Stress and Health

doi: 10.1002/smi.2877pmid: N/A

Tinajero, Ruben; Williams, Paula G.; Cribbet, Matthew R.; Rau, Holly K.; Silver, Michelle A.; Bride, Daniel L.; Suchy, Yana

doi: 10.1002/smi.2938pmid: 32073201

Childhood trauma is associated with poor health outcomes in adulthood. Mechanisms for these associations are not well understood because past studies have focused predominantly on populations that have already developed physical and mental health problems. The present study examined the association between childhood trauma and stress‐related vulnerability factors in a healthy adult sample (n = 79; 68% female, mean age = 27.5, SD = 6.5). Emotion regulation difficulties were examined as a potential mediator. Participants completed baseline laboratory assessments of reported childhood trauma, emotion regulation difficulties, prior month sleep quality, baseline impedance cardiography and behavioural tests of executive functioning (EF) and a three‐day experience sampling assessment protocol that included sleep diary, reported and objective pre‐sleep arousal, daily hassles and reported EF difficulties. Reported history of childhood abuse was significantly associated with difficulties in emotion regulation, self‐report and objective pre‐sleep arousal, diary‐assessed sleep quality, daily hassles and reported EF difficulties. Reported history of childhood neglect was associated with greater pre‐sleep arousal and poorer EF‐behavioural control. Emotion regulation difficulties mediated the relationship between childhood abuse and reported pre‐sleep arousal, daily hassles and reported EF difficulties. In conclusion, history of childhood trauma is associated with a variety of stress‐related vulnerability factors in healthy adults that may be viable early intervention targets.

Beerse, Megan E.; Van Lith, Theresa; Stanwood, Gregg

doi: 10.1002/smi.2937pmid: 32073202

Stress and anxiety pose a threat to college students' academic performance as well as their long‐term mental and physical health, but the time constraints of a rigorous academic schedule make it difficult to offer even brief mental health interventions. A convenience sample of full‐time students at a public university was recruited for a 5‐week study conducted mostly using an online platform. Participants were randomly assigned to a Mindfulness‐Based Art Therapy (MBAT) intervention or a Neutral Clay Task (NCT). Anxiety, perceived stress, and salivary cortisol outcomes were measured. A total of n = 77 participants completed the study. The MBAT group experienced significant reductions in anxiety and perceived stress compared to the NCT group. Significant reductions in salivary cortisol were observed, but only time could be identified as a confounding variable. Art making alone is not enough to induce significant positive responses, but this study suggests MBAT can, and that an online intervention could offer feasible and accessible mental health services on college campuses. Further refinement of biological data collection and analysis is needed to determine what the mediating effects MBAT could have, if any, at the molecular level.

Trépanier, Sarah‐Geneviève; Vallerand, Robert J.; Ménard, Julie; Peterson, Clayton

doi: 10.1002/smi.2939pmid: 32141191

This longitudinal study (T1 n = 399; T2 n = 279) investigated the moderating role of work motivation in the relationship between job resources (control and recognition) and burnout. Overall, job recognition and control resulted in more burnout for employees with poor‐quality work motivation (high controlled or low autonomous motivation). These results suggest that poor‐quality motivation renders employees more vulnerable to certain resources in their work environment, as these job characteristics stimulate compensatory behaviours (e.g., overinvesting in one's job to boost one's sense of self‐worth or to obtain others' approval), leading to energy depletion over time.

Brossoit, Rebecca M.; Crain, Tori L.; Hammer, Leslie B.; Lee, Soomi; Bodner, Todd E.; Buxton, Orfeu M.

doi: 10.1002/smi.2941pmid: 32181575

Healthcare is the fastest growing occupational sector in America, yet patient care workers experience low job satisfaction, high turnover, and susceptibility to poor sleep compared to workers in other jobs and industries. Increasing schedule control may be one way to help mitigate these issues. Drawing from conservation of resources theory, we evaluate associations among schedule control (i.e. a contextual resource), employee sleep duration and quality (i.e. personal resources), job satisfaction, and turnover intentions. Patient care workers who reported having more schedule control at baseline reported greater sleep duration and sleep quality 6 months later, as well as higher job satisfaction and lower turnover intentions 12 months later. Workers who experienced greater sleep sufficiency (i.e. feeling well‐rested) reported higher job satisfaction 6 months later, and workers who experienced fewer insomnia symptoms (i.e. trouble falling and staying asleep) reported lower turnover intentions 6 months later. The association between schedule control and job satisfaction was partially mediated by greater sleep sufficiency, though this effect was small. Providing patient care workers with greater control over their work schedules and opportunities for improved sleep may improve their job attitudes. Results were not replicated when different analytical approaches were performed, so findings should be interpreted provisionally.

