Carrie S. Hurst

College Student Stressors: A Review of the Qualitative Research

A total of 40 qualitative studies were reviewed and coded according to the college student stressors they represented. These studies utilized a variety of qualitative methods to examine stressors representing the following themes: relationships, lack of resources, academics, the environment, expectations, diversity, transitions and other stressors. Relationship stressors were the most commonly reported theme and covered areas including stress associated with family, romantic, peer and faculty relationships. Three of the themes (relationships, diversity and other) are novel categories of stressors compared with quantitative reviews on the topic, highlighting the importance of gathering both quantitative and qualitative pieces of information. This review contributes to the stress literature by synthesizing and identifying trends in the qualitative student stress research.

Job Content Plateaus: Justice, Job Satisfaction, and Citizenship Behavior

The current study examined job content plateaus, which occur when employees perceive a lack of future challenge or responsibility in their jobs. Although previous research has indicated that job content plateaus are related to poor job attitudes and outcomes, few studies have examined mediators of these relationships, a critical step in theory development. In this study, we tested a mediation model to examine the outcomes of job content plateaus among a sample of 118 hospital employees in Kenya. Job content plateaus were negatively related to job satisfaction and organizational citizenship behaviors directed at individuals (OCBIs). Job satisfaction was positively related to OCBIs and organizational citizenship behaviors aimed at organizations (OCBOs) and mediated the relationship between job content plateaus and OCBIs and OCBOs.

Mentoring in Organizations: Mentor or Tormentor?

This chapter defines mentoring in organizations and identifies several ethical issues associated with mentoring relationships. Using the American Psychological Association’s Ethical Principles and Code of Conduct as a framework, the potential ethical dilemmas faced from the perspective of both the protege and mentor are illustrated through the use of specific examples of how these dilemmas might occur in the workplace. The chapter also provides a review of the literature on both the positive and negative outcomes associated with mentoring, focusing on those pertaining to quality of work life and health and well-being for proteges and mentors. The chapter concludes with suggestions for several specific avenues for future research.