Showing papers on "Stressor published in 2008"
TL;DR: These three-stressor results suggest that synergies may be quite common in nature where more than two stressors almost always coexist and suggest an immediate need to account for stressor interactions in ecological studies and conservation planning.
Abstract: Humans impact natural systems in a multitude of ways, yet the cumulative effect of multiple stressors on ecological communities remains largely unknown. Here we synthesized 171 studies that manipulated two or more stressors in marine and coastal systems and found that cumulative effects in individual studies were additive (26%), synergistic (36%), and antagonistic (38%). The overall interaction effect across all studies was synergistic, but interaction type varied by response level (community: antagonistic, population: synergistic), trophic level (autotrophs: antagonistic, heterotrophs: synergistic), and specific stressor pair (seven pairs additive, three pairs each synergistic and antagonistic). Addition of a third stressor changed interaction effects significantly in two-thirds of all cases and doubled the number of synergistic interactions. Given that most studies were performed in laboratories where stressor effects can be carefully isolated, these three-stressor results suggest that synergies may be quite common in nature where more than two stressors almost always coexist. While significant gaps exist in multiple stressor research, our results suggest an immediate need to account for stressor interactions in ecological studies and conservation planning.
1,685 citations
TL;DR: The ramifications of stress in terms of the effects of acute versus long-term stressors on cardiac functioning are explored and numerous approaches are available for stress management that can decrease patients' suffering and enhance their quality of life.
925 citations
TL;DR: These findings indicate that the 5-HTTLPR polymorphism is associated with biological stress reactivity, which may increase susceptibility to depression in the face of stressful life events.
532 citations
TL;DR: Evidence is provided for the predictive validity of minority stress, even in the context of a major life stressor, and the importance of targeting minority stress experiences in HIV and mental health interventions with gay men is suggested.
Abstract: Objective Minority stress is the most frequently hypothesized risk factor for the increased rates of adverse behavioral and mental health outcomes among sexual minorities. However, there is a paucity of longitudinal research addressing this hypothesis. Design Prospective, community-based cohort of 74 bereaved gay men. Participants were assessed before the partner or close friend died of AIDS and then at 1, 6, 13, and 18 months postloss. Main outcome measures HIV risk behavior (unprotected anal intercourse), substance use and abuse symptoms, and depressive symptoms. Results Hierarchical Linear Modeling analyses revealed that changes in internalized homophobia, discrimination experiences, and expectations of rejection were differentially associated with HIV risk behavior, substance use, and depressive symptoms, respectively. In contrast to the significant effects of minority stress, bereavement-related stressors (e.g., length of partner illness, quality of relationship with deceased) were largely unrelated to these outcomes. Conclusion The results provide evidence for the predictive validity of minority stress, even in the context of a major life stressor, and suggest the importance of targeting minority stress experiences in HIV and mental health interventions with gay men. Future studies are needed to assess the mechanisms through which minority stress is associated with adverse health outcomes.
391 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the relationship between stress and psychological distress was investigated among a cohort of trainee secondary school teachers in England and the authors examined the structure of a Teacher Stress Scale and its relationship to mental health as measured by the 12-item General Health Questionnaire.
Abstract: The relationships between stress and psychological distress were investigated among a cohort of trainee secondary school teachers in England Specifically, the study examined the structure of a Teacher Stress Scale and its relationship to mental health as measured by the 12‐item General Health Questionnaire Three factors were identified: behaviour management, workload, and lack of support Differences were identified between men and women in respect of stressors and psychological distress Stress attributed to pupils’ disruptive behaviour and stress attributed to perceived occupational stress were found to be significant predictors of psychological distress The findings are discussed in relation to the degree to which trainees are prepared for the challenges they are likely to experience as teachers
320 citations
TL;DR: Four dimensions of resettlement stress: social and economic strain, alienation, discrimination and status loss and violence and threats in Sweden, that account for 62% of the total variance in resettlement stress are found.
