Bonita C. Long

Effects of exercise training on anxiety: A meta-analysis

Abstract A meta-analysis was conducted on 40 studies (76 effects) in order to examine exercise training as a method of stress-management treatment for adults. It offered evidence of a low-to-moderate positive effect in anxiety reduction. Exercise training studies that examined change from pre to post-treatment and studies that examined both change over time and between group differences were examined separately. The unbiased weighted average effect sizes were .45 and .36, respectively. Thus, exercise training improved anxiety levels an average of .36 standard deviations over alternative or control conditions. Adults who were more likely to have a stressful lifestyle benefited more from the exercise training than those who did not. Recommendations are made for both practice and research.

A Narrative View of Art Therapy and Art Making by Women with Breast Cancer

Art therapy (with an art therapist) and art making (without an art therapist) show promise as avenues for psychosocial support for women with breast cancer. The purpose of this study was to gain an in-depth understanding of how 17 women with breast cancer in Canada and the USA used art therapy and their own art making to address their psychosocial needs, focusing particularly on meaning making. Narrative analysis of interviews yielded four storylines: Art and Art Therapy as a Haven; Getting a Clearer View; Clearing the Way Emotionally; and Enhancing and Enlivening the Self. The storylines show existence being affirmed, confirmed and proclaimed through visual artistic expression and meaning making being achieved through physical acts of making.

Causal model of stress and coping: Women in management.

A model of managerial womens stress was tested (N = 249) with structural equation modeling. The model was developed from Lazaruss (1966) theoretical framework of stress/coping and incorporated 3 causal antecedent constructs (Demographics, Sex Role Attitudes, Agentic Traits), 4 mediating constructs (Environment, Appraisals, Engagement Coping, Disengagement Coping), and 3 outcomes (Work Performance, Distress, Satisfaction). The final model, found to be most plausible in the sample population, accounted for 56% of the total variance among the constructs. Lazaruss theory of psychological stress, which postulates a central role for cognitive appraisals and coping, was supported. In addition, agentic traits and sex role attitudes had both direct and indirect effects on outcome variables. Implications for career development theory and counseling, as well as limitations of the study, are discussed.

Critical Comments About Body Shape and Weight: Disordered Eating of Female Athletes and Sport Participants

This investigation explored the role of critical comments about weight and body shape and disordered eating symptoms of female athletes (N = 157) and sport participants (N = 63). Results revealed that both athletes and sport participants who recalled critical comments, compared with those who did not, and those who recalled more severe critical comments, reported greater disordered eating (controlling for depression). Although greater degree of athletic involvement was associated with greater frequency of recalled critical comments, athletes and sport participants did not differ on disordered eating. Consistent with objectification theory, those who recalled critical comments had more intense negative emotions (shame, anxiety) than positive emotions associated with the recalled comment; but not more so for athletes than sports participants.

Talking about work stress: Discourse analysis and implications for stress interventions

Abstract This study used discourse analysis to explore the way in which employees understand work stress. Twenty-two female clerical workers in a Canadian city participated in focus group meetings where they talked about and made sense of their experiences of work stress. The womens accounts were analysed using discourse analysis methods (i.e. an examination of how talk is constructed). The findings revealed that talking about being stressed provides a socially acceptable way of expressing discomfort and regaining a sense of importance that is lost through feeling under-valued and under-appreciated in the organization. In contrast, admitting to being unable to cope with stress was considered to be ‘abnormal’. The stress discourse fosters a sense of helplessness and ambiguity by not acknowledging external influences on clerical workers’ experiences, such as their place within the power structure of the organization, and by limiting their sense of agency and control over problems experienced at work. The implications of these findings for organizational culture and interventions are discussed. For example, employers are encouraged to be conscious of the messages being sent to employees about how negative emotions or distressing experiences at work are to be addressed (i.e. how ‘stress’ is to be managed). Recommendations are made for future research using discourse analysis, such as the examination of alternative discourses that aim to improve conditions at work.

Considering 'meaning' in the context of breast cancer.

In this article, we show that a psychological view of global and situational meanings is inadequate for understanding meaning making in the context of breast cancer. We outline research that has illuminated breast cancer meanings that differ from standard illness meanings and we highlight impediments to meaning making for women with breast cancer. We conclude that it is less helpful to promote a particular kind of illness meaning for women with breast cancer than to: (a) create conditions that women with breast cancer have said are conducive to meaning making; (b) accept and acknowledge meanings that women with breast cancer themselves find valuable; and (c) actively work to change dominant discourses that constrain meaning making for women with breast cancer.

Women's Adaptation to Chronic Back Pain: Daily Appraisals and Coping Strategies, Personal Characteristics and Perceived Spousal Responses.

Daily diary methodology was used to examine within- and between-person associations among pain appraisals, coping strategies, personal characteristics, perceived spousal responses and daily (30 days) changes in negative mood and pain for 88 women with chronic back pain. Multilevel models revealed that control appraisals and distraction and ignoring pain coping strategies were associated with same-day reductions in negative mood and pain; whereas catastrophizing appraisals and praying and hoping coping strategies were associated with an increase in negative mood or pain. With appraisals and coping controlled for, average within-day decreases in depression were associated with perceived control in one’s life; increases in anxiety were associated with spousal distracting responses; and increases in pain intensity were associated with spousal punishing responses and pain interference.

Qualitative teamwork issues and strategies: coordination through mutual adjustment.

Multidisciplinary research teams that include faculty, students, and volunteers can be challenging and enriching for all participants. Although such teams are becoming commonplace, minimal guidance is available about strategies to enhance team effectiveness. In this article, the authors highlight strategies to guide qualitative teamwork through coordination of team members and tasks based on mutual adjustment. Using a grounded theory exemplar, they focus on issues of (a) building the team, (b) developing reflexivity and theoretical sensitivity, (c) tackling analytic and methodological procedures, and (d) developing dissemination guidelines. Sharing information, articulating project goals and elements, acknowledging variation in individual goals, and engaging in reciprocity and respectful collaboration are key elements of mutual adjustment. The authors summarize conclusions about the costs and benefits of the process.

Gender role orientation, ethical and interpersonal conflicts, and conflict handling styles of female managers

This study examines the influences of socialization and structural variables on relations among gender role orientations, interpersonal and ethical conflicts, and conflict handling styles. The data were collected from 134 female federal and provincial government supervisors and managers (Mage 40.1). Results of multivariate analyses of variance indicated that managers with high-instrumental traits are likely to indicate that they would use a dominating conflict handling style, and androgynous managers (high-expressive and high-instrumental traits) are more likely to indicate that they would use an integrating style. Managers did not report that they would use different conflict handling styles for ethical and interpersonal conflicts. Moreover, nonsignificant interaction effects indicated that the nature of the conflict did not moderate the gender role orientation and conflict handling style relationship.

Appraisals and coping with workplace interpersonal stress: A model for women managers.

This study extended a previously developed integrative model of workplace stress by focusing specifically on interpersonal stressors. After controlling for negative affect, results of the prospective study of 157 Canadian managerial women indicated that conflicts appraised as threats to self-interest, less perceived control over the stressor, and more upsetting appraisals led to the use of disengagement coping, whereas conflicts appraised as threats to social relationships and greater control were associated with the use of engagement coping. Individual differences were also associated with primary appraisals and perceptions of the work environment. Primary appraisals had both direct and indirect effects on psychosomatic distress and fully mediated the effects of individual differences on distress.