Thesis (doctoral)--La Salle University, 2003. / ProQuest dissertations and theses ; AAT 3108296. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 67-91).

Thesis (D. Ed.)--Ball State University, 2009. / Title from PDF t.p. (viewed on Nov. 11, 2009). Includes bibliographical references (p. 204-217).

M.Tech. / Background: Chiropractic spinal adjustment therapy has been shown to be an effective treatment for pain as well as many somatic, visceral and systematic complaints. Its use in the treatment of stress, however, remains speculative. Stress is a normal and healthy human response, but it is detrimental to health in excessive amounts. Salivary cortisol is an effective, accurate indicator of the stress response system. Objective: To determine whether thoracic spine Chiropractic adjustment therapy has any direct effect on salivary cortisol levels and subjective stress tests in subjects who rated themselves as having high levels of stress. Methods: Thirty-one participants, who reported having subjective high stress levels, comprising of male and female adults completed the trial, which was designed as a cross-over study. They were divided into two groups. Groups 1 and 2 delivered saliva samples and completed subjective stress questionnaires. Group 1 was then treated with thoracic spinal adjustment therapy for three weeks whilst Group 2 received no intervention. Both groups repeated the tests at the three-week interval. Thereafter, Group 2 received three weeks of the same spinal adjustment therapy, whilst Group 1 received no intervention. Again, both groups repeated the tests at the end of this second three-week interval. All tests were completed at the same time of day for each participant. Salivary cortisol was measured by enzyme-linked immunoassay (ELIZA). The stress questionnaire was recoded and analysed with descriptive statistics. vii Results: Chiropractic spinal adjustment therapy resulted in a statistically significant decrease in subjective stress levels. It did not, however, significantly change salivary cortisol levels. Conclusion: This study has shown that Chiropractic spinal adjustment therapy does not significantly change salivary cortisol levels, but is successful in lowering subjective stress levels over time. It is concluded that Chiropractic plays a role in the reduction of the subjective experience of stress.

Magister Commercii - MCom / The acceptance into university is particularly more challenging than gaining admission into primary and secondary institutions of learning. This is due to inter alia the limited amount of enrolment positions available at universities in relation to the number of students who complete their studies at secondary institutions. First year students experience a great change in curriculum from secondary school to tertiary education. These students experience a great deal of stress in terms of dealing with their new academic demands and their personal physiological developmental milestones. It is at this time that the students are fighting for the autonomy from the control of their parents or guardians as they strive to be independent. It is also at this stage that most students drop-out of tertiary education institutions. It is therefore important to understand how the demographic factors assist these students in dealing with stress. The purpose of the study was to answer the questionnaire, "Are there gender, age, home language, faculty and socioeconomic differences in the experience of stress among students at a selected tertiary institution in the Western Cape province of South Africa?" The research study was conducted using students from a university in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. The total number of respondents who completed the questionnaire was 306 (n= 306). The respondents comprised of only first year university students from various faculties. The participants in the study completed the SASS which comprised of 50 questions. In addition, they also completed a biographical section which comprised of the respondents' age, gender, home language, socio-economic status and faculty. An item analysis was conducted on the all of the SASS subscales (Affective, Behavioural, Cognitive and Physiological) using SPSS version 23. Subsequently, an Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) was performed on the subscales to ensure the uni-dimensionality of the subscales. A Pearson correlational test was performed to determine the relationship between age and stress since age was defined as a continuous variable. An independent samples t-test was conducted to determine if differences in mean scoresexist between gender and stress. An Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was performed to assess stress differences in terms of home language, socio-economic status and faculty. The analyses were performed using SPSS version 23. Based on the result we were able to conclude that there is no statistical significance between gender and stress; stress and language; socio-economic status and stress; as well as between faculty and stress. Furthermore, it was found that there is no significant relationship between age and stress. The practical implications of the study and limitations are discussed as well as the direction for future studies.