Hald, Gert Martin; Ciprić, Ana; Strizzi, Jenna Marie; Sander, Søren

doi: 10.1002/smi.2940pmid: 32141221

Traditionally, the concept of burnout has been applied to the workspace but recent research suggests its applicability to more general contexts such as the family sphere. The present study applies burnout to the divorce context and (a) proposes and statistically tests the Divorce Burnout Model (DBM), (b) investigates the contribution of sociodemographic variables and divorce characteristics to burnout scores, and (c) investigates the relationship between burnout scores and the number of sick days and days of absence from work. Using a cross‐sectional design and a sample of 1,856 recently divorced Danish citizens, multigroup confirmatory factor analysis verified the DBM´s good fit to data. Using this model, for men, it was found that fewer previous divorces, former spouse initiation of divorce, not having a new partner and a higher degree of conflict significantly predicted higher levels of divorce burnout. For women, lower income, former spouse divorce initiation, not having a new partner, and a higher level of conflict significantly predicted higher levels of divorce burnout. Across gender, burnout scores were found to significantly predict number of sick days and days of absence from work in the past 3 months over and above sociodemographic variables, divorce related characteristics, and depressive symptoms.

Bellosta‐Batalla, Miguel; Blanco‐Gandía, María; Rodríguez‐Arias, Marta; Cebolla, Ausiàs; Pérez‐Blasco, Josefa; Moya‐Albiol, Luis

doi: 10.1002/smi.2942pmid: 32227624

Mindfulness‐based interventions (MBI) have been shown to be effective in increasing empathy in health professionals. Yet, more research is needed to analyse the specific influence of mindfulness exercises on biological variables involved in empathy, such as the biological system of oxytocin activity. In this study, we analyse the effects of a brief mindfulness session on positive and negative affect, state anxiety and salivary oxytocin (sOXT) in psychology students (N = 68). In the experimental group (n = 42), a mindfulness session was performed that included different guided meditation exercises. In the control group (n = 26), an emotion recognition exercise was carried out, along with a series of creative activities. Results showed that the mindfulness session was effective, because there was a significant reduction in negative affect (d = −.56, p < .001) and state anxiety (d = −.54, p = .007) in the experimental group. Likewise, there was an increase in sOXT (d = .99, p < .001) in this group, compared with the control group. Guided mindfulness meditation practice could be useful to reach an emotional and biological state that facilitates empathy. In this regard, the increase in sOXT after the mindfulness session adds further evidence about the biological mechanisms underlying the benefits of MBI on empathy.

Uzer, Tugba

doi: 10.1002/smi.2944pmid: 32281242

The transitional impact scale (TIS) was developed to measure the quality and quantity of changes brought about by transitional events. The aim of the present study was to investigate the psychometric properties of the TIS. Study 1 investigated the validity and internal consistency of the TIS among 445 participants (aged 18–73 years) who completed the TIS, beck anxiety inventory (BAI), centrality of event scale (CES), impact of event scale‐revised (IES‐R), and post‐traumatic growth inventory. Study 2 investigated the test–retest reliability of the TIS among 140 university students (70 female; 70 male) who completed a retest of the TIS after a 2‐week interval. The two‐factor structure (i.e., material change and psychological change) of the TIS proposed by Svob et al. (2014) was confirmed in different age and socioeconomic status groups of a Turkish sample. The TIS was significantly correlated with the BAI, CES, and IES‐R. Finally, the TIS had a high test–retest reliability.

Waldeck, Daniel; Banerjee, Moitree; Jenks, Rebecca; Tyndall, Ian

doi: 10.1002/smi.2946pmid: 32314874

Previous research suggests that longer‐term perceived ostracism is related to poor sleep quality. In this study, we investigated the mediating effect of cognitive arousal on the perceived ostracism–sleep quality relationship. We also investigated whether experiential avoidance was a moderator of the cognitive arousal–sleep quality relationship. Participants (N = 251) were recruited through online research portals to take part in an online survey. A path analysis was used to test a moderated mediation effect between variables. It was found that cognitive arousal mediated the perceived ostracism–sleep quality relationship; however, experiential avoidance was not a significant moderator. These findings suggest that further research needs to be conducted to elucidate the mechanism of experiential avoidance to account for when it may impact sleep quality. Moreover, treatment interventions targeted at reducing cognitive arousal (e.g., cognitive behavioural therapy) prior to sleep are likely to bear some fruit.

Wu, Chih‐Ying; Kuo, Chien‐Chih; Lin, Chia‐Wu; Hu, Wan‐Hsien; Wu, Chia‐Yen; Cheng, Sheng

doi: 10.1002/smi.2950pmid: 32343480

Although researchers have confirmed the relationship between positive leadership styles and work–family enrichment, benevolent leadership has received little attention. Drawing from the concept of mood contagion, this study explores the underlying mechanism between benevolent leadership and work–family enrichment. Using a survey of 459 employees, across 36 supervisors and their work groups, and multilevel structural equation modelling, this study revealed that benevolent leadership is positively associated with work–family enrichment via cross‐level paths. The results indicated that benevolent leadership is associated with positive group affective tone, which further predicts subordinates' work–family enrichment. Moreover, work engagement mediates the relationship between positive group affective tone and work–family enrichment. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.