Psychophysiological mechanisms of pain in computer work: the blood vessel-nociceptor interaction hypothesis

Almost all hypotheses of muscle pain maintain that the pain results from muscle cell activation. The mechanisms so far proposed for the generation of pain are related to hypoxia, effects of energy deficit, or intracellular calcium accumulation, leading to muscle cell damage. However, it has not been possible to find reliable causal associations between pain and muscle activation as measured by electromyography (EMG). Explanations of the pathogenesis of pain have to account for the activation of sensory nerves that mediate information of potential tissue injury to the nerve system, the nociceptors. The finding that sustained activation of low-threshold motor units occur in computer work (the 'Cinderella hypothesis') does not explain the genesis of muscle pain. There is a paucity of reliable evidence of associations between muscle cell damage and work-related muscle pain. Some of the available data indicate that muscle fibre activity may be a consequence of pain rather than a cause. A hypothesis pertaining to work situations with cognitive tasks and low-level muscle activity is presented. This hypothesis proposes that muscle pain originates from the blood vessel-nociceptor interactions of the connective tissue of the muscle. Possible candidate mediators are discussed.     

Is workplace bullying related to the personality traits of victims? A two-year prospective study

The main aims of this two-wave prospective study were to (1) present different theoretical mechanisms for relationships between bullying and personality characteristics, (2) determine forward and reverse long-term associations between victimization from bullying and personality traits included in the five-factor model and (3) establish whether these personality traits contribute to the variance in bullying, beyond work environment factors in the form of role conflict and role ambiguity. The prospective sample comprised 3066 Norwegian employees. The time lag between the two measurement points was two years. Neuroticism significantly predicted subsequent bullying in analyses of direct associations between personality traits and victimization. When adjusting for role conflict and role ambiguity, conscientiousness emerged as the only significant predictor of later victimization from bullying. In tests of reverse associations, victimization from bullying at baseline was significantly related to agreeableness, conscientiousness and openness at follow-up. Taken together, the study findings indicate that personality traits may function as both predictors and outcomes of workplace bullying.     

Proactive coping with discrimination: A mediator between ethnic-racial socialization and Latinx youth's internalizing symptoms

There is a dearth of knowledge in the coping literature on how minoritized youth cope with racism-related stressors and the predictors of effective coping responses. This two-wave study examined the direct and indirect effects of ethnic-racial socialization on depressive and anxiety symptoms via proactive coping with discrimination in a community sample of 135 Latinx adolescents (M_age = 16, SD = 1.27; 59% female). Results indicate that cultural socialization was related to higher use of proactive coping with discrimination 6 months later, which in turn, was related to fewer depressive and anxiety symptoms. There were no direct or indirect effects between preparation for bias and mental health outcomes.     

Race and psychological distress: the South african stress and health study

We analyze data from the South African Stress and Health Study, a nationally representative in-person psychiatric epidemiologic survey of 4,351 adults conducted as part of the World Mental Health Survey Initiative between January 2002 and June 2004. All blacks (Africans, Coloreds, and Indians) initially report higher levels of non-specific distress and anger/hostility than whites. Access to socioeconomic resources helps explain differences in non-specific distress between Coloreds and whites and Indians and whites. However, only when social stressors are considered do we find few differences in psychological distress (i.e., non-specific distress and anger/hostility) between Africans and whites. In addition, self-esteem and mastery have independent effects on non-specific distress and anger/hostility, but differences between Coloreds and whites in feelings of anger/hostility are not completely explained by self-esteem and mastery. The findings contribute to the international body of work on social stress theory, challenge underlying assumptions of the minority status perspective, and raise a series of questions regarding mental health disparities among South Africans.     

Language Choice,Residential Stability,and Voting Among Latino Americans*

Objective. Students of political behavior have often found that the primary use of languages other than English impedes many forms of political participation in the United States. We develop expectations about how language choice operates with social context to influence an individual's decision to vote. Although choosing to speak a language other than English—in this case, Spanish—may affect the amount of political information individuals have at their disposal, this choice also represents their access to social and community resources that enable, rather than impede, political participation. Methods. We examine the voting behavior of Latinos, almost entirely Mexican Americans, living in south Texas counties on the U.S. border and reconsider the consequences of language choice for political behavior. Results. Controlling for past residential tenure, we find that Spanish‐speaking Latinos will be more likely to vote than English‐speaking Latinos. Conclusions. The establishment of ties to an ethnic group in a majority‐minority context over time mitigates the negative relationship between the use of Spanish as a primary language and voting.     

Lessons from meta‐analyses of randomized clinical trials for analysis of distributed networks of observational databases

Networks of constellations of longitudinal observational databases, often electronic medical records or transactional insurance claims or both, are increasingly being used for studying the effects of medicinal products in real‐world use. Such databases are frequently configured as distributed networks. That is, patient‐level data are kept behind firewalls and not communicated outside of the data vendor other than in aggregate form. Instead, data are standardized across the network, and queries of the network are executed locally by data partners, and summary results provided to a central research partner(s) for amalgamation, aggregation, and summarization. Such networks can be huge covering years of data on upwards of 100 million patients. Examples of such networks include the FDA Sentinel Network, ASPEN, CNODES, and EU‐ADR. As this is a new emerging field, we note in this paper the conceptual similarities and differences between the analysis of distributed networks and the now well‐established field of meta‐analysis of randomized clinical trials (RCTs). We recommend, wherever appropriate, to apply learnings from meta‐analysis to help guide the development of distributed network analyses of longitudinal observational databases.