Stress and strain in blue-collar and white-collar management staff

Previous research has demonstrated the relationship of work stress to indices of job strain, as well as underscoring the importance of moderating variables. In the present study of a mining organization it was hypothesized that personnel associated with actual mining operations would demonstrate stress-strain relationships different from those associated with administrative and staff work. Measures of stress and strain were obtained from management staff of blue-collar and white-collar groups to assess the moderating influence of collar color. Results strongly support collar color as a moderator variable. In particular, the two groups differ significantly with respect to how role conflict, job security, quantitative work load, variation in work load, and utilization of skills impact various strains. The effect of job function on stress and strain and possible practical implications of these results are discussed.     

Cognitive changes associated with social skills training

Changes in locus of control and self-esteem during social skills training and at 6 month follow-up were investigated. Forty-four adolescent, male offenders were randomly assigned to a social skills training, attention-placebo, or no-treatment control procedure. The results showed that pre- to post-training increases in self-esteem were produced for both the social skills training and attention-placebo control groups, but not for the no-treatment control group. These increases did not continue during the follow-up phase; the social skills training group, which showed the greatest improvement during training, displayed a decrease in self- esteem during follow-up.The locus of control measures showed a statistically significant shift towards internality for the social skills training group during training, which was not found for the attention-placebo and no-treatment controls. During the follow-up phase, all three groups showed a statistically significant shift towards externality, suggesting a tendency for boys to view their behaviour and consequences as being under the control of chance factors or powerful others, during institutionalization. This effect was partly reversed during training for the social skills training group, but the effect was not long lasting. It seems therefore that social skills training is effective in producing an increase in self-esteem and a shift towards internal locus of control. These changes are, however, of short duration and the self-esteem shift may be the result of increased staff contact or other non-specific therapy factors.     

Habit reversal vs. negative practice treatment of nailbiting

A previous study of the habit reversal treatment of nailbiting was extended by using more subjects (97) and a comparison with an alternative method (negative practice). Negative practice reduced nailbiting episodes by about 60% whereas habit reversal reduced nailbiting episodes by about 99% throughout the 5-month follow-up.     

The response of day and night wetting children and children who wet only at night to retention control training and the enuresis alarm

Forty-five children with night wetting only (NW) and 30 children with day and night wetting (DNW) were randomly assigned to 2 treatment groups: alarm only and alarm preceded by 4 weeks of retention control training (R.C.T.). Fewer children became dry at night in the DNW group than the NW group and DNW children relapsed earlier following treatment. The enuresis alarm was far superior to R.C.T. in reducing night wetting in both enuretic groups. It also reduced day wetting in some of the DNW children. Children who became dry in the NW group did not show significant changes in functional bladder capacity. Although changes in functional bladder capacity were seen in the DNW children who became dry, changes were only noticeable once dryness had been achieved.     

The use of a self-control package to enhance temporal generality of a parent training program

The purpose of the present study was to examine the effectiveness of a self-control package in enhancing temporal generality of a parent training program. Sixteen mothers and their clinic-referred noncompliant children were assigned to either a parent training alone group, or a parent training plus self-control group. All mother-child dyads were treated individually by teaching the mother to reward compliance and other prosocial behavior, and to use time-out for noncompliance. In addition, mothers who also received self-control training learned to self-monitor their use of their new parenting skills and to reinforce themselves for use of the skill during a 2 month follow-up period. Assessment consisted of four home observations by independent observers prior to treatment, after treatment, and at a 2 month follow-up. The data indicated that the children in the parent training plus self-control group were significantly more compliant and less deviant at the 2 month follow-up than the children in the parent training alone group. Parental behavior did not differ between the two groups at the follow-up.