Controverse relative à la relation entre le stress et la performance au travail : recherche d’explications

Despite many efforts, the relationship between stress and performance remains very controversial. No relational assumption seems to dominate and empirical results present contradictory observations. Pursuing to clarify this relationship, this study has two objectives: countercheck the relation between stress and performance at work and document the potential moderating effects of commitment and job satisfaction on this relation. From information collected by self-administered questionnaires, the statistical analysis demonstrates the absence of relation between stress and performance in the restoration sector and a negative relation for workers in the health sector. As for the moderating properties of commitment and satisfaction, it appears that these variables do not permit to enlighten the relational ambiguities between stress and performance. The discussion presents supporting explanation to the disparity of results between samples.     

留守对农村儿童青少年社会适应的影响:倾向值匹配的比较分析

以河南和陕西两省3812名4~9年级农村学生为研究样本, 考察其在抑郁、自尊、问题行为、幸福感、未来压力感知及人际关系方面的社会适应状况, 并运用倾向值匹配方法探讨了父母外出务工对其产生的影响。结果发现, 在倾向值匹配之前, 双亲外出务工的留守儿童在未来压力感知、抑郁和幸福感3方面的适应状况均比非留守儿童差, 在师生关系上得分高于非留守儿童;单亲外出务工的留守儿童感知到的未来压力及抑郁水平也显著高于非留守儿童。经过倾向值匹配处理后, 双亲外出留守儿童的幸福感仍显著低于非留守儿童, 单亲外出留守儿童的未来压力感知也高于非留守儿童, 但其他方面的差异不再显著。研究结果提示对于留守与非留守儿童存在的社会适应差异不能完全归咎于父母的外出务工状态。     

自尊与心理性应激反应的关系：社会认可需求的中介作用

国外研究者认为高自尊个体的内控性高,因此其在心理性应激情境中的反应不那么强烈,而国内研究者从集体文化(中国)考虑,则认为高自尊个体的社会认可需求较高,因此在心理性应激情境中的反应更强烈.本研究采用特里尔社会应激测试作为应激情境,采集41名中国大学生被试在这一情境下的客观参数(心率)作为心理性应激反应的指标,通过问卷测量被试的自尊水平、内控性水平和社会认可需求水平,考察自尊影响心理性应激反应的机制.结果发现被试的自尊水平与应激情境下的心率呈正相关,并且社会认可需求在自尊与心理性应激的关系中起着显著的中介作用.本文从文化差异角度提出自尊预测心理性应激反应的模型可能需要在不同文化背景下来分别探讨.     

Physical growth delays and stress dysregulation in stunted and non-stunted Ukrainian institution-reared children

To study the effect of institutional rearing on physical growth and stress regulation we examined 16 institution-reared children (3–6 years old) in Ukraine and compared them with 18 native family-reared children pair-matched on age and gender. Physical growth trajectories were examined on the basis of archival medical records and current measurements of height, weight, and head circumference. Stress regulation was studied on the basis of diurnal salivary cortisol sampled six times during 1 day. 31% of institution-reared children were stunted at 48 months whereas none of the family-reared children were. Substantial delays in physical growth were observed in institution-reared children especially during the first year of life. From 24 months onwards a tendency for improvement in physical growth was evident among the temporarily stunted institution-reared children, with complete catch-up in weight and partial catch-up in height by the time of assessment. Chronically stunted institution-reared children demonstrated persistent severe growth delays. Institution-reared and family-reared children showed similar patterns of diurnal cortisol production with decreases over the day. However, temporarily stunted institution-reared children had a significantly higher total daily cortisol production than both chronically stunted institution-reared children and family-reared children. These data confirm previous findings regarding physical growth delays and stress dysregulation associated with institutional care, but also point to differences in cortisol production between stunted and non-stunted institution-reared children.     

Severe Life Events and Chronic Adversities as Antecedents to Anxiety in Children: A Matched Control Study

The present study compared the number of severe life events and chronic adversities as reported retrospectively by mothers of children with an anxiety disorder (n = 39) prior to the onset of their most recent episode, with controls (n = 39) matched for age and sex. The parent version of the Psychosocial Assessment of Childhood Experiences (PACE) was used to assess chronic adversities (long-term experiences with negative impact on child) and severe life events (discrete life events with high long-term threat). A significantly greater number of severe life events and chronic adversities were assessed prior to onset for anxious children compared to controls. The finding for severe life events held regardless of whether impact ratings were assigned by mothers or a panel of independent raters, suggesting the findings reflect actual as opposed to perceived differences. Results suggest that both discrete and chronic stressors may constitute risk for future episodes of anxiety in children.

Anxiety and post-traumatic stress symptoms following wisdom tooth removal

The purpose of the present study was to determine the psychological impact of wisdom teeth removal and to identify the psychological risk factors for the development of dental anxiety and post-traumatic stress symptoms. Participants were 34 consecutive elective patients referred for surgical removal of a wisdom tooth under local anesthesia. Frequency of previous distressing dental events and general traumatic life events were assessed at baseline (t1), and emotional distress (pain, state anxiety and disturbance) immediately after treatment (t2). Post-traumatic stress responses were determined three days after treatment (t3), and at four weeks follow-up (t4), while severity of dental trait anxiety was assessed at t1 and at t4. Two patients (8%) met screening criteria for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) at t4. Multivariate analysis revealed that previous exposure to distressing dental events and pre-operative anxiety level predicted anxiety level at t4, accounting for 71% of the variance. Severity of pain during treatment was a significant predictor variable of PTSD symptom severity at t4 (25% explained variance). The findings underline the importance of pain-free treatments and awareness of patients' individual predisposition to anxiety or trauma-related symptoms to reduce the risk of iatrogenic psychological harm.     

The self-concept of traumatized children and adolescents with or without PTSD

This study compared the Piers-Harris 2 scores of youth with PTSD (n=30) to the scores of traumatized youth without PTSD (n=60) and a non-traumatized comparison group (n=39). In the absence of major comorbid disorders, youth with PTSD evidenced significantly lower scores than the traumatized PTSD negatives and controls on five of six Piers-Harris 2 scales. With the exception of scores on an index of perceived parental acceptance of child behavior, trauma exposure in the absence of PTSD was not associated with lower Piers-Harris 2 scores.     

Workload Variability and Social Support: Effects on Stress and Performance

The current study investigated the effect of workload variability on performance and stress, as well as the role of social support as a potential intervention. Based on previous research it was predicted that a shift in workload from either high to low or low to high would lower performance and increase stress, while the provision of social support would result in higher performance and lower stress. Results revealed significant decrements in performance following workload shifts, though no increase in stress was perceived. Performance in both workload conditions significantly, but inconsistently, increased following the provision of social support and stress significantly decreased following the shift from high to low workload. Implications and future research steps are discussed further.     

Workload Variability and Social Support: Effects on Stress and Performance

The current study investigated the effect of workload variability on performance and stress, as well as the role of social support as a potential intervention. Based on previous research it was predicted that a shift in workload from either high to low or low to high would lower performance and increase stress, while the provision of social support would result in higher performance and lower stress. Results revealed significant decrements in performance following workload shifts, though no increase in stress was perceived. Performance in both workload conditions significantly, but inconsistently, increased following the provision of social support and stress significantly decreased following the shift from high to low workload. Implications and future research steps are discussed further.