Sense of quality of life and professional burnout among nurses in the light of personality dimensions and stress coping strategies

The purpose of this study was to explore coping styles among intensive care unit (ICU) survivors and investigate the association between coping style and quality of life (QOL). In this cross-sectional multicenter study, 150 adult patients who were mechanically ventilated in an ICU for ≥2 days and discharged to their homes were invited to visit the post-ICU clinic 3 months after discharge. Before the post-ICU visit, the patients completed questionnaires regarding their QOL, coping style, and psychological distress. Coping style was assessed using the Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations (CISS-21; de Ridder & van Heck, 2004), which measures task-oriented coping, emotion-oriented coping, and avoidance coping styles. QOL was assessed using the Physical Component Score (PCS) and Mental Component Score (MCS) derived from the 36-item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36; Aaronson et al., 1998). Univariate and multivariate linear regressions were performed. One hundred four patients (mean age = 59 years; 71 men, 33 women) completed the questionnaires (response rate = 69%). The highest CISS-21 subscale mean was found in the Task-Oriented subscale (21.3), followed by the Avoidance Coping subscale (18.7) and the Emotion-Oriented subscale (15.2). Emotion-oriented coping style was independently associated with reduced mental health (i.e., SF-36 MCS), but not with physical functioning (i.e., SF-36 PCS). An emotion-oriented coping style is associated with worse mental health among Dutch ICU survivors. Additional research is needed in order to determine the precise role that coping style plays in the long-term recovery of ICU survivors. (PsycINFO Database Record

The relationship between the prefrontal activation during a verbal fluency task and stress-coping style in major depressive disorder: A near-infrared spectroscopy study

Background and Study Aim. Coping with stress may influence decisions regarding engagement in health-related behaviors. This, in turn, can affect the well-being and overall functioning of students. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to examine the relationships between stress coping styles and health behaviors among collegiate-level male and female athletes training in team sports. Material and Methods. The study included 99 students of both sexes, aged between 21 and 27 years, who reported a training history ranging from 4 to 20 years. The participants practiced sports including football, basketball, and volleyball. The research instruments used were the Polish adaptation of the CISS (Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations) questionnaire and Juczyński’s Health Behavior Inventory. Statistical analyses were conducted using Statistica v. 13.3. Results. The results indicate differences in the frequency of using stress coping styles and health behaviors between female and male participants. There were also associations between the variables: task-oriented, emotion-oriented, and avoidance-oriented coping styles and selected health behaviors. Female collegiate-level athletes were found to use the task-oriented coping style less frequently and the emotion-oriented and avoidance-oriented styles more frequently compared to their male counterparts. Moreover, male collegiate-level athletes demonstrated a greater tendency to adhere to proper nutrition habits. The study revealed significant relationships between stress coping styles and health behaviors in both groups of the athletes studied. Conclusions. Conducting research on stress coping styles and health behaviors is highly justified, considering the interrelations observed between these variables. The findings suggest that coping styles are associated with specific patterns of health-related behaviors among collegiate athletes. These results may be useful in developing targeted psychological and educational interventions aimed at promoting adaptive coping strategies and healthier lifestyles in student athlete populations.

Introduction. People focused on helping others in their daily professional career are especially exposed to stress. The inability to relieve stress is a common cause of the burnout syndrome. It turns out that also college students, who are prepared to work with people, are exposed to the job burnout syndrome, even during their education process. The possible cause might be unfamiliarity with effective stress coping methods or inability to use them properly. Aim. The aim of this paper is to study job burnout syndrome and stress coping strategies among students of selected academic majors, and also to analyze relations and differences between these results. Material and methods. The research has been conducted among 141 fifth or sixth-year students of nursing, medicine and pedagogy in Krakow. The study was based on surveys: a questionnaire made by the author, The Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) and The Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations (CISS). Results. The analysis of obtained results has showed that there is a significant difference between stress coping strategies among examined students and that there is a relation between job burnout syndrome and students’ academic majors. There is also a relation between job burnout and stress coping strategies among students of selected academic majors. However, there is no relationship between job burnout and students’ selected academic majors. Conclusions. There is also a relationship between students’ stress coping strategies and selected academic majors and burnout syndrome.

Introduction: Soldiers, due to the specific nature of their service, are one of the occupational groups particularly exposed to stress. The aim of this study was to assess the stress-coping styles and satisfaction with life in a group of military aviation personnel, differentiated in terms of the BMI (Body Mass Index). Methods: The research compared three groups of military aviation personnel, distinguished on the basis of BMI, i.e. people with normal body weight (25 people), overweight people (24 people) and people suffering from obesity (20 people). The CISS (Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations) Questionnaire by Endler and Parker was used to assess the stress-coping styles. Satisfaction with life was measured using the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS) by Diener et al. Results: The data analysis did not reveal any statistically significant differences in CISS and SWLS scores between groups differing in BMI (p>0.05). It was found that the style of coping with difficult situations that is most often manifested by the surveyed military aviation personnel is the task-oriented style (TOS). A comparable, high SWLS score was also revealed in all studied groups. Conclusions: The BMI turned out not to be a factor differentiating either the type of stress-coping styles or the level of satisfaction with life experienced by the military aviation personnel studied. It is likely that, due to the specificity of soldiers' work, the TOS may be a beneficial and adaptive style of dealing with stressful situations. The high level of general satisfaction with life found in the surveyed members of the military aviation personnel provides a reason to conduct further research aimed at identifying the factors determining this variable.

