Job demands,job control,and mental health in an 11-year follow-up study: Normal and reversed relationships

Abstract

Despite numerous studies of the demand-control model, there is a need for more longitudinal studies to test not only the normal, but also the reversed and reciprocal relationships between work characteristics and mental health. There is also a need for more studies of the multiplicative interaction between demands and control with respect to mental health, which is different from the simple additive effect of the two variables. This is a longitudinal study with an exceptionally long period of follow-up (11 years), with the focus on normal as well as reciprocal and reversed causality between work characteristics and mental health, as measured by reliable instruments close to the original definitions of Karasek. The study was based on a sample of 439 Norwegian employees of different occupations who had stayed in the same profession during the follow-up period. The results were in agreement with the hypothesis that low job control, and in particular low control in combination with high demands (“high strain jobs”), has a negative effect on mental health. There was a significant multiplicative interaction between demands and control, indicating a “buffering” effect of job control. Job demands alone were not significantly associated with mental health. The reversed relationship hypothesis was supported for job demands, but not for job control.     

Musculoskeletal discomfort and work-related stress in New Zealand dentists

Abstract

There has been little research into the stressors, psychological distress and musculoskeletal symptoms experienced by dentists. The present study was carried out among a random sample of New Zealand dentists (N=413). The present study aimed to identify the severity of work psychosocial stressors, examine the occurrence of musculoskeletal discomfort and psychological disturbance, and determine relationships between these factors. The average age of the dentists was 43 years, with 74% being male. The annual prevalence of symptoms in both the lower back or neck was 63%, with 49% experiencing symptoms in the shoulders. Older dentists were no more likely to suffer musculoskeletal discomfort than younger dentists. The highest ranking dentistry-specific work-related stressor was ‘patients having a medical emergency’ with 78% scoring this stressor very highly. Dentists scored mental demands as the highest general work-related stressor. One-fifth of the dentists scored highly for psychological disturbance, which was very similar to the general population. Dentists with high scores for dentistry-specific work-related stressors were more likely to have evidence of psychological disturbance. The relationships between psychological disturbance and musculoskeletal discomfort needs to be taken into account when considering any multidisciplinary approach to prevention.     

论藏族社会中的藏传佛教仪式及其社会功能

仪式是“行动的宗教”在藏族社会中得到了集中体现。吸收了本教部分仪式的藏传佛教仪式对藏族个人和社会具有心理慰藉和社会整合功能,但也存在着需要进一步与社会主义社会相调适的方面。     

革命亲历者的历史体验与反思——论王蒙的“季节”系列小说

"季节系列"小说是王蒙对建国以来中国知识分子命运际遇、生命历程、历史意义的一次总结。他以亲历者的身份,经过多年的思索、沉淀,完成了当代知识分子命运的一次自我反思。"季节系列"小说对于历史的认知与体认不同于"伤痕"、"反思"文学的既定模式,王蒙不再将注意力放在历史现象的描摹与再现上,而是力求透过现象追问其背后的内在因缘,其深刻的意义在于因弥合了现象与本质之间的缝隙而成功实现了自我的超越与历史的超越。     

Neighborhood distress and school dropout: the variable significance of community context

Although a substantial body of recent research has examined the impact of neighborhood socioeconomic distress on youth socioeconomic attainment and urban social dislocations, few studies have determined under what conditions, and for what types of adolescents, neighborhood characteristics matter most. Drawing on theories of collective socialization, social capital, and social control, we develop hypotheses regarding the conditional nature of neighborhood effects on the risk of dropping out of high school, and we then test these hypotheses by estimating event history models based on data from the 1968–1993 waves of the Panel Study of Income Dynamics. We find that, among African Americans, the detrimental impact of neighborhood socioeconomic distress on school dropout has increased significantly over the past quarter-century, a probable repercussion of the increasing geographic concentration of urban poverty. The negative effect of neighborhood distress on high school completion is particularly pronounced among black adolescents from single-parent households and among white adolescents from low-income families, results broadly consistent with Wilson’s claim that exposure to neighborhood poverty reinforces the damaging consequences of individual disadvantage. Supporting the social capital perspective, among both black and white adolescents the deleterious impact of neighborhood distress on school dropout is stronger for recent in-movers than for long-term residents. The impact of neighborhood disadvantage also varies significantly by gender for both racial groups and, among whites, is stronger for younger than older adolescents. We conclude with a discussion of the implications of these findings for theories of neighborhood effects.     

语境理论的新发展：社会认知途径——van Dijk的两部语境新著述评

语境研究过去主要遵循形式结构的研究范式,没有纳入认知、心理和社会的维度, van Dijk在语境理论方面的跨学科新探索改变了这一研究现状。首先揭示出目前语境研究存在的本质性问题,然后在此基础上,对van Dijk的社会认知模式的主要观点加以简要述评。van Dijk的两部语境新著,不仅完善了其话语分析的理论模式,同时也将进一步促成批评认知语言学这一分支学科的产生。     

“命价”视野中死亡损害赔偿的计算及其完善

死亡赔偿是对死者之外民事主体物质性利益和精神性利益的赔偿。一般的物质性损失须以实际发生的损失额为计算标准;死亡赔偿金的计算则应采用有限制的定额化方法。常态性的精神损害可实现定额化赔偿,一般的精神损害则应在法定限额幅度内,由法官参酌影响因素酌定赔偿。     

和谐社会建构中的气象灾害管理探析

气象灾害对社会的影响极大,在和谐社会建构过程中,气象灾害管理是重要任务之一,也是实现人与自然和谐相处的主要指标之一。气象灾害不仅影响个体（身心）和谐,产生心理和生理方面的恶性循环,造成极大的心理创伤;还会影响社会整体（群体）和谐,严重威胁人民群众的生命和财产安全,引起社会恐慌,瓦解社会正常的秩序与运转机制。和谐社会建构中的气象灾害管理,要在反思目前的思维方式与发展理念的基础上,加强气象灾害法规建设,提高民众的投保意识,提高公众的灾害意识,倡导公众的广泛参与,建立强有力的研究团队,科学制定灾害预防措施,并重视灾后心理干预工作。     

Voices of recovery: what helps in the recovery of people with lived experiences of mental disorder

Eight participants were recruited from a mental wellness centre run by SRACP in Hong Kong. The participants were interviewed with a focus on the factors they had found helpful in their experience of recovering from mental disorders. Analysed results identified seven themes: (1) receiving support from one or more helping professionals; (2) work; (3) social relationships; (4) treatments; (5) changes in own beliefs and attitudes; (6) self-management, and (7) religion. These themes are explored in this paper, which proposes that the practices of a mental health service can be better oriented towards recovery if there is increased focus on these different aspects of recovery.