Richard S. DeFrank

Job Loss: An Individual Level Review and Model

Abstract Job loss has become a constant of life in western countries, but although attention has been drawn to job loss victims and their families in the 1980s, few research studies have actually been conducted to trace and examine the consequences of job loss. A review of some of the relevant and diverse behavioral, medical, and social science literature is conducted to illustrate the complexity and multidisciplinary nature of the job loss experience. The present paper also provides a conceptual model to examine individual responses to job loss. The model portrays risk factors, moderators, and effects of job loss. From the model and the review, a number of research propositions are developed for consideration among researchers. The importance of including organizational-relevant variables in individual level conceptualizations and proposed research discussions of job loss are emphasized.

Maternal stress and pregnancy outcomes: A review of the psychosocial literature

The literature linking maternal psychosocial stress with pregnancy outcomes is reviewed. These published findings, dating back over the past 30 years, tend to conceptualize stress as either life change or anxiety. After a brief conceptual and methodological overview of ‘stress’, empirical research findings are reviewed with pregnancy outcomes grouped into 4 categories: low birth weight, prematurity, antepartum complications, and intrapartum complications. In general, the literature reveals that life change stress is predictive of both prematurity and antepartum complications, and that anxiety is predictive of both antepartum and intrapartum complications, although the intrapartum results are mixed. In sum, there is currently only scattered evidence linking stress to low birth weight. Finally, the implications of these findings for clinical practice and research are discussed.

Teacher stress and health; Examination of a model

Stress in teaching derives from a variety of sources, and evidence exists linking such stress to physical and mental health concerns. Detailed examination of the linkages among personal factors, job stress, job satisfaction and symptomatology have not been done in this occupation, however, and the present study examines a model interrelating these variables. A survey of 245 predominantly female elementary school teachers in southeast Texas suggested that demographic factors and teaching background do not influence stress, satisfaction or health concerns. However, while job stress was the strongest predictor of job satisfaction, this stress had no direct relationship with health problems, an unexpected finding. Write-in responses by teachers indicated additional sources of stress, many of which were environmental or policy-based in nature. The implications of these findings for future research and stress management interventions for teachers are discussed.

Job Stress and Mental Well-Being: Similarities and Differences among American, Japanese, and Indian Managers

The sources and mediators of occupational stress have been assessed frequently but rarely from a cross-cultural perspective. The present study examined responses to a number of stress, social support, job satisfaction, and personal characteristics measures and their relationships to mental well-being among samples of lower-, middle-, and upper-level managers in the United States, Japan, and India. These data suggested basic similarities between 178 U.S. and 306 Indian managers; the 222 Japanese managers tended to report more negative reactions than the other two groups. Variability among these groups was seen, however, in the relative weights given to the factors of the mental well-being measure and in the association of these factors with the various independent variables. Implications and shortcomings of these results are discussed, along with suggestions for future research priorities.

Ethical and Philosophical Issues in Developing A Health Promotion Consortium

This case study describes the establishment and operation of a community-based health promotion consortium. The ethical implications of membership criteria, use of mailing lists, public education and policy, and communications are examined. The organizations responses to questions raised in these areas are discussed. Increased com munication and sharing of ideas and experiences among health promotion consortia are recommended. Issues in the activities of health promotion consortia which require further philosophical and sociological examination are identified.