A longitudinal person-centred approach to the job demands-control model

We used a longitudinal design and a person-centred methodology to test the strain and learning hypotheses of the job demands–control model among Finnish employees (n = 926), who were followed-up at three time points covering a period of 2 years (2008–2010). First, we identified longitudinal subgroups in demands and control across three measurement points. Second, we examined how these subgroups differed in strain (job exhaustion) and motivation-related outcomes (vigour at work, work–family enrichment). Growth mixture modelling revealed four subgroups: “stable high strain”, “stable low strain”, “increasing control”, and “decreasing control”. The stable high- and low-strain subgroups also differed in the outcomes studied (exhaustion, work–family enrichment) as suggested by the demands–control model. The findings also suggest that job control is subject to changes over time and that these changes are likely to be associated with changes in employee outcomes. Malleability of job control should be kept in mind in job stress interventions, likewise the fact that some employees suffer from chronic job stress.     

Learning conversations: A person-centred approach to self-organised learning

A conversational approach to teaching and learning is described. Learning is viewed as a skill, which implies that individuals can learn how to learn. Awareness-raising techniques enable the development of new levels of competence. Significant improvements in reading, listening, thinking and feeling creatively, and in manual skills, have been achieved. A meta-language for articulating learning processes combines the functions of tutoring and counselling by focussing the learner's attention on reflection and review. To envisage the educational institution as a conversational network for personalising learning experiences involves fundamental changes in its aims and activities.     

The person-centred approach as an ideological discourse: a discourse analysis of person-centred counsellors' accounts on their way of being

In accord with humanistic psychology, the person-centred approach (PCA) highlights individuality and is characterised by subjectivity and freedom vs. objectivity and determination. This study endeavoured to define how person-centred counsellors position themselves within PCA. In order to employ a critical frame of mind, analysis focused on identifying constructions, contradictions and functions of language that pointed to power relations. This study revealed a power relation between PCA and the counsellors, displaying five discourses: the philosophical discourse, the discourse of freedom, the discourse of religion/spirituality, the discourse of militarism and the discourse of eros (love). PCA is thought to empower the client in relation to its respectful and non-directive, therapeutic framework. Analysis suggests that despite rhetorical endorsement of PCA as enabling, the approach has implications for subjectivity and practice regarding the counsellor him/herself. Adhesive attachments closely resembling religious and erotic ones seem responsible for dogmatic and militaristic phenomena as described by participants. Strong emotions such as pride and guilt are indicative of this adhesive investment. Furthermore, the analysis shows that as the discourse of freedom becomes embedded in the philosophical discourse of PCA, it has connotations of truth. Lastly, the discourse of religion/spirituality seems to organise PCA in terms of meaning coherence.     

Applying person-centred principles to teaching large classes

An analysis was carried out of final-year undergraduate responses to innovations in a seminar class of 54 students to determine whether positive learning outcomes in large classes can be made possible by increasing the range of work in which students are involved. Relatively straightforward adjustments to approach and style produced positive learning outcomes, enabling students to acquire enthusiastically and effectively not only subject knowledge, but also a range of transferable skills giving them better preparation for the world of work. While course management of this kind requires a redirection of the time and effort of the lecturer, and therefore raises issues of professional development needs, it is not subject-specific and should be readily transferable.     

Relative efficacy of using behavioral consultation as an approach to teacher stress management

The general literature has been slow to focus on the empirical validation of approaches to teacher occupational stress management. Using matched teacher groups, in this investigation we have outlined, compared, and evaluated two teacher stress management techniques, collaborative behavioral consultation (CBC) and relaxation training. Analyses of perceived teacher stress levels before intervention, after intervention, and at the follow-up assessment period revealed greater maintenance of effectiveness for the CBC group than for a control group. Such an ongoing effect was not found for the relaxation training approach. The possible reasons for these results were seen in terms of the more durable systemic, problem-solving nature of CBC, which, when focused on organizational and environmental stressors, contrasts sharply with the more individual-clinical approach to stress management exemplified by relaxation training.     

