Wesley E. Sime

The nomological validity of the type A personality among employed adults

The nomological validity of the Type A behavior pattern was explored. The Structured Interview (SI) and a battery of personality trait, physical health, and strain measures were administered to an occupationally diverse sample of 568 workers. Ss were also monitored for physiological reactivity and recovery (blood pressure, heart rate, skin temperature, and electrodermal response) to the SI and a subsequent Stroop Color-Word Conflict Task. A confirmatory factor analysis demonstrated that SI scores can be factored into three distinct dimensions. There was considerable overlap in the patterns of personality traits that characterized the Type A components, but only a Hostility dimension was significantly related to physiological reactivity and recovery. The results have implications for distinguishing coronary-proneness from the more traditional Type A conceptualization.

Convergent validity of Type A behavior pattern scales and their ability to predict physiological responsiveness in a sample of female public employees

The purpose of this study was to assess the construct validity of the structured interview (SI), Jenkins Activity Survey (JAS), Thurstone Activity Scale, and Bortner Type A Scale in a sample of female employees from a government service agency. Criteria for validity assessment were physiological reactance to a mental stressor, psychological strains experienced at work, physical symptoms associated with work, and urinary catecholamine production at work. A continuous Type A SI scale demonstrated better convergent and construct validity than did the SI category scores. All of the SI Type A scales were reliable. Among the questionnaire measures only the Thurstone Activity Scale was reliable and showed the strongest construct validity. The SI measures of Type A tended to correlate with physiological responsiveness (changes in heart rate, skin temperature, and skin conductance), while the questionnaire measures correlated with self-reports of job strains (satisfaction, irritation, depression, physical symptoms), thus indicating the operation of measurement artifacts in validity assessment. No significant correlations were obtained between Type A and catecholamines. Comparison of correlation analysis with subgroup analysis revealed the former to be a more powerful test of the relationships that may exist between Type A behavior pattern and relevant criteria.

The prevalence and severity of burnout among academic orthopaedic departmental leaders

Burnout has many definitions but the most commonly accepted is “a state of physical, emotional or mental exhaustion caused by long-term involvement in situations that are emotionally demanding.”1 It tends to be most common among medical professionals as a result of long working hours, stresses associated with the responsibilities of patient care, and emotional contact with patients2. According to Jones, burnout—a syndrome of progressive emotional, attitudinal, and physical exhaustion—is a critical occupational hazard for people in a wide range of helping professions3. Those who are affected find themselves plagued by chronic fatigue, low energy, irritability, and a negative attitude toward themselves, toward others, and toward their jobs. Because they are emotionally depleted and cynical, they may have a negative impact on those around them, including the individuals with whom they work and the patients they treat. Among the members of the so-called helping professions, physicians are clearly most afflicted with burnout and, as we noted in our previous report4, they have by now been quite intensively studied. Characteristically, burnout syndrome involves the development of a cynical attitude and the loss of concern for people with whom one is working. In addition to physical exhaustion, which harms physical health through many pathways5, burnout is also characterized by an emotional exhaustion wherein the professional experiences growing negative feelings, cynicism, or disrespect for patients and colleagues. “A very cynical and dehumanized perception of these people often develops in which they are labeled in derogatory ways and therefore treated accordingly.”6 Gabbe et al.7 undertook a cross-sectional study, in which a questionnaire was sent to 131 chairs of academic departments of obstetrics and gynecology in the United States and Puerto Rico, and had a 91% response rate. The study found that 22% of the …

Symposium. Stress management skills for strong leadership: is it worth dying for?