Abstract: The pathways to symptoms of common mental disorder and post-traumatic stress symptoms among refugees during resettlement need to be better specified. We aim to identify models of these different mental health outcomes among refugees during resettlement, taking pre-migration, migration and post-migration stress conditions, a person's capacity to handle such stress and socio-demographic variables into consideration. A new questionnaire developed to better cover resettlement stress, as well as pre-resettlement trauma exposures and different measures of a person's capacity to handle stress, was administered to 124 Middle Eastern refugees that had been granted permanent residency in Sweden only a few months before responding. We found four dimensions of resettlement stress: social and economic strain, alienation, discrimination and status loss and violence and threats in Sweden, that account for 62% of the total variance in resettlement stress. Social and economic strain and alienation are important for explaining symptoms of common mental disorder. In the model of core post-traumatic stress symptoms, pre-resettlement trauma exposure seems to have the strongest impact. A person's capacity to handle stress plays significant, direct and mediating roles in both models. The impact of resettlement stressors in the context of the whole migration process for different mental health outcomes is discussed.
243 citations
TL;DR: This first study on the interaction of adult attachment and social support in terms of psychological and endocrine stress responses concurs with previous studies suggesting an important protective role of attachment for psychological stress responsiveness, however, attachment did not directly moderate cortisol responses to acute stress.
217 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors found that the acculturation process generally contributes greatly to stress and anxiety levels among international students, and the objectives of the present study were to see whether international student...
203 citations
TL;DR: The combination of early-life adversity and high levels of chronic stress during adolescence was the most powerful predictor of enhanced adrenal response to the TSST and support previous findings on the role of experiential factors on HPA response to stress and in the development of mood disorders.
202 citations
TL;DR: The findings indicate the potential importance of social processes for physiological recovery from everyday stressful situations in infants and show that the higher the quality of maternal behavior the better the cortisol recovery from the stressor.
Abstract: BACKGROUND: In the very first years of life, parenting is considered to be important for the regulation of the infant's emotional and physiological states. In the present study, three-month-old infants' cortisol responses (reactivity and recovery) to a mild everyday stressor, namely being taken out of the bath, were examined in relation to the quality of maternal behavior. It was hypothesized that a higher quality of maternal behavior towards the infant predicted lower cortisol reactivity as well as a better recovery from the reaction. METHOD: The participants were 64 infants (34 boys and 30 girls) and their mothers. Maternal behavior (sensitivity and cooperation) towards the infant during the bathing routine was rated from videotapes. Salivary cortisol was obtained from the infants three times: before the bathing routine (T1), and 25 minutes (T2) and 40 minutes (T3) after the infants were taken out of the bath. RESULTS: The infants reacted with a significant increase in cortisol to the stressor (from 6.8 nmol/l to 9.9 nmol/l), and regression analysis showed that the higher the quality of maternal behavior the better the cortisol recovery from the stressor. CONCLUSION: Our findings indicate the potential importance of social processes for physiological recovery from everyday stressful situations in infants.
199 citations
TL;DR: Maltreatment status moderated the relation between sAA and cortisol activity in response to the stressor, and data were consistent with sAA-cortisol asymmetry among maltreated youth.
TL;DR: Specific categories of stressors inherent in farmwork and the farmworker lifestyle are associated with mental health among immigrant farmworkers, and isolation was more strongly associated with anxiety and working conditions were more strongly linked to depression.
