Sponsor
Portland State University. Department of Psychology
First Advisor
Cynthia Mohr
Date of Publication
Fall 12-3-2013
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Applied Psychology
Department
Psychology
Language
English
Subjects
Nurses -- Job stress -- Psychological aspects, Nursing -- Psychological aspects, Stress management, Stress (Psychology)
DOI
10.15760/etd.1505
Physical Description
1 online resource (viii, 160 pages)
Abstract
Negative events encountered in daily life influence individual well-being. Individuals vary in their reactivity to these events, the extent to which they are behaviorally, physiologically, and psychologically influenced by them (Almeida, 2005; Neupert, Almeida, & Charles, 2007). Reactivity to events in the form of changes in health behavior could represent either an attempt at coping (Cooper, Frone, Russell, & Mudar, 1995) or a stressor-related failure of self-control (Muraven & Baumeister, 2000). Such changes in behavior could have later effects on health.
Although a great deal of attention has been paid to both the immediate and long-term effects of stressors on individuals, little is understood about the potential relationship between these immediate and long-term consequences. Exploration of this connection could not only expand the understanding of the relationships between stressors, behavior, and well-being, but also inform intervention strategies.
One important domain in which stressors occur is work; certain occupations such as nursing expose individuals to a greater likelihood of experiencing stressors simply by nature of the tasks and/or environment involved. As a nursing shortage continues, stress is in fact one of the most-often cited reasons for nurses to leave the profession (Cangelosi, Markham, & Bounds, 1998). Using a sample drawn from the Oregon Nurse Retention Project and the relatively novel statistical method of slopes-as-predictors, I examined the relationships between work stressors and nurses' health behaviors (alcohol consumption, diet, exercise) and then used those relationships as predictors of follow-up outcomes (depression, life satisfaction, perceived health).
Significant variability was found for five combinations of stressors and health behaviors, indicating that varying patterns of health behavior reactivity were indeed present in this sample; moreover four of those five stressor-behavior (reactivity) slopes emerged as significant predictors of later health and well-being. Notably, reactivity in the form of increased days of exercise during weeks of greater demands or negative events was associated with lower depression scores, and reactivity in the form of increased days of exercise during weeks of greater conflicts was associated with greater satisfaction with life. Implications of these findings, including the importance of exercise in maintaining well-being, are discussed.
Rights
In Copyright. URI: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s).
Persistent Identifier
http://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/10474
Recommended Citation
Jacobs, Laurie Marie, "Work Stress Reactivity and Health Outcomes: A Study of Nurses" (2013). Dissertations and Theses. Paper 1515.
https://doi.org/10.15760/etd.1505
Included in
Health Psychology Commons, Nursing Commons, Occupational Health and Industrial Hygiene Commons