The stress-buffering model was used as a framework to explore the ways in which perceptions of social support are related to student-athletes’ stress, self-efficacy, and performance in their academic and athletic lives. Ninety-seven student-athletes were asked to complete a survey that measured these constructs with regard to a specific academic and athletic event. Results showed a significant negative relationship between stress and self-efficacy in an academic context and a significant positive relationship between self-efficacy and performance in both an academic and athletic context. Received social support was not significantly related to self-efficacy. The overall results showed moderate support for the stress-buffering model. Future research should explore the harmful and beneficial effects of stress for SAs, whether received or perceived availability of social support is helpful to SAs, and where social support rests in the stress-coping process. / A thesis to be submitted to the graduate division of the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Communicology August 2012. / The author thanks the Graduate Division at the University of Hawaii at Manoa for the funds provided towards the completion of this thesis.

Thesis (D. Min.)--Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, 2006. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 67-68).

This thesis Stress in mothers on parental leave in connection with the risk of job loss deals with the issues of stress and unemployment phenomenon, as well as on the topic of employment of women, pregnant women and mothers, also on equal opportunities for women and men in the labor market, the systems of social security and on topics related to the return of mothers after maternity leave to the labor market. This work consists of two main parts - the theoretical and the research (empirical). The theoretical part deals with the above-mentioned problems and issues. The empirical part is focused on the research and descriptions of its results, where quantitative methods of data collection were use. For the purpose of this work the main target is a group of mothers on maternity leave. The data from respondents were collected using a questionnaire method. Collected data was then quantified using descriptive statistics. Two research questions and three hypotheses in total were defined. Hypotheses were statistically tested using statistical methods - ANOVA. The total number of 320 questionnaires from the target group was collected. To achieve the validity of the collected data and homogeneity of the sample, data collection was aimed exclusively at women, i.e. mothers on maternity leave from only the South Region. Aim of the work was to determine which group of mothers on parental leave more is more stressed mothers with a strong economic background or mothers with less strong economic background. Using a Likert scale was measured the extent of stress in mothers, who are not assured of having their job after returning from maternity leave. Using the above mentioned scale also was measured the stress in mothers on parental leave regarding their return to job and related duties, or finding a completely new job. Related to the results and testing, in the first hypothesis testing we found that mothers who do not receive any social security benefits, are more stressed than those mothers who receive benefits. Second hypothesis testing showed that mothers living with partners are less stressed than mothers who do not live with a partner. The third hypothesis testing found out that mothers on maternity leave, who are not assured of having their jobs after the maternity leave, are more stressed than mothers who have such certainty. From the results of the collected data was found out that most respondents are women aged twenty-five to thirty years, and women from thirty-one to thirty-five years. Mostly with the secondary school education (with graduation) and with university education. A large number of women working full-time and women cohabiting with a partner. A large majority of those mothers receives social security benefits. Also, a large number of women planned a combined parental leave with three years of geting the social security benefits. A considerable part of the interviewed mothers but also answered that along with the parental leave they do not have any another job. The results also showed that almost 80 % of respondents were not working at a leader position. Over 60 % of respondents are currently on parental leave with a child, a smaller part of the respondents with a second or third child. An interesting result is the fact that almost a half of respondents is planning another motherhood and nearly 60 % of them plan the second motherhood following the first one. The results of this research may lead to a consideration on the facts determined. For example, why most of the women do not work in a leader position despite their education. Or if women do really have such strong economic background to be able to continue with another parental leave. This work may help the women themselves, whether those planning to be a mother, expecting a child or having it already. Work can be as a basis or a handbook with an overview of the benefits of social security systems.

