Aims: The UK policy documents ‘Valuing people’ (DOH, 2001) and ‘Valuing people now’ (DOH, 2009) presaged a new direction in learning disability services: towards a human-rights model of care with the underlying principles of rights, choice, inclusion, freedom and independence. However, despite such legislative changes, a recent review (DOH, 2008a) candidly described that people with learning disabilities have greater need for healthcare than other people, yet have worse access to the care that they actually need and poorer health outcomes. Whilst some research has explored this from the perspective of people with learning disability (Jones & Donati, 2009; Jones & Parry, 2008) there is significantly less from the perspective of support workers. This research seeks to examine the emotional and psychological experience of support workers in learning disability services. Although research has explored the experience of support workers from the perspectives of ‘stress’ and ‘burnout’, there is a dearth of research in areas such as emotions, sense-making, their constructing of systems, relationships and their underlying motivations. Method: Semi-structured interviews were carried out with seven support workers from three learning disability care homes. Verbatim transcripts of interviews were then analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). Results: The analysis produced two superordinate themes, both with two main themes. The superordinate theme ‘Emotional Motivation’ had the main themes ‘Personal Fulfilment and motivation’ and ‘The Emotional Struggle’. The superordinate theme ‘Demands and Coping’ had the main themes ‘Safety and Conflict within Coping’ and ‘Persecution and Protective Positions’. Implications: This research suggests that the support worker role may evoke strong feelings of pleasure but also powerlessness, blame, deficit, injustice, responsibility and anger. Support workers seem to manage these emotions in various ways: such as compensating by striving to be the ‘ideal’ carer, protecting themselves by avoiding and not elaborating on difficulties, and also projecting their difficulties onto others. Problematically, this may reinforce a work culture in which no individual actually takes responsibility for the ongoing difficulties, conflict and struggles. Thus, political and legislative changes may be negated or ineffective unless addressed within the context of this dynamic; namely, the value, emotional and meaning systems within services, i.e. the nature of the relationship between the support worker and resident. Indeed, paid staff are often the only meaningful relationship that people with learning disability have in their lives. Such findings are discussed in light of existing theory, research and practice.

Students’ experience of stress is generally considered to be an isolated problem, caused by school work. Students’ experience of stress at school can also be affected by exterior influences. This research aims to discover what factors Swedish students, age 13 – 16, experience as stressful. It also aims to describe how students believe this stress can be reduced. This project originated from a request from a secondary school. A questionnaire was used to map the different stress factors. Interviews enabled greater understanding of these factors and what students themselves believe can reduce the stress. The gathered material was interpreted in several steps by the use of ad hoc methods. The result shows that half of the students experience stress every week. The main causes are lack of time and demands. They lack “free time”, which enables the body to recover from the stress. The students desire management, including guidance from parents concerning prioritising and setting limits. The school should help the students to develop study techniques. The stress is caused by a feeling of not being able to live up to and deal with own and exterior demands. It can be reduced by planning (enabling “free time”), influence (co-operation), personal development (improvement of self-esteem and identity) and management (guidance, limitations, acceptance and development). / Elevers upplevda stress i skolan ses ofta som ett isolerat problem som framkallas och påverkas under skoltid. Upplevelser av stress i skolan kan även bero på andra faktorer som elever påverkas av utanför skoltid. Studien syftar till att kartlägga olika faktorer som elever i årskurs 7-9 upplever som stressande och hur de tror att stressen kan reduceras. Detta arbete har utgått från en frågeställning som framförts av en skola. En enkät användes för att kartlägga olika stressfaktorer. Intervjuer gav djupare förståelse för de olika stressfaktorerna och hur eleverna tror att den upplevda stressen kan reduceras. Det insamlade materialet tolkades i flera steg med ad hoc-metoder. Resultatet visar att hälften av eleverna känner sig stressade varje vecka. Elevernas största stressfaktorer är tidsbrist och krav. De saknar ”fri tid”, som ger kroppen återhämtning från stress. Eleverna efterlyser ledarskap, hjälp från föräldrar att prioritera och sätta gränser samt att skolan ska utveckla elevernas studietekniker. Stressen orsakas av en känsla att inte kunna leva upp till och hantera egna och omvärldens krav. Reducering av stressen kan ske genom planering (skapande av ”fri tid”), inflytande (samplanering), personlig utveckling (stärkt självkänsla och identitet) och ledarskap (ledning, gränssättning, acceptans och utveckling).

<p>Students’ experience of stress is generally considered to be an isolated problem, caused by school work. Students’ experience of stress at school can also be affected by exterior influences.</p><p>This research aims to discover what factors Swedish students, age 13 – 16, experience as stressful. It also aims to describe how students believe this stress can be reduced. This project originated from a request from a secondary school. A questionnaire was used to map the different stress factors. Interviews enabled greater understanding of these factors and what students themselves believe can reduce the stress. The gathered material was interpreted in several steps by the use of ad hoc methods.</p><p>The result shows that half of the students experience stress every week. The main causes are lack of time and demands. They lack “free time”, which enables the body to recover from the stress. The students desire management, including guidance from parents concerning prioritising and setting limits. The school should help the students to develop study techniques. The stress is caused by a feeling of not being able to live up to and deal with own and exterior demands. It can be reduced by planning (enabling “free time”), influence (co-operation), personal development (improvement of self-esteem and identity) and management (guidance, limitations, acceptance and development).</p> / <p>Elevers upplevda stress i skolan ses ofta som ett isolerat problem som framkallas och påverkas under skoltid. Upplevelser av stress i skolan kan även bero på andra faktorer som elever påverkas av utanför skoltid.</p><p>Studien syftar till att kartlägga olika faktorer som elever i årskurs 7-9 upplever som stressande och hur de tror att stressen kan reduceras. Detta arbete har utgått från en frågeställning som framförts av en skola. En enkät användes för att kartlägga olika stressfaktorer. Intervjuer gav djupare förståelse för de olika stressfaktorerna och hur eleverna tror att den upplevda stressen kan reduceras. Det insamlade materialet tolkades i flera steg med ad hoc-metoder.</p><p>Resultatet visar att hälften av eleverna känner sig stressade varje vecka. Elevernas största stressfaktorer är tidsbrist och krav. De saknar ”fri tid”, som ger kroppen återhämtning från stress. Eleverna efterlyser ledarskap, hjälp från föräldrar att prioritera och sätta gränser samt att skolan ska utveckla elevernas studietekniker. Stressen orsakas av en känsla att inte kunna leva upp till och hantera egna och omvärldens krav. Reducering av stressen kan ske genom planering (skapande av ”fri tid”), inflytande (samplanering), personlig utveckling (stärkt självkänsla och identitet) och ledarskap (ledning, gränssättning, acceptans och utveckling).</p>

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