Abstract: Context: The number of Latinos in rural regions of the United States is increasing. Little is known about factors that undermine the mental health of this segment of the rural population. Purpose: The goal of this study is to determine which stressors inherent in farmwork and the farmworker lifestyle contribute to poor mental health. Methods: An interview containing the Migrant Farmworker Stress Inventory (MFWSI) and 3 mental health scales (the PAI (anxiety), CES-D (depression), and CAGE/4M (alcohol abuse)) was administered to a sample of 125 male migrant farmworkers. Factor analysis differentiated discrete domains of stressors in the MFWSI. Regression models identified associations of the MFWSI stressor domains with mental health outcomes. Findings: Thirty-eight percent of participants had significant levels of stress as determined by the MFWSI. The MFWSI reduced to 5 stressor domains: legality and logistics, social isolation, work conditions, family, and substance abuse by others. Some 18.4% of participants had impairing levels of anxiety, 41.6% met caseness for depression, and 37.6% answered yes to 2 or more questions on the CAGE. Social isolation and working conditions were associated with both anxiety and depressive symptoms. However, social isolation was more strongly associated with anxiety, and working conditions were more strongly linked to depression. Conclusions: Specific categories of stressors (social isolation, working conditions) inherent in farmwork and the farmworker lifestyle are associated with mental health among immigrant farmworkers. Isolating specific categories of stressors helps in designing programs and practice for the prevention and management of mental health disorders in the immigrant, farmworker population.
TL;DR: This work reviews the current literature on the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis regulation by wheel running, a voluntary and controllable stressor with a distinct temporal profile and proposes mechanisms to reduce the reactivity to this stressor.
Abstract: Stress exerts complex effects on the brain and periphery, dependent on the temporal profile and intensity of the stressor. The consequences of a stressful event can also be determined by other characteristics of the stressor, such as whether it is predictable and controllable. While the traditional view has focused primarily on the negative effects of stress on a variety of somatic systems, emerging data support the idea that certain forms of stress can enhance cellular function. Here we review the current literature on the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis regulation by wheel running, a voluntary and controllable stressor with a distinct temporal profile. While running indeed activates a number of systems related to the stress response, other mechanisms exist to reduce the reactivity to this stressor, with possible crosstalk between running and other forms of stress.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors identify the indicators of occupational stress for academic staff in South African higher education institutions, analyse the differences between the occupational stress of different demographic groups, and investigate whether occupational stressors predict ill health and a lack of organisational commitment of academics.
Abstract: The objectives in this study were to identify the indicators of occupational stress for academic staff in South African higher education institutions, to analyse the differences between the occupational stress of different demographic groups, and to investigate whether occupational stressors predict ill health and a lack of organisational commitment of academics in higher education institutions.A cross-sectional survey design was used (N = 595). An Organisational Stress Screening Tool (ASSET) and a biographical questionnaire were administered. Compared to the normative data, academics reported higher levels of stress relating to pay and benefits, overload and work-life balance. Analysis of variance revealed differences between the levels of occupational stress and ill health of demographic groups. Two stressors, namely, overload and work-life balance contributed significantly to ill health of academics. Four occupational stressors, overload, job control, resources and communication, and job characteristics contributed significantly to the commitment of academics to their institutions.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors investigated the extent to which gender and negative affectivity account for differences in stressor appraisal and coping selection and found that females endorsed the use of emotion-focused coping strategies more than males, even when differences in perceived scenario stressfulness were controlled.
Abstract: How can individual differences in stress be explained? This study investigated some of the many possible answers to this question. Specifically, it assessed the extent to which gender and negative affectivity account for differences in stressor appraisal and coping selection. A sample comprising 121 females and 96 males rated the stressfulness of four hypothetical scenarios and indicated how they would likely cope with each. Hypotheses regarding differences in stressor appraisal were confirmed, with females rating the scenarios as more stressful than males, and perceptions of stressfulness increasing with participant negative affectivity (NA). Females endorsed the use of emotion-focused coping strategies more than males, even when differences in perceived scenario stressfulness were controlled. NA was positively linked to both emotion- and avoidance-focused coping, although only the latter association remained significant after controlling for stressor appraisals. Gender x NA interaction effects were not significant. Implications for the prediction and management of stress are discussed.
TL;DR: Characteristics of providers, recipients, and their relationship emerged as key predictors across both studies, and implications for theoretical models of dyadic support processes are discussed.