M.A. (Social Work) / There are some drastic changes that took place in Telkom SA during the past six years. The extent andpace of these changes could lead to increased stress levels in employees and especially technical managers. This study undertakes an exploratory and descriptive investigation into the manifestation of work / stress in the lives oftechnical managers employed by Telkom. The study has a dual purpose, namely to explore work stress from a social work perspective and to determine to which extent the technical managers experience work stress. Four measuring instruments were used during the empirical research. A description of the group ofrespondents was obtained by way of a biographical questionnaire. The use of the experience ofwork and life circumstances questionnaire (WLQJ provided information about the stress levels ofrespondents and the stressors that influence respondents. The stress reaction questionnaire gives a quantitative indication of the stress reactions and symptoms which manifests in managers. This questionnaire also served as a cross correlationfor the WLQresults. Focus group discussions were facilitated to obtain information about the envisaged nature and impact ofspecific stressors in Telkom. Most respondents presented normal stress levels on the WQL results, while 64% of the respondents presented high levels of stress reactions (symptoms). Respondents with high stress levels also had high levels ofstress reactions. Managers in the age category 35 - 39 years with 0 - 5 years experience on management levels and in the Free State- and Northern Cape region apparently had higher stress levels and stress reactions. Respondents from the Northern Cape area presented higher stress levels than their colleagues in the other areas. Stressors such as organizationalfunctioning and task content was perceived by all respondents as being most stressful. Recommendations with reference to the study are made: Industrial social workers in Telkom can present programmes to improve the internal capacity of managers to deal with stress. Programmes can include include stress control, management support the establishment of support networks and mid-life crisis information. A further recommendation is that human resource sections must join forces to ensure career planning, effective organizational structures and healthy management culture. It is recommended thatfurther research in this regard must be undertaken.

This research examines the level of stress experienced by social workers employed in a locked mental health hospital. A comparative analysis was completed measuring the level of stress associated with the type of unit: acute or chronic.

No description available.

Yes / The experiences of LGBT asylum seekers in the UK are the focus of this chapter. The relative invisibility of LGBT asylum seekers in social work literature and research is acknowledged. Data from interviews undertaken as part of a small scale research study is used to highlight issues of psychological stress, safety, social isolation and resilience and survival. This material is discussed in relation to models of minority stress, discrimination, social determinants of health, and human rights. A holistic approach to practice in response to an opening vignette, is presented with reference to the importance of advocacy and cross-sector partnership working. / This is a post-peer-review, pre-copy edited version of a chapter published in: Fish J and Karban K (Eds.) Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Trans Health Inequalities. Details of the definitive published version and how to purchase it are available online at https://policypress.co.uk/lesbian-gay-bisexual-and-trans-health-inequalities.

A research report submitted to the Department of Social Work, School of Human and Community Development, Faculty of Humanities, University of the Witwatersrand, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Occupational Social Work, 2016 / The primary purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of occupational stress among social workers employed by the Department of Social Development in Mpumalanga Province, Ehlanzeni District. Mpumalanga Province is predominantly rural and the assumption is that work-related challenges for social workers in rural areas are different from urban areas. There are theoretical basis suggesting that people view and respond to stress differently thus their coping strategies even in identical situations are different. The study has therefore focused on the experiences of occupational stress among social workers, the contributory factors that led to occupational stress, the impact of occupational stress, the social workers’ coping strategies with occupational stress; and the availability and effectiveness of organisational support offered to employees experiencing occupational stress as perceived by social workers. The research used both qualitative and quantitative methods. The researcher utilised a questionnaire consisting of open-ended questions, together with the Work-Related Quality of Life scale consisting of closed questions that measured work stress, administered to 40 social workers employed at Ehlanzeni District offices. One year’s working experience as a social worker in the Department of Social Development was a qualifying criterion in the study. Thematic content analysis and descriptive statistical analysis were used to analyse data. The findings of the study suggested that unsatisfactory salaries, working conditions, high workload, lack of recognition and a lack of support were the main stressors for social workers in this study. The research concluded with recommendations that will hopefully assist in improving the quality of work-life of the sound workers and facilitate a balanced understanding between the employees and the employer. / GR2017

