Michael R. Frone

Work-family conflict and employee psychiatric disorders: The national comorbidity survey

This study examined the relation between work-family conflict and several types of psychiatric disorders: mood, anxiety, substance dependence, and substance abuse. Survey data were obtained from a representative national sample of 2,700 employed adults who were either married or the parent of a child 18 years old or younger. Hierarchical logistic regression analyses revealed that both work-to-family and family-to-work conflict were positively related to having a mood, anxiety, and substance dependence disorder. Depending on the type of work-family conflict and type of disorder, employees who reported experiencing work-family conflict often were 1.99-29.66 times more likely than were employees who reported no work-family conflict to experience a clinically significant mental health problem. No support was found for gender differences.

Work-Family Conflict, Gender, and Health-Related Outcomes: A Study of Employed Parents in Two Community Samples

On the basis of identity theory and research on sex role socialization, it was predicted that both work interfering with family (W-->F conflict) and family interfering with work (F-->W conflict) are uniquely related to depression, poor physical health, and heavy alcohol use (Hypothesis 1). It also was predicted that gender would moderate these relationships, such that W-->F conflict is more strongly related to the outcomes among women (Hypothesis 2a) and F-->W conflict is more strongly related to the outcomes among men (Hypothesis 2b). Survey data were obtained from 2 random community samples of employed parents (Ns = 496 and 605). Hierarchical regression analyses supported Hypothesis 1 but failed to support Hypotheses 2a and 2b.

Interpersonal conflict at work and psychological outcomes: testing a model among young workers.

On the basis of A. P. Fiskes (1992) general theory of social relations, a model of interpersonal conflict at work was developed and tested in a sample of young workers. The model predicts that conflict with supervisors is predictive of organizationally relevant psychological outcomes (job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and turnover intentions), whereas conflict with coworkers is predictive of personally relevant psychological outcomes (depression, self-esteem, and somatic symptoms). Data were obtained from a sample of 319 individuals ages 16 to 19 years. Structural equation modeling results supported the hypothesized relations. Secondary regression analysis of 2 data sets from M. A. Donovan, F. Drasgow, and L. J. Munson (1998) provides initial support for the generalizability of the hypothesized model to older employees.

Verbal abuse from outsiders versus insiders: Comparing frequency, impact on emotional exhaustion, and the role of emotional labor.

Research on aggression from organizational outsiders (customers, clients or patients) has ignored insider-instigated aggression, and has been limited to employees in emotional labor jobs (e.g., social work and customer services). The authors argue that customer-employee interactions have distinct characteristics from organizational insider interactions, and provide two studies to compare the frequency and strain of verbal abuse from customers, supervisors and coworkers. Furthermore, they assess whether customer verbal abuse is only a critical issue for employees in jobs requiring emotional labor, measured with both O*NET job codes and self-reported display rules. With a national random sample of U.S. employees (n = 2446) and a convenience sample of U.S. employees who have customer contact (n = 121), the authors find that verbal abuse from outsiders (1) occurs more frequently than insider verbal abuse, particularly for those with higher emotional labor requirements, and (2) predicts emotional exhaustion over and above insider verbal abuse, regardless of emotional labor requirements. The authors conclude that better integration of customer aggression and insider aggression research is needed.

Predictors of work injuries among employed adolescents

Predictors of work injuries were studied in a sample of employed adolescents. The 20 predictors comprise 5 general categories of risk factors: demographic, personality, employment, health, and substance use. Data were obtained from a sample of 319 individuals ages 16 to 19. Hierarchical regression analysis revealed that all 5 categories of risk factors were related to job injuries. The significant predictors of work injuries among adolescents were gender, negative affectivity, job tenure, exposure to physical hazards, excessive workloads, job boredom, poor physical health, and on-the-job substance use.

Relationship of financial strain and psychosocial resources to alcohol use and abuse: the mediating role of negative affect and drinking motives.

Limited research has examined the relationship between financial strain and alcohol use and abuse. Building on affect regulation theory and recent research in the stress and alcohol literatures, this study developed and tested a model relating financial strain, social resources, personal resources, depression, and drinking to cope to alcohol use and abuse. Data were obtained from a random sample of 1,424 adults who indicated that they had drunk alcohol in the previous year. We tested and then revised our model using structural equation modeling analysis. Results supported the affect regulation model of financial strain and alcohol use and abuse. Generally, depression mediated the relationship between financial strain and drinking to cope, and drinking to cope mediated the relationship between depression and alcohol use and abuse. In addition, both gender and race moderated six of the relationships in our revised model.

Academic Performance and Cheating: Moderating Role of School Identification and Self-Efficacy

Academic dishonesty is a significant problem among students from elementary school through college. The desire to succeed in school through dishonesty is increased when there is a breakdown in the norms associated with conventional academic attitudes. The authors conducted a survey research study to examine the relationship between academic performance and cheating. They hypothesized that the inverse relationship between academic performance and cheating is moderated by school identification and academic self-efficacy. The results show that cheating is more likely among lower achieving students when they do not identify with school, and among higher achieving students with low levels of academic self-efficacy.

Relation of Behavioral and Psychological Involvement to a New Four-Factor Conceptualization of Work-Family Interference

The relation of role involvement to work-family interference has had inconsistent results in past research. By paying closer conceptual attention to the measurement of role involvement and work-family interference, this study addresses past inconsistent findings. First, a new four-factor measure of work-family interference is proposed that incorporates the dimension of externally generated versus internally generated conflict, which has been ignored in previous research. Second, role involvement is considered from both a behavioral and a psychological perspective. Data were obtained from a sample of 534 employed adults with families. The results suggest that a mapping of behavioral and psychological involvement to specific dimensions of external and internal work- family interference appears to be important when examining the general relation of role involvement to work-family interference.

Financial stress, social support, and alcohol involvement: a longitudinal test of the buffering hypothesis in a general population survey.

This study examined whether specific facets of social support (tangible assistance, appraisal, and belonging) moderate the relationship between a specific type of stress (financial stress) and alcohol involvement (drinking to cope, heavy drinking, and alcohol problems). Data were derived from a community sample stratified by education and race. Respondents (N = 1,040) were interviewed in 1986 and 1989 and had drunk alcohol during the year preceding both interviews. Results supported the buffering influence of tangible support on the financial stress-alcohol involvement relationship. In contrast, neither appraisal nor belonging support consistently revealed a buffering pattern. These findings indicate the importance of taking into account specific components of social support when examining the relationship between specific sources of life stress and alcohol involvement.

Job characteristics, work-school conflict, and school outcomes among adolescents: testing a structural model.

A conceptual model of work-school conflict was developed and tested. This study extends prior adolescent employment research by investigating the process by which job characteristics are associated with school outcomes. Data were obtained from a sample of 319 adolescents (16 to 19 years old) who were full-time students and part-time workers. The model was tested using structural equation modeling techniques. Results supported the hypothesized path model. Job characteristics (workload, number of work hours, and job dissatisfaction) were positively related to work-school conflict. Work-school conflict was negatively related to school readiness. School readiness was positively related to school performance, which was negatively associated with school dissatisfaction. In addition, results support a feedback relation, such that school dissatisfaction is negatively related to school readiness.