Trauma,coping resources,and family functioning in emergency services personnel: A comparative study

In this study a sample of male, shift-working, operational ambulance officers were compared with a group of male shift-workers from a range of occupations in which exposure to traumatic events was not inherent in the role ( N = 71). Three dimensions of family functioning were examined: intimacy, conflict, and parenting styles, with respect to occupational type (i.e. work-related exposure to trauma) and accounting for personal resources (coping). Personal resources were found to have a significant impact on the dimensions of family functioning. Furthermore, differences emerged in the pattern of coping between the two groups. Ambulance officers demonstrated a more varied repertoire of personal resources than the control group. Social support was found to be the sole predictor of intimacy and conflict levels in the control sample. However, in the ambulance group social support was predictive of intimacy levels, rational-cognitive strategies were predictive of conflict levels, and self-care, social support, and rational-cognitive strategies were all significantly correlated with the three dimensions of family functioning.     

Editorial: Cognitive science,occupational stress and organizational health

A number of studies have shown that musculoskeletal symptoms are related to the physical and psychosocial work environments. Workers with musculoskeletal symptoms are often advised to cope by such measures as changing working technique, using lifting equipment and discussing health and environmental problems with supervisors and colleagues. Intervention studies at the individual level, however, have shown that such advice has limited effects in reducing the prevalence of musculoskeletal symptoms. The hypothesis for this study was that negative social and organizational factors may prevent workers from implementing such coping strategies. All 103 motor vehicle mechanics surveyed in 12 different garages responded to a questionnaire on coping with musculoskeletal symptoms and the psychosocial work environment. Positive and significant relationships were shown between how mechanics coped with their musculoskeletal symptoms and such psychosocial factors as work demands, social support, control, manager's involvement in health and safety work, and whether the garages had regular meetings between management and workers. Achieving positive results from preventive work through back schools and other ergonomic interventions seems to require that an organization with positive attitudes towards health and safety work be created before such interventions are implemented.     

Coping resources,coping strategies and adjustment to organizational change: Direct or buffering effects?

Abstract

This study examined the effects of personal and social resources, coping strategies and appraised stress on employees' levels of anxiety and depression. In relation to the effects of resources and coping strategies, two different models were tested. The main effects model proposes that, irrespective of the level of stress, coping resources and coping strategies have direct effects on well-being. In contrast, the buffering model predicts that the buffering effects of coping resources ad strategies are only evident at high levels of stress. One hundred lawyers completed a structured self-administered questionnaire that measured their personal and social resources, use of problem-focused and emotion-focused coping strategies, and appraisals of the stressfulness of the situation. Results revealed generally strong support for the main effects model in the prediction of employee levels of anxiety and depression. Lower levels of anxiety were linked to judgements of lower levels of organizational change, greater self-confidence, greater internality of control beliefs and less use of emotion-focused coping strategies. Lower levels of depression in employees were also linked to judgements of lower levels of organizational change, greater use of resources and less appraised stress. There was only limited support for the buffering effects model. Due to the small size of the sample, the findings need to be explored further in other contexts.     

Coping With Sexual Orientation–Related Minority Stress

Little is known about how adolescents cope with minority stressors related to sexual orientation. This study examined 245 lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) young adult’s (ages 21–25) retrospective reports of coping in response to LGB minority stress during adolescence (ages 13–19) to test the reliability and validity of a measure of minority stress coping. Further, the study examined associations between LGB minority stress coping and young adult psychosocial adjustment and high school attainment. Validation and reliability was found for three minority stress coping strategies: LGB-specific strategies (e.g., involvement with LGBT organizations), alternative-seeking strategies (e.g., finding new friends), and cognitive strategies (e.g., imagining a better future). LGB-specific strategies were associated with better psychosocial adjustment and greater likelihood of high school attainment in young adulthood, whereas alternative-seeking and cognitive-based strategies were associated with poorer adjustment and less likelihood of high school attainment.     

Reactions to cyberbullying among high school and university students

In this study, behavioral and emotional reactions to cyberbullying were investigated by surveying 567 undergraduate-level university students and 211 high school students. Among the study participants, 170 of the undergraduates (29.98%) and 120 of the high school students (56.87%) reported that they had recently been cyberbullied. A four-factor scale with 37 items was used to investigate the behavioral cyberbullying reactions of victimized students. The four factors were revenge, countermeasure, negotiation and avoidance. An additional two-factor scale with 11 items was used to classify victimized students’ emotional reactions as either internalizing or externalizing. Explained variance values of both scales were above 50%, and the factors were found to have acceptable internal consistency coefficients. Behavioral and emotional reactions varied according to gender and school level. Computer self-efficacy and internet use were associated with different reaction types.     

Tuning in to the rhythm: The role of coping in strategic management of work-life conflicts in the public relations profession

How public relations practitioners cope with work-life conflict was studied through a national survey of a random sample of PRSA (Public Relations Society of America) members. These active practitioners reported strong preferences in using more proactive conflict coping strategies, such as rational action and positive thinking. Women and those with a graduate degree tend to report more coping behaviors than others. Three types of stressors are identified as sources of work-life conflict: behavior-driven, work-driven, and life-driven.     

Preventing short-term strain through time-management coping

This project investigated the effectiveness of time-management coping in preventing strain resulting from role overload. Structural regressions, a form of causal-correlational analysis, were used on repeated-measures questionnaire data from 96 working adults attending evening degree classes in business administration. Results showed that time-management techniques significantly lowered anxiety, but not depression or somatic symptoms. In addition, the effect of coping on anxiety remained significant when social desirability was controlled. Anxiety did not influence subsequent coping, and no significant moderator effects were found.     

行政垄断与国民待遇原则的冲突及法律探析

行政垄断对我国建立和完善社会主义市场经济体制有极大阻碍。特别是随着中国加入 WTO后 ,它更妨碍我国入世所作出的承诺的履行 ,也直接与国民待遇原则发生冲突。在分析了行政垄断与国民待遇原则冲突表现形式的基础上 ,提出了应对的若干法律对策     

社区冲突再生产及其应对策略——以北京市某回迁社区房屋质量冲突为例

社区冲突的再生产是当前我国基层冲突延续性发展的重要方式。北京市某回迁社区房屋质量冲突从原本只是一个区域性的商业利益纠纷问题,最终发展成为影响区域社会稳定乃至城市秩序的多起群体性事件。其中,基层政府、开发商、法院、民众等社区冲突主体均基于各自的利益诉求采取符合社会规范的冲突应对策略,却导致了社区冲突的再生产,其中拥有合理诉求的民众成为推动社区冲突再生产的直接主体。这启示我们,在应对社区冲突时首先要在制度建设与改革上着眼于社区公共利益,更重要的是让民众真正参与到附带着较多资源分配的公共决策的制定过程中,获得民众对公共政策实实在在的认同,并培养民众自主解决冲突的意识和能力,从而抑制冲突再生产的萌芽。