Stress can be the spice of life... or the kiss of death. The real question... “Is it worth dying for?”1 According to the American Institute of Stress, job stress is triggered by a wide variety of job demands2. These include task-specific demands, role demands, interpersonal demands, and physical demands. Job demands are inevitable characteristics of work conditions and are not inherently or necessarily harmful. At the very macro level, globalization and competitive pressures and/or industrial restructuring activities within industries are among the leading causes of job strain, which is the adverse consequence of job stress. Briefly, we define job stress as the mind-body arousal resulting from the physical and psychological demands of work. We define strain as the physiological, behavioral, and/or psychological deviation from healthy functioning. Strain is distress, or bad stress. Job strain is harmful and may manifest in physical, psychological, or behavioral problems such as cardiovascular disease, depression, and substance abuse. Stress has been directly or indirectly linked to seven of the ten leading causes of death in the industrialized world for over a decade3. As such, stress is a known risk factor for a wide range of human health problems. The caveat is that well-managed stress can lead to positive effects such as peak performance and the energy to address legitimate emergencies. However, as a known risk factor, stress is directly linked to heart disease, stroke, injury, suicide, and homicide4. In addition, stress is indirectly linked to cancer, chronic liver disease, emphysema, and chronic bronchitis. No one is immune to the possible adverse health risks that constitute distress in any of its medical (e.g., coronary vascular disease), behavioral (e.g., substance abuse), or psychological forms (e.g., burnout). While some individuals are stronger and more stress-resistant than others, everyone has one or …

An interdisciplinary approach to the treatment of a hyperfunctional voice disorder.

The purpose of this article is to describe the treatment of a 45-year-old male with a hyperfunctional voice disorder by a biofeedback therapist and a speech-language pathologist. The interdisciplinary approach to the treatment of this voice disorder involved the combined use of traditional voice therapy techniques and EMG biofeedback procedures together with cognitive behavioral therapy. Voice therapy was facilitated through the use of a computer-based, speech-monitoring system. The remediation of this voice disorder was attributed to the collaborative efforts of two professionals representing diverse professional training and treatment protocols. The results showed reductions in muscle activity in the infrahyoid and laryngeal areas as well as improved use of proper breathing and voicing onset behaviors. Follow-up at 10 and 15 months posttreatment intervals indicated that the client had retained all target voice skills and the tension reduction/biofeedback skills. Results suggest that interdisciplinary, collaborative efforts using biofeedback and voice therapy can prove beneficial in the treatment of hyperfunctional voice disorders.

Emotional Stress Testing and Relaxation in Cardiac Rehabilitation

There is considerable interest currently in the relationship between emotional stress and coronary heart disease. Since the beginning of recorded medical history clinicians have suspected that stress may be a precipitating factor in the atherosclerotic disease process. Many of these beliefs were based upon anecdotal evidence citing cases of angina pectoris (Lown, 1977) and voodoo death (Engle, 1971) resulting from severe emotional strain. While this evidence was quite enticing it was not sufficient to establish a casual relationship between emotional stress and atherosclerosis.

Occupational Stress Testing in the Real World

The role of emotional stress in the etiology of numerous chronic diseases has been clearly established (Hoiberg, 1982). Coronary heart disease, in particular, has the most profound accumulation of literature supporting the causal effect of emotional stress upon atherosclerotic changes, as well as signs and symptoms in the form of angina pectoris hypertension and coronary vasospasm (Eliot, 1979; Eliot and Sime, 1980). Numerous other studies have shown a relationship between emotional stress (measured in several different ways) with hypertension, irritable bowel syndrome (including ulcers and colitis), and Raynaud’s syndrome (Ford, 1982). Further evidence of the pathological consequences of emotional stress stems from the literature showing that quite a number of functional disorders are treated successfully with a variety of stress management interventions including biofeedback, progressive relaxation, and autogenic training.

Helping Youth Manage Stress: A Challenge for Educators

Each of these students is reacting to a stressful situation. Some students may adjust to these situations with little difficulty; others may feel considerable pressure. Regardless of how students perceive various stressors, these situations are examples of stress-related concerns which students bring to the school setting and which are created by the activities and challenges offered in the school setting. Many of these stress-related problems interfere with learning.