L’addiction à la nicotine est une pathologie qui concerne un tiers de la population adulte mondiale et qui est souvent associée avec d’autres troubles psychiatriques tels que la dépression, la schizophrénie ou encore les troubles liés au stress. Chaque année, près de 8 millions de personnes décèdent des conséquences de la consommation de tabac. Cette pathologie constitue la première cause de morts évitables dans le monde. Ce phénomène de dépendance au tabac est induit par la nicotine, principale substance addictive et psychoactive du tabac, qui va agir sur les récepteurs nicotiniques de l’acétylcholine (nAChR) et ainsi détourner le fonctionnement normal de différents circuits neuronaux. De manière aigüe, la nicotine agit directement sur les nAChR ce qui va globalement activer les réseaux neuronaux. A plus long terme, elle va induire une plasticité synaptique et perturber la transmission nicotinique endogène. La nicotine va notamment détourner le système dopaminergique, acteur majeur de l’apprentissage par renforcement, de la motivation et de l’évaluation de la récompense. Ces modifications neuronales conduisent non seulement au renforcement mais entrainent aussi une perturbation de différents traits comportementaux (prise de décision, exploration, vulnérabilité au stress, etc.). Ces relations entre symptômes et traits pourraient expliquer les fortes comorbidités observées entre la dépendance aux drogues d’abus, et particulièrement au tabac, et d’autres manifestations pathologiques telles que les troubles liés au stress. Au cours de cette thèse j’ai tout d’abord abordé les bases neurophysiologiques qui sous-tendent ces comorbidités, en proposant la dopamine comme un substrat commun aux effets du stress social, de la nicotine et des perturbations de la prise de décision associées (impulsivité, sensibilité à la récompense, évaluation du risque, etc.). J’ai pu montrer que l’augmentation de l’activité des neurones dopaminergiques observée après une exposition à la nicotine ou à un stress social est responsable des perturbations des comportements de choix chez la souris. En effet, nous avons pu reproduire ces altérations comportementales en élevant artificiellement le niveau d’activité des neurones dopaminergiques à l’aide de stimulations optogénétiques. La dissection des mécanismes par lesquels la nicotine détourne les circuits neuronaux se heurte aujourd’hui à un manque d’outils permettant une manipulation sélective, réversible et avec une résolution spatio-temporelle suffisante des acteurs moléculaires impliqués. Une deuxième partie de mon travail de thèse a consisté en l’implémentation in vivo chez la souris, de la pharmacologie optogénétique pour les nAChR. La photo-inhibition des nAChR contenant la sous-unité beta2 nous a permis de mettre en évidence l’impact de la modulation cholinergique endogène sur l’activité des neurones dopaminergiques. Nous avons pu, en outre, inhiber la réponse de ces mêmes neurones à l’injection intraveineuse aiguë de nicotine et le renforcement associé dans une tâche de préférence de place conditionnée pour la nicotine. / Nicotine addiction is a condition that affects one third of the world's adult population and is often associated with other psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia, mood- and stress-related disorders. Every year, nearly 8 million people die from the consequences of tobacco use. This pathology is the leading cause of preventable death in the world. This phenomenon of tobacco dependence is induced by nicotine, the main addictive and psychoactive substance in tobacco, which acts on nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) and thus hijacks the normal functioning of various neuronal circuits. Acute nicotine directly acts on nAChRs and activates neural networks. In the longer term, it will induce synaptic plasticity and disrupt endogenous nicotinic transmission. In particular, nicotine disrupts the dopaminergic system, a key player in reinforcement learning, motivation and reward evaluation. These neural changes not only lead to reinforcement but also to a disruption of different behavioral traits such as decision-making, exploration, vulnerability to stress, etc. These relationships between symptoms and features could explain the strong comorbidities observed between substance abuse, and particularly tobacco addiction, and other pathologies such as stress-related disorders. During this thesis, I first addressed the neurophysiological bases underlying these comorbidities, by proposing dopamine as a common substrate for the effects of social stress, nicotine and associated decision-making disorders (impulsivity, reward sensitivity, risk assessment, etc.). I have shown that the increase in dopamine neuron activity observed after exposure to nicotine or social stress is responsible for disrupting choice behavior in mice. Indeed, we could reproduce these behavioral maladaptations by artificially increasing the activity level of dopaminergic neurons using optogenetic stimuli. The dissection of the mechanisms by which nicotine diverts neuronal circuits is currently hampered by a lack of tools for selective, reversible, spatially and temporally precise manipulation of the molecular players involved. A second part of my thesis work consisted in the in vivo implementation in mice of optogenetic pharmacology for nAChR. The photoinhibition of beta2-containing nAChRs revealed the impact of endogenous cholinergic modulation on the activity of dopaminergic neurons. We could optically inhibit the response of these same neurons to acute intravenous injection of nicotine and the associated reinforcement in a task of conditioned place preference for nicotine.

Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2014. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Burnout levels have been found to be high among nurses in both public and private hospitals in South Africa. Burnout is defined within the human services as a syndrome of emotional exhaustion, depersonalisation, and reduced personal accomplishment that can occur among individuals who work with people in some capacity. High levels of burnout have been linked to nurses’ intention to leave the profession, which places additional strain on an already struggling public health system characterised by a shortage of nurses in South Africa. The primary aim of the present cross-sectional correlational study was to determine the proportion of the variance in burnout among nurses accounted for by the linear combination of certain demographic characteristics and occupational stress factors. Secondary aims were to determine the relationship between such factors and burnout levels and to determine the average level of burnout and occupational stress factors reported. A convenience sample of 110 nurses was recruited from a public hospital located in the Western Cape. An analytical survey design for the collection of quantitative data was used. The results of hierarchical multiple regression analyses indicated that workload, interpersonal conflict at work, job status, organisational constraints, and HIV/AIDS stigma by association significantly predicted burnout levels. The linear combination of these variables accounted for 38% of the variance in emotional exhaustion, 32% of the variance in depersonalisation, and 12% of the variance in personal accomplishment. Death and dying-related stress and age did not predict burnout levels. Age was also the only predictor variable not significantly associated with burnout levels. Although burnout levels were not found to be high on average, 34% of the sample reported high levels of emotional exhaustion. A high average level of workload was also reported. It is recommended that future research should focus on the development and evaluation of interventions to ameliorate burnout among South African nurses. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hoë vlakke van uitbranding is bevind onder verpleegkundiges in beide openbare en private hospitale in Suid-Afrika. Uitbranding word binne die menslike dienste gedefinieer as 'n sindroom van emosionele uitputting, depersonalisasie en verminderde persoonlike vervulling wat kan voorkom onder individue wat werk met mense in een of ander hoedanigheid. Hoë vlakke van uitbranding is gekoppel aan verpleegkundiges se voorneme om die professie te verlaat, wat bykomende druk plaas op 'n reeds sukkelende openbare gesondheidstelsel gekenmerk deur 'n tekort aan verpleegkundiges in Suid-Afrika. Die primêre doel van die huidige deursnee- korrelasionele studie was om te bepaal hoeveel van die variansie in uitbranding onder verpleegkundiges voorspel word deur die lineêre kombinasie van sekere demografiese eienskappe en beroepstresfaktore. Sekondêre doelwitte was om die verhouding tussen sodanige faktore en uitbrandingsvlakke te bepaal en om die gemiddelde vlak van uitbranding en beroepstresfaktore soos gerapporteer te bepaal. ’n Gerieflikheidsteekproef van 110 verpleegkundiges is gewerf uit 'n openbare hospitaal geleë in die Wes-Kaap. 'n Analitiese opname-ontwerp vir die insameling van kwantitatiewe data is gebruik. Die resultate van hiërargiese meervoudige regressie-ontledings het aangedui dat werkslading, interpersoonlike konflik by die werk, werkstatus, organisatoriese beperkinge , en MIV/VIGS stigma deur assosiasie uitbrandingsvlakke beduidend voorspel het. Die lineêre kombinasie van hierdie veranderlikes was verantwoordelik vir 38% van die variansie in emosionele uitputting, 32% van die variansie in depersonalisasie, en 12% van die variansie in persoonlike vervulling. Dood en sterfte-verwante stres en ouderdom het nie uitbrandingsvlakke voorspel nie. Ouderdom was ook die enigste veranderlike wat nie beduidend geassosieer was met uitbrandingsvlakke nie. Alhoewel dit bevind is dat gemiddelde vlakke van uitbranding nie hoog is nie, het 34% van die steekproef hoë vlakke van emosionele uitputting gerapporteer. 'n Hoë gemiddelde vlak van werkslading is ook aangemeld. Dit word aanbeveel dat toekomstige navorsing toegespits behoort te word op die ontwikkeling en evaluering van ingrypings om uitbranding onder Suid-Afrikaanse verpleegkundiges aan te spreek.