed by workload (18%) and parents (15%); (2) the most frequently reported appraisal was extreme negative emotion (44%); (3) the most frequently reported ways of coping were adaptive, including problem-solving (65%), support seeking (35%), and self regulation (22%); (4) the most frequently reported resolution of the stressful episode was successful (51%); and (5) with regards to post coping assessment, teachers most frequently reported that they would do something differently in future episodes if they could (54%). A series of Chi-square analyses to explore whether there is an association between how the teachers responded to questions corresponding to each step revealed that (1) teachers who reported parents as a demand in teaching were more likely to report extreme negative emotion and the use of self-regulation, which was associated with a successful resolution; (2) teachers who reported the administration as a demand were also more likely to use support seeking as a way of coping; and (3) teachers who reported using more maladaptive ways of coping were also more likely to report an unsuccessful resolution. Finally, pairwise comparisons to determine which groups of teachers differed from each other showed that, in keeping with expectations, early career teachers reported "no negative emotion" less and "extreme negative emotion" more than other groups, while late career teachers mentioned "no negative emotion" more. In terms of demands, early career teachers mentioned the environment less whereas late career teachers mentioned parents less and students more often. In terms of coping, late career teachers reported using self-regulation less and cognitive accommodation more than the other groups. Finally, early career teachers were more likely to say that they would try different effective strategies in future coping episodes while late career teachers were less likely to report that they would do so. Applications of these findings are discussed for process-oriented theories of teacher stress and coping, for future studies examining how coping develops over the course of a professional career, and for preservice training and school-based interventions designed to promote adaptive coping for teachers at every phase of their profession.

Psychological detachment from work during off-job time has great significance in the field of Occupational Health Psychology because it affects the process of work recovery. Recovery from work helps people to achieve a work-life balance that leads to psychological health and general well-being.

Following China's open door policy in the late 70's and early 80's, there has been a significant increase in the number of Chinese students and scholars attending academic institutions in the U. S. As sojourners in a foreign culture, Chinese students inevitably experience difficulties in their daily life and academic endeavors. The purpose of the thesis is to examine what are the specific situations that are perceived by Chinese students as stressful, how , they cope with the situations, and whether there are correlations between the perceived stressors, coping strategies, and the academic, performance of the Chinese students.

The significant increase of Japanese students studying in the United States suggests an increase in interactions with Americans. However, it does not mean that Japanese are aware of intercultural communication. They may experience stress in their interactions and their acculturative process because of cultural differences. They also may try to cope with the stress in their own way. Their stress and coping strategies may affect their academic performance, which is the most important aspect in their student life. The purpose of this study is to examine whether there is any relationship among communication stressors, coping strategies, perceived academic self-efficacy, self-statement of grade point average (GPA), and biodemographic variables. The questionnaire was handed to 100 Japanese university students studying in Portland, Oregon and Vancouver, Washington.

Twenty-first century technology advancements have made the consumption of law enforcement related information on different types of media platforms more accessible. There is a relationship among media consumption on various platforms (traditional, social, and entertainment) and the altering of societal and personal perceptions and behaviors. However, there is little to no research on whether media consumption alters a law enforcement officer's operational stress (OS). The purpose of this quantitative study was to fill this knowledge gap by exploring a sample of active duty law enforcement officers in South Carolina. Social learning and rational choice theories comprised the theoretical framework for this study. Internet survey data collection entailed 124 South Carolina active duty law enforcement officers who were members of the South Carolina Law Enforcement Officers Association or a private Facebook group for South Carolina law enforcement officers. Spearman's rho correlation and stepwise multiple linear regression were used to test the hypotheses. The results indicated a statistically significant relationships among the sample between the time spent consuming law enforcement related information on traditional and social media platforms and law enforcement officers' OS, but there was no significant correlation with entertainment media. Social change implications of this study include providing information for the development of continuous stress management education and best practices in South Carolina. Preparing law enforcement officers to deal with stressors of 21st century policing benefiting the communities they serve.