The Effort-Reward Imbalance model of psychosocial stress at the workplace—a comparison of ERI exposure assessment using two estimation methods

It is not unusual for old data to be used in epidemiological studies. Recently developed instruments for measuring work-related stress did not exist when the data collection was carried out. Therefore, approximate questions are sometimes used. An apparent problem is the lack of validation of proxy questions. The aim of this study was to compare the original questions for measuring Effort-Reward Imbalance (ERI) with approximate questions. The study population corresponded with a subgroup in the WOLF-n (WOrk, Lipids, Fibrinogen–north) cohort study of cardiovascular risk in a working population in the north of Sweden: 655 men and 178 women. The agreement in exposure between the original and the approximate ERI single questions was relatively low throughout, whereas the correlation between the ERI subscales and the ERI ratios was reasonable. The latter agreement between the original and the approximate ERI ratio indicates that the approximate measures might have been useful in the past. Yet, whenever possible the implementation of the original questionnaire in study protocols is recommended since a complete measurement of ERI might help to further improve the internal consistency and the predictive validity of this exposure to effort-reward imbalance.     

Smooth Machinery: Global Governmentality and Civil Society HIV/AIDS Work in Rwanda

In recent years there has been a massive influx of aid to civil society HIV/AIDS work in Africa. Drawing on fieldwork in Rwanda, this article explores, through a governmentality perspective, the rationalities and technologies of government that accompany the new funding schemes. The paper feeds into contemporary debates on the relevance of governmentality studies in Africa and on the complicated relationship between state, civil society, and international donors in the particular context of Rwanda. Despite the country's known record of authoritarian politics, the paper argues that Rwandan civil society organizations are in fact largely subject to advanced liberal rule, rendering them responsible and active in their own government. This global governmentality, in turn, unfolds through a post-political machinery that effectively blurs boundaries between international donor, state, and civil society institutions. Ultimately, this means that researchers interested in resistance must be prepared to extend their visual field considerably.     

The Effort-Reward Imbalance model of psychosocial stress at the workplace—a comparison of ERI exposure assessment using two estimation methods

It is not unusual for old data to be used in epidemiological studies. Recently developed instruments for measuring work-related stress did not exist when the data collection was carried out. Therefore, approximate questions are sometimes used. An apparent problem is the lack of validation of proxy questions. The aim of this study was to compare the original questions for measuring Effort-Reward Imbalance (ERI) with approximate questions. The study population corresponded with a subgroup in the WOLF-n (WOrk, Lipids, Fibrinogen-north) cohort study of cardiovascular risk in a working population in the north of Sweden: 655 men and 178 women. The agreement in exposure between the original and the approximate ERI single questions was relatively low throughout, whereas the correlation between the ERI subscales and the ERI ratios was reasonable. The latter agreement between the original and the approximate ERI ratio indicates that the approximate measures might have been useful in the past. Yet, whenever possible the implementation of the original questionnaire in study protocols is recommended since a complete measurement of ERI might help to further improve the internal consistency and the predictive validity of this exposure to effort-reward imbalance.     

How Bullying Involvement is Associated with the Distribution of Parental Background and With Subjective Health Complaints Among Swedish Boys and Girls

This study aimed to analyze how bullying involvement is associated with the distribution of parental background and with subjective health complaints (SHC) among Swedish boys and girls. Data were collected from the World Health Organization, Health Behavior in School-aged Children (WHO/HBSC) survey, measurement years 1997/1998, 2001/2002 and 2005/2006. A total of 11,972 boys (50.6 %) and girls (49.4 %) in grades five, seven and nine participated in the study. The adolescents were categorized in subgroups according to parental background: Swedish (80.1 %), mixed (10.5 %) and foreign (9.7 %). Multivariate logistic regressions were used to estimate remaining risk of SHC in the categories of bullying involvement. The frequencies of bullying involvement once or more were: none involved (74.8 %), victims (10.6 %), bullies (10.3 %) and bully/victims (4.4 %). Six out of ten involved in bullying were boys. Boys of foreign background were more involved as bullies compared to boys of mixed or Swedish background. Girls of foreign background were more involved in all three categories of bullying than girls of mixed or Swedish background. Increased risk of SHC was estimated among all adolescents involved in bullying, with highest OR in the category of bully/victims, OR 3.95 (CI 3.13–4.97) for the boys and OR 4.51 (CI 4.51–6.40) for the girls. The multivariate models were stable even after adjustment for socio-demographics. There are some associations between bullying involvement and parental background. Regardless of parental background, family affluence, family structure and gender, all adolescents involved in bullying are at increased risk of SHC.