Abstract: Whereas supportive interactions are usually studied from the perspective of recipients alone, the authors used a dyadic design to incorporate the perspectives of both provider and recipient. In 2 daily diary studies, the authors modeled provider reports of support provision in intimate dyads over several weeks. The 1st involved couples experiencing daily stressors (n = 79); the 2nd involved couples experiencing a major professional stressor (n = 196). The authors hypothesized that factors relating to (a) recipients (their requests for support, moods, and stressful events), (b) providers (their moods and stressful events), (c) the relationship (relationship emotions and history of support exchanges), and (d) the stressor (daily vs. major stressors) would each predict daily support provision. Across both studies, characteristics of providers, recipients, and their relationship emerged as key predictors. Implications for theoretical models of dyadic support processes are discussed.
TL;DR: Results provide strong support for the argument that behavioral control produced stress-resistance by activating the mPFCv, and led the uncontrollable stressor to act as if it were controllable.
TL;DR: It is suggested that rumination may play a role in the association between stress and hypertension by prolonging cardiovascular activation following stress.
Abstract: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the influence of trait and state rumination on cardiovascular recovery following a negative emotional stressor. Cardiovascular data was collected from 64 undergraduate women during a 10-min baseline period, 5-min emotional recall stress task, and a 15-min recovery period. Trait rumination was assessed using the Stress Reactive Rumination Scale and state rumination was assessed 5 and 10 min after the stressor, using a thought-report technique. Results indicated that trait and state rumination interacted such that low trait ruminators who were ruminating at 10 min after the termination of the stressor had poorer diastolic blood pressure and high-frequency heart rate variability recovery compared to low trait ruminators who were not ruminating. State rumination was not associated with cardiovascular recovery in high trait ruminators. Results suggest that rumination may play a role in the association between stress and hypertension by prolonging cardiovascular activation following stress.
TL;DR: Meta-analysis of factors that influenced the increase of cortisol release in a laboratory context pointed to the importance of social evaluative threats and stressor controllability in accounting for the cortisol rise.
Abstract: Increased hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) activation, culminating in elevated circulating cortisol levels is a fundamental response to stressors. In animals, this neuroendocrine change is highly reliable and marked (approximately 5-10-fold elevations), whereas in humans, the increase of cortisol release is less pronounced, and even some potent life-threatening events (anticipation of surgery) only elicit modest cortisol increases. Meta-analysis of factors that influenced the increase of cortisol release in a laboratory context pointed to the importance of social evaluative threats and stressor controllability in accounting for the cortisol rise. The present meta-analysis, covering the period from 1978 through March 2007, was undertaken to identify the factors most closely aligned with cortisol increases in natural settings. It appeared that stressor chronicity was fundamental in predicting cortisol changes; however, this variable is often confounded by the stressor type, the stressor's controllability, as well as contextual factors, making it difficult to disentangle their relative contributions to the cortisol response. Moreover, several experiential factors (e.g. previous stressor experiences) may influence the cortisol response to ongoing stressors, but these are not readily deduced through a meta-analysis. Nevertheless, there are ample data suggesting that stressful events, through their actions on cortisol levels and reactivity, may influence psychological and physical pathology.
TL;DR: The present findings are the first to demonstrate a significant alteration of a specific physiological stress measure (HR) and, more clearly, of psychological aspects of the stress response in adults suffering from ADHD.
TL;DR: These findings identify factors that need to be considered when addressing workplace stress, coping strategies and demographic characteristics as they relate to job satisfaction in Chinese intensive care nurses.
Abstract: Background: Prior research has suggested that certain workplace stressors, coping strategies and demographic characteristics are related to job satisfaction in nurses. Most of the research in this area has been conducted within western culture countries, with little research being carried out in Asian culture countries, especially China. It remains unclear if the findings of the research conducted in western culture countries are applicable to Chinese nurses, especially intensive care nurses.