BackgroundStress in the banking workplace is associated with psychological and health problems. Intensity of work-related stress experiences is associated with specificity of job stress factors personal features such as affective temperament. The aim of the study was to evaluate associations between affective temperament, coping stress strategies, and perceived job stress in bank employees.MethodsSubjects were 209 bank workers aged 22–55 years (n = 101 managers and 108 non-managers). Affective temperament and stress coping strategies were evaluated using the Temperament Evaluation of Pisa, Paris and San Diego Autoquestionnaire (TEMPS-A) and Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations (CISS), respectively. Both questionnaires, TEMPS-A and CISS, show good internal consistency and are proper research methods in the bank employee group. Perceived job-related stress was rated for different sources of job stress common among bank workers.ResultsDepressive temperament was negatively associated with coping style focused on avoidance, and with job stress regarding “responsibility for decisions regarding other people” and “frequent trips.” Irritable temperament was positively correlated with coping style focused on task and job stress regarding “frequent trips.” Cyclothymic temperament was positively correlated with job stress regarding “direct work with money” and “organizational conditions of work.” Multidimensional linear regression showed that irritable and anxious temperaments were associated with coping style focused on task; depressive temperament was associated with coping style focused on avoidance; and cyclothymic temperament was associated with intensity of job stress. The results obtained indicate different levels of job-related stress associated with different sources in bank employees, working with managers and non-managers positions. Affective temperament was associated with stress coping strategies and intensity of perceived job stress. On the basis of affective temperament dimensions it is possible to predict stress coping styles and work-related stress perception in bank employees.ConclusionAffective temperament traits measured by TEMPS-A were associated with stress coping strategies and intensity of work stress perception in Polish bank employees.

Introduction and objectiveThe aim of this study was to assess the level of the sense of coherence and stress coping strategies among the homecoming participants of foreign military missions. Due to the nature of peacekeeping and stabilising missions and the tasks performed by their participants, the ability to cope with a stressful situation in the face of danger is crucial, not only for the sake of their health, but most of all due to its significant impact on collective security.Material and methodsConverted values of the scores obtained in the Polish adaptation of Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations by Szczepanik, Strelau and Wrześniewski were used as indicators for stress coping styles (a dependent variable). The results received in Antonovsky’s Orientation to Life Questionnaire (Sense of Coherence Scale, SOC-29) were employed as indicators for the sense of coherence (an independent variable).ResultsThe stronger the sense of coherence, the more likely the respondent to choose the task-oriented coping style. Owing to cognitive transformations, a difficult situation is interpreted as a challenge that can be coped with by a given person, who then makes efforts to solve the problem.ConclusionsThe research clearly shows that: (1) a strong sense of coherence significantly reduces the level of perceived stress and has a decisive impact on the choice of the preferred coping style; (2) the sense of coherence determines the choice of the preferred stress coping style; (3) individuals with a strong sense of coherence perceive stressors as challenges rather than threats; (4) individuals with a low sense of coherence tend to focus their energy on negative emotions and engage in activities of a definitely unhealthy nature (smoking, alcohol consumption).

Psychological state, quality of life, and coping style in patients with digestive cancer

The main objective of this study was to investigate whether the personality dimension of conformism/nonconformism was a predictor of stress coping styles in athletes training combat sports, and to present the characteristics of this personality dimension in the context of the competitors’ adaptive/innovative sport performance. Scores of 346 males practising combat sports such as kick boxing, MMA, thai boxing, boxing and wrestling were analyzed. The participants completed the Creative Behaviour Questionnaire (KANH III) measuring the conformity/nonconformity personality dimension and the Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations (CISS) measuring stress coping styles. The comparative analyses were conducted only for the groups of conformists and nonconformists. Differences in stress coping styles between conformists and nonconformists training combat sports were found as nonconformists tended to prefer the task-oriented coping style. Conclusively, a higher rate of nonconformity was associated with increasingly frequent occurrence of task-oriented coping and decreasingly frequent emotion-oriented coping.

Workers of the helping professions are particularly susceptible to the occupational burnout syndrome. This stems from the very nature of helping other people who experience several social problems in their everyday life. Working in the helping and caregiving professions relies on direct contact with another human being and involves intensive stress. The burnout syndrome is a consequence of functioning under long-term stress resulting, for example, from overwork. The study objective was to diagnose the occupational burnout among workers in the helping professions and to determine the correlation between burnout and stress-coping styles. In the study, we used Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) by C. Maslach (to assess an individual’s experience of burnout) and Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations (CISS) by S. Norman, S. Endler, J.D.A. Parker (adapted by P. Szczepaniak, J. Strelau, K. Wrześniewski) (to assess styles of coping with stress). The empirical analyses indicated the existence of a correlation between the sense of occupational burnout among the workers studied