A structural modeling approach to the understanding of parenting stress

Tested and cross-validated a multidimensional model of predictors of parenting stress on data from a population-based sample of Swedish mothers (N = 1,081) with children ages 6 months to 3 years. The study was a cross-sectional questionnaire study, focusing on the explanation of variance in parenting stress. Structural equation modeling procedures permitted disentanglement of total, direct, and indirect effects. A Swedish instrument based on parts of the Parent Domain in the Parenting Stress Index was used as a measure of stress. The results provided general support for the proposed model. High workload, low social support, perception of the child as fussy-difficult, negative life events, child caretaking hassles, more children in the family, and high maternal age related directly to more stress. Child irregularity contributed indirectly to mother's experienced stress. No buffering effects of social support were found. Forty-eight percent of the variance in the parenting stress measure was explained by the model. Implications for interventions were discussed.     

A multiple case study approach to work stress prevention in Europe

Work stress has become a major issue among European employees. The current practice of its prevention seems disappointing, as work stress prevention programmes are predominantly reactive and biased to the individual. The lack of organization-level intervention studies is a barrier to progress in reducing work-related stress. In addition to the “true experimental approach”, multiple case studies may provide an adequate research strategy for addressing the potential impact of stress interventions in organizations. The study aim was to obtain more knowledge with respect to evidence-based work stress prevention in Europe, by focusing on both content (cause-effect relationships) and process (“how”). Therefore it was decided: (1) to collect from each European Union member state a work stress intervention study; (2) to analyse each of these cases as to content and process factors; and (3) to systematically compare these studies in a step-by-step approach. Through a network approach, 11 cases were identified. Nine projects received an acceptable methodological standard and were included in this study. Evaluation of these cases reveals that stress prevention is no “one time event”, nor merely a technical process. It is concluded that “true prevention” (i.e., preventive measures that are based on an adequate diagnosis identifying risk factors and risk groups, which theoretically and logically fit in with the problems, and which are introduced and implemented in a proper way) may be beneficial to both the employee and the organization.     

A Clinical approach to marital problems: Evaluation and management

Abstract

This study reviews two instruments designed to assess marital complaints as related to marital behavior: the Areas of Change Questionnaire (AC) and the Comprehensive Areas of Change Questionnaire (CAC). Although the AC is a reliable measure, it evaluates only 13 of the 29 categories of marital problems (Mead&;Vatcher, 1985) described by Geiss and O'Leary (1981). The CAC was developed to measure all 29 categories. Fifty distressed and 50 nondistressed couples were administered the CAC and the Marital Adjustment Test (MAT: Locke&;Wallace, 1959). The CAC is reliable overall, r=.84 and 20 out of 29 categories are reliable r=.40 or greater. Test-retest reliability was greater than r=.82 for all but one scoring method and for 21 of the 29 categories for all respondents with 2 additional categories stable for men and 2 different categories stable for women. The CAC differentiates distressed from nondistressed couples M=59.96 and 11.74 and individuals M=29.98 and 5.87, respectively. The CAC correlates with the MAT r=? .50 and ? .67 for nondistressed and distressed couples, respectively, when 5 extreme scores were removed from the distressed sample. Clinical utility of the CAC is discussed and further research into the nature of marital complaints is recommended.     

Future meetings related to stress management

Future meetings related to stress management     

Post-traumatic stress disorder: A congnitive-contextural approach

Most people are psychologically effected by an extreme trauma and for a significant minority the debility is long term, often expressed as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). A cognitive-contextual approach is described in which the prime focus is upon teaching the client how to interact adaptively with the memory of the trauma by: a) facilitating a switch from a primarily perceptual to a more conceptual level of processing the trauma itself; and b) placing the trauma in the context of past life experiences and determining its relevance for the future. The approach is illustrated by the treatment of a PTSD diagnosed motor vehicle accident victim.     

A stress management programme for Crohn's disease

The present study was designed to assess the effectiveness of techniques of behavioural assessment and treatment of Crohn's disease (CD). On the assumption that stress events have a pronounced influence on the life of Crohn's patients, we proposed stress management treatment. This is intended to control stress and improve patients' personal and social competence. Forty-five patients with Crohn's disease were randomly assigned to one of three treatment groups, two experimental groups: stress management and self-directed stress management, and a control group: conventional medical treatment. The subjects underwent eight individual sessions which were specific to each condition. All subjects completed symptom monitoring diaries. The subjects who received training in stress management experienced a significant post-treatment reduction of tiredness (P < 0.1), constipation (P < 0.1), abdominal pain (P < 0.5) and distended abdomen (P < 0.5). The subjects who received training in self-directed stress management experienced a significant reduction in tiredness (P < 0.1) and abdominal pain (P < 0.5). No significant changes were observed in symptomatology in the conventional medical treatment group. Similar results were obtained in the 12 month follow-up.