Aims and objectives: Therefore, the aims of this study were to examine, in Chinese intensive care nurses, the most often occurring workplace stressor; the most frequently used coping strategy; and the relationships among workplace stressors, coping strategies, demographic characteristics and job satisfaction.
Design: The study design was a survey using four self-report questionnaires.
Methods: One hundred and two intensive care nurses, from four hospitals located in two major cities in central China, were administered four self-report questionnaires.
Results: Findings suggested that the most frequently cited workplace stressor was workload, while the most commonly used coping strategy was planning. Two hundred and twelve significant positive and negative correlations were found among the various workplace stressors, coping strategies, demographic characteristics and the different factors comprising job satisfaction.
Conclusions: These findings identify factors that need to be considered when addressing workplace stress, coping strategies and demographic characteristics as they relate to job satisfaction in Chinese intensive care nurses.
Relevance to clinical practice: It is important for both hospital and nursing administrators to address factors contributing to job satisfaction, so that retention of qualified ICU nurses, within the workforce, will be facilitated.
TL;DR: The results suggest that recent exposure to race-related stress can have a sustained impact on physiological stress responses for African Americans.
Abstract: The experience of race-related stressors is associated with physiological stress responses. However, much is unknown still about the complex relationship between how race-related stressors are perceived and experienced and potential moderators such as strength of racial identity. This research examines the impact of a real-life stressor and strength of race identity on physiological responses to a social evaluative threat induced in the laboratory. Salivary cortisol measures were collected throughout a stressor protocol. African-American participants were also randomized to one of two conditions designed to promote either racial identification or student identification, before the experimental task. Unexpectedly, a highly publicized real-life racial stressor, the Duke Lacrosse (LaX) scandal, occurred during the course of the data collection. This allowed for pre–post LaX comparisons to be made on cortisol levels. These comparisons showed that across both priming conditions, participants post-LaX had highly elevated cortisol levels that were nonresponsive to the experimental stress task, while their pre-LaX counterparts had lower cortisol levels that exhibited a normal stress response pattern. Furthermore, this effect of LaX was significantly moderated by gender, with women having lower mean cortisol levels pre-LaX but significantly greater cortisol levels than all other groups post-LaX. These results suggest that recent exposure to race-related stress can have a sustained impact on physiological stress responses for African Americans.
TL;DR: Data are interpreted as suggesting that models of depression based on immune activation ought to consider the stressor backdrop upon which immune challenges are imposed, and that social stressors, such as regrouping, may be more powerful or may engage unique neural or neuroendocrine circuits that favour synergistic outcomes.
Abstract: Activation of the inflammatory immune response may provoke neuroendocrine and central neurochemical effects that are reminiscent of those elicited by traditional stressors, and when administered concurrently may have synergistic effects. The present investigation assessed whether a psychosocial stressor, comprising social disruption, would augment the effects of lipopolysaccharide in mice. It was indeed observed that the social disruption engendered by a period of 2-4 weeks of social isolation (but not 1-7 days of this treatment) followed by regrouping, enhanced the effects of lipopolysaccharide (LPS: 10mug) in the provocation of sickness behavior, as well as plasma corticosterone, IL-6, TNF-alpha and IL-10 levels. Similar effects were not apparent with respect to IL-1beta, IL-4, or IFN-gamma. Synergy between LPS and other stressors (restraint, tail pinch, and loud noise) was not apparent with respect to sickness or plasma corticosterone, provisionally suggesting that social stressors, such as regrouping, may be more powerful or may engage unique neural or neuroendocrine circuits that favour synergistic outcomes. Within the CNS, the LPS and the regrouping stressor synergistically enhanced NE utilization within the prefrontal cortex, and additively influenced hippocampal NE utilization. In contrast to the effects on circulating cytokines, the LPS-induced elevation of IL-1beta, IL-6 and TNF-alpha mRNA expression in the hippocampus, PFC and nucleus tractus solitarius was diminished in animals that had experienced the regrouping stressor. In view of the combined actions of LPS challenge and a social stressor, these data are interpreted as suggesting that models of depression based on immune activation ought to consider the stressor backdrop upon which immune challenges are imposed.
TL;DR: The results of mediator analyses indicated that public CSE is a mechanism that explains the relationship between racism-related stress and self-esteem problems and interpersonal problems but not career problems.
Abstract: This study examined the role of four dimensions of collective self-esteem (CSE) as a moderator and mediator in the relationship between racism-related stress and psychological adjustment among 134 Asian American college students. CSE was not found to moderate the effects of racism-related stress on self-esteem problems, interpersonal problems, or career problems. However, the results of mediator analyses indicated that public CSE is a mechanism that explains the relationship between racism-related stress and self-esteem problems and interpersonal problems but not career problems. No other dimensions of CSE were found to be significant mediators. The implications for these findings for research and practice are discussed. Psychological stress has been explained to occur when general life events in a person's environment are perceived and appraised by that individual to be harmful but demand a coping response that is more than that individual is capable of making (Lazarus & Folkman, 1984). According to stress theories, a variety of mental health and physical outcomes are related to the exposure to stress and the capacity for individuals to access resources to cope. It also has been argued that racism is a source of chronic stress that may negatively impact an individual's well-being (Dion, 2002; Harrell, 2000). Harrell proposed that racism-related stress is the psycho- logical response that is specifically due to direct or indirect expo- sure to racism. According to Harrell, racism-related stress involves "the race-related transactions between individuals or groups and their environment that emerge from the dynamics of racism, and that are perceived to tax or exceed existing individual and collec- tive resources or threaten well-being" (p. 44). Basing her model on established models of stress (e.g., Lazarus & Folkman, 1984), depending on the resources available to an individual, racism- related stress will result in higher levels of psychological, physi- ological, social, or functional problems for people of color. Although Lazarus and Folkman (1984) have argued that coping strategies mediate the effects of an event, others have argued that coping should be treated as a moderator variable (see Holmbeck, 1997). In short, the mediator hypothesis assumes that the manner by which an individual understands or reacts to stress determines the impact of the stressor on health outcomes. Thus, the stressful event determines the response, which in turn contributes to the relationship between stressor and psychological outcome. Argu- ments that coping serves to moderate the effects of a stressor assume that a person's characteristics will either protect or endan- ger an individual's well-being after experiencing the stressful event. Collective self-esteem (CSE) has been argued to serve as either a mediator or moderator in the relationship between racism- related stress and psychological adjustment. Empirical examina- tions of these intervening variables have reflected these two view- points. The purpose of this present study is to test these two competing models to understand the role of CSE in the relationship between the experiences of racism-related stress and psychological adjustment among Asian American college students.
TL;DR: This study addresses the ongoing controversy regarding the definition of DSM-IV posttraumatic stress disorder's (PTSD) traumatic stressor criterion (A1) by using a mixed between-groups (administration order) and within-subjects (stressor type) design and revealed that non-Criterion A1 events were associated with greater likelihood of "probable" PTSD diagnoses and a greater PTSD symptom frequency than Criterion A 1 events.
TL;DR: Evidence of HPA system hypoactivity is found, both in the basal state and in response to a psychosocial stressor in a cohort of women remitted from recurrent major depression as well as in never-depressed healthy female controls.