Please read the abstract in the section 00front of this document / Dissertation (MSc (Medical Applied Psychology))--University of Pretoria, 2006. / Psychiatry / unrestricted

African women in South Africa have for decades, if not centuries, been marginalized in the workplace. With the dawn of the new South Africa came Affirmative Action and subsequently, the Employment Equity Act. These policies offered African women opportunities to enter the workplace. The review of the literature shows that the psychological functioning of African women managers has received minimal research attention. In addition, the literature review on coping focused on the individual and communal coping strategies which indicated that individual and systemic strategies have been neglected in both the theories of coping and extant empirical literature. The current study addresses this through the conceptualisation of coping from a systemic perspective. The current study aimed to explore and describe the coping strategies of African women middle managers in the manufacturing industry in the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan area. The study was conducted within a qualitative research paradigm and took the form of exploratory research. Non-probability snowball sampling was utilized to identify participants for the study. The sample consisted of three African women managers who held middle management positions in the manufacturing industry in the Nelson Mandela metropolitan area. Semi-structured interviewing was utilised to collect the data. In order to analyse the data, Tesch’s (1990) qualitative analysis steps were utilised. The study showed that African women middle managers relied on individual strategies such as assertiveness, spirituality and, positive attitude to cope. These individual strategies were not used in isolation, as the participants relied on various subsystems within which they were embedded to cope with the demands they faced.

The objective of this study was to identify the strategies (primary, secondary and tertiary) that can be employed to manage work related stress. A questionnaire, was designed based on the strategies found in a literature study on the topic and used to gather inputs from academic head of department and lecturers. The questionnaire was delivered by hand to 18 potential respondents. All 16 questionnaires returned could be used. These were processed and analysed using Microsoft Excel spreadsheets. In general support was found for primary stress management strategies pertaining to work schedule, work load and work pace, job content, career development, the home-work relationship and work environment. Lifestyle management in terms of physical activities and a healthy diet were regarded as the preferred secondary stress management strategies. The strategies related to lifestyle management which were identified from the literature study were physical activities, healthy diet, relaxation techniques such as meditation and yoga. Support was found for tertiary stress management strategies but most of the respondents were not sure if their organisation offered any wellness, employee assistance or stress management programmes. Wellness programmes were indicated as a strategy that will have the most impact on reducing work related stress and employee assistance programmes (EAPs) ranked there after. Overall respondents indicated that they did not perceive their work as very stressful.

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / The nature of naval member’s job demands is that they experience high levels of stress. Stress is introduced in military training to familiarize sailors with real life stressors. This study is located in piloting and validity theory. It focuses explicitly on validating an existing tool, the Therapeutic Recreation Stress Leisure Appraisal Tool, to measure stress in the South African Navy. This study aimed to pilot and evaluate the validity and reliability of the developed tool in an African context in the South African Navy. A multi-stage procedure of instrument development using the instrument development model will be used, consisting of the following steps: 1) preliminary phase, 2) questionnaire development, 3) pilot testing, and 4) evaluation. The scope of this study, is only focused on stages three and four. The current study followed an explanatory sequential mixed-method design. In this study, the qualitative phase was done first, followed by the quantitative phase. The mixed-method design is used to build upon the same research questions. PHASE 1, the pilot-testing phase (qualitative, n=50), explored if the developed appraisal tool is interpreted correctly and contains the necessary applicable questions. This population and sample were purposefully selected from the navy. Data were collected in focus groups taking place at a naval base. Five focus groups of ten members each were completed using interview schedules. Recorded data was transcribed verbatim. Data were analysed using thematic analysis with data coding to extract themes. This study is an extension of from a masters study linked to the current study, which contributed towards the finalisation of the questionnaire. Iterative exploratory factor analyses were used at the item and scale levels to select and reassign the items and scales. PHASE 2, the evaluation phase (quantitative, n=1000), determined the validity and reliability of the refined, developed appraisal tool. The population (N=7000) and sample (n=1000) consisted of senior and junior ranks from the officer core, conveniently selected from a naval base. PHASE 1 informed PHASE 2, the evaluation phase.

This applied dissertation study was designed to inform and advance knowledge by using a quantitative approach to determine if perceived parental stress in homeschooling parents varies as a function of age, income, education, and ethnicity. Previous research in the field of homeschooling has primarily been qualitative in nature, thus, leaving a gap in the research. Home schooling parents of K-6 grade children in South Florida districts were specified as the sample for the study. A perceived Stress Survey and demographic questionnaire were administered to 102 participants. Parental participants were male and female, all ethnicity, and ages 18 and older, who were homeschooling K-6th grade children in South Florida. Inferential statistics were used to draw conclusions from the sample tested. The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) 23.0 was used to code and tabulate scores collected from the survey and provide summarized values where applicable. Logistic regression analyses of variance (ANOVA) were used to evaluate the two Research Questions and hypotheses. Analysis of the primary data indicated that age, income, level of education, ethnicity and number of children homeschooled had no significant effect on perceived stress. Implication from findings suggests that behavioral characteristics of the child may mediate the relationship between stress and parental characteristics. The study is a valuable addition to the homeschooling research community as it aligns with and extends findings from previous research.

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