Petra Wirtz
Changes in plasma lipids with psychosocial stress are related to hypertension status and the norepinephrine stress response
Authors
Petra Wirtz (University of Zurich)
Hypertensives show exaggerated stress reactivity of norepinephrine (NE), which in turn can induce lipolysis to result in increased levels of free fatty acids in the circulation. We investigated whether resting blood pressure and acute stress-induced NE increase are associated with stress-induced lipid changes corrected for stress-hemoconcentration in men with normal and elevated blood pressure.
Methods: 22 hypertensive and 23 normotensive men (mean±SEM:45±3years) underwent an acute standardized psychosocial stress task. We measured plasma NE and the plasma lipid profile [total cholesterol (TC), low density lipoprotein (LDL)-C, high density lipoprotein (HDL)-C, and triglycerides (TG)] immediately before and after stress and during 60 min of recovery. All lipid levels were corrected for stress-hemoconcentration.
Results: Mean arterial pressure (MAP) predicted immediate stress changes in TC (ß=.36,p=0.016), TG (ß=.33,p=0.040), and LDL-C (ß=.26,p<.08). Immediate increase in NE release independently predicted immediate stress change in TC (ß=.34,p=0.021) and LDL-C (ß=.36,p=.012). The integrated NE stress reactivity from rest to recovery (area-under-the-curve) predicted integrated changes in TC (ß=.40,p=.015) and LDL-C (ß=.39,p=0.016). The MAP-by-NE interaction independently predicted immediate stress change of HDL-C (ß=-.58,p<.001) and of LDL-C (ß=-.25,p<.08).
Conclusion: Our results suggest one mechanism by which stress might trigger acute cardiac events in hypertension.
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Laurence Messerli
The relationship of positive and negative emotion ratio for work-related and private interactions on evening mood and well-being
Authors
Laurence Messerli (University of Neuchâtel)
Franziska Tschan Semmer (University of Neuchâtel)
The quality of daily interactions influences evening mood. This has been found at work (Repetti, 1993), and for family-leisure events (Stone, 1987). It is, however, not clear, what "combination" of work-related and private interactions influence how people feel after a working day. Past research has shown that the overall balance of people’s positive and negative experiences predicts subjective well-being (e.g. Diener, 2000) and positive emotions can undo the negative effects of negative emotions on well-being (Fredrickson, 2003).
We investigate how positive and negative emotions felt in work-related and private interactions combine to influence evening mood. Over 7 days, 102 working adults reported 2807 interactions lasting ten minutes or more in an event-sampling study. Emotions felt during the interactions were assessed using the emotion wheel methodology (Scherer, 2005), and interactions were labelled as 'negative' or 'positive' according to these emotions.
Using multi-level modelling (level 1 is day, level 2 is person) and controlling for several variables, we found that negative work-related or private interactions negatively influence evening mood whereas only private positive interactions significantly increase evening mood. The mood-lowering effect of negative interactions is much more important than the mood enhancing effect of positive private interactions, indicating that several positive interactions are necessary to "undo" effects of one negative interaction.
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Koorosh Massoudi
Interactional model for the analysis of job stress :Identification of individual vulnerabilities and environmental risk factors
Authors
Koorosh Massoudi (University of Lausanne )
The goal of this study is the analysis of professional stress as a process based on the individual’s interaction with their work environment. Subjects (N = 252) belonging to two different professional groups were studied (paramedics and firefighters on one hand, clerical personnel on the other hand). Different factors were considered, reflecting the individual’s characteristics (personality structure), environmental constraints (pace and amount of work, job control, objective risk factors) and the interaction between both (cognitive appraisal, emotions at work, coping strategies), resulting in the degree of job satisfaction and subjective well-being. The results clearly outline the role of the individual profile in the encounter with stressful situations. Even though environmental factors seem to influence the process, individual characteristics (cognitive and coping styles) represent more robust predictors of the outcome of these situations, and certain combinations of theses characteristics can be considered as vulnerability or protection factors.
Considering the influence of the work environment and culture on the individual’s choice of specific behaviors, coping strategies are thus considered not only in terms of intrinsic effectiveness, but also as adapted behaviors embedded in a specific context.
Potential applications in domains of career intervention and risk prevention are also discussed.
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Achim Elfering
Exhaustion in the evening as a function of workday and social stressors: A multilevel analysis
Authors
Achim Elfering (University of Berne)
Simone Grebner (University of Berne)
Norbert K. Semmer (University of Berne)
This field study investigated the effects of occupational stress on psychological recovery from work. Each day during three working weeks male employees of a Swiss organization reported their recovery status before and after work and in the evening at 9 p.m. In a multilevel analysis of 482 evening measurements from 34 study participants, sleep quality of the previous night and recovery status after work were significant predictors. There was no association of recovery status in the evening with the time spent with housework, children, and caring on that day. However, there was a significant decline of recovery status across weekdays, and a significant interaction between social stressors at work and weekdays indicated a more progressive decline in those reporting a high level of social stressors at work. Social stressors at work seem to accelerate the loss of resources across consecutive work days. The analysis of social stressors at work and other potential moderators of resource dynamics should contribute to our understanding of work related stress.
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Beate Schulze
Burnout as an occupational hazard? Work-related stressors and resources of Swiss mental health professionals
Authors
Beate Schulze (University of Zurich)
Objectives: The Zurich Empowerment Programme develops training modules for mental health professionals with two aims: (1) preventing burnout and (2) facilitating co-operative treatment relationships. Burnout rates as well as job-related stressors and resources were studied as part of a comprehensive needs assessment.
Method: Mental health services from all German-speaking cantons of Switzerland were included in the study. Study participants (n=261) were questioned in focus groups and with the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI). Data analysis combines qualitative and quantitative procedures.
Results: Burnout in mental health care is widespread: more than quarter of those questioned score high on the emotional exhaustion scale of the MBI. Mental health professionals describe 6 areas of job strain: organisational obstacles, psychological aspects, high quantitative demands, patient care, team conflicts, and social and economic context factors. Results reveal that the primary stressors are organisational factors, high caseload and increasing job insecurity, rather than stressors evolving from clinical work.
Conclusion: Burnout no longer seems to be a specific occupational hazard for the human services professions. Rather, we currently observe a convergence of working conditions between health and social care and business. As both segments require an increasingly overlapping skill set, there emerges a growing need for cross-sectoral measures to prevent burnout.
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