Abstract: Objective: To better understand the changes in hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and sympathetic nervous system (SNS) function after remission of depression. We characterized these systems at baseline and in response to a psychosocial stressor in a cohort of women remitted from recurrent major depression as well as in never-depressed healthy female controls. Methods: Baseline HPA function was measured via saliva cortisol sampling at 8 AM and 4 PM over 7 days as well as quantification of urinary overnight cortisol secretion. The HPA system response to a psychosocial stressor was assessed by measuring serum cortisol and adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) levels and SNS reactivity by determining serum epinephrine (E) and norepinephrine (NE) concentrations as well as autonomic nervous system changes by analysis of heart rate variability (HRV). The stressor included a speech task, mental arithmetic, and a cognitive challenge. Results: In all, we studied 22 women remitted from recurrent major depression (age 51.0 +/- 1.7 years) and 20 healthy controls (age = 54.2 +/- 1.6 years). Morning saliva cortisol concentrations were lower in remitted patients, paralleled by lower serum cortisol concentrations before stress testing. This group also displayed a blunted cortisol and ACTH response to the stressor, as compared with healthy controls. No between-group differences in HRV parameters were observed. Conclusion: In this group of women remitted from recurrent major depressive disorder, we found evidence of HPA system hypoactivity, both in the basal state and in response to a psychosocial stressor.
TL;DR: Developing clinical interventions that address psychosocial factors and enhance protective health behaviors and reduce behaviors that convey risk to health are likely to lessen overall morbidity and mortality among patients living with HIV/AIDS.
Abstract: The psychological and physical demands of coping with medication side effects and comorbid illnesses can be overwhelming and may influence behaviors, such as medication adherence, substance use, sexual risk behavior, and exercise that, in turn, affect health outcomes Cross-sectional and prospective studies among diverse populations of persons living with HIV suggest that these behavioral mechanisms may be associated with HIV disease progression The motivation to change behavior is often highest in the immediate aftermath of a stressor However, over time the motivation to continue a particular behavior change is often challenged by habits, environmental influences, and psychosocial factors Furthermore, a number of studies suggest that behavioral mechanisms may mediate the relationship between psychosocial variables (eg, stress, depression, coping, and social support) and disease progression in HIV Thus, developing clinical interventions that address these psychosocial factors and enhance protective health behaviors and reduce behaviors that convey risk to health are likely to lessen overall morbidity and mortality among patients living with HIV/AIDS
TL;DR: Content analysis on nurses’ perception about the nature of occupational stress was performed and results indicate both etic and emic sources of job-related stress.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors investigated the predictive utility of a theoretically expanded appraisal measure, which was used to classify participants as either challenged (task demands were rated as commensurate with coping resources) or threatened (task requirements were regarded as exceeding resources).
Abstract: Summary Appraisals are the portal to emotional experience and action. Past research has demonstrated that challenge and threat appraisals have different implications for psychological, physiological, and behavioural responses, typically relying on two-item assessments of appraisals. The present study investigated the predictive utility of a theoretically expanded appraisal measure. Both indexes were used to classify participants as either challenged (task demands were rated as commensurate with coping resources) or threatened (task demands were rated as exceeding resources). Group differences in stress responses were examined. The lengthened appraisal assessment was reliable. Furthermore, compared with the two-item measure, the expanded measure better distinguished differences in emotional experience and performance. Similar fi ndings were obtained for cardio- vascular stress responses. Enhancing the assessment of individual differences in stressor appraisals facilitates our understanding their nature and potential for modifi cation, and the nature of the stress process. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
TL;DR: Coping effectiveness was significantly higher during training compared with matches, and higher levels of emotional intensity were significantly associated with lower levels of coping effectiveness.
Abstract: The purpose of this study was to examine acute sport-related stressors, coping, and emotion among a sample of professional rugby union players during training and matches Five professional rugby union players maintained diaries for 31 days The diaries consisted of a stressor checklist and an open-ended stressor response section, an open-ended coping response section, a Likert-type evaluation of coping effectiveness, a best-of-fit emotional response section, and a Likert-type evaluation of emotional intensity Six out of the 10 stressors reported had a higher mean frequency in training compared with matches Blocking was the most frequently cited coping strategy on match days, whereas increased concentration was the most frequently cited coping strategy on training days Coping effectiveness was significantly higher during training compared with matches Additionally, higher levels of emotional intensity were significantly associated with lower levels of coping effectiveness Significant individual differences were found for both coping effectiveness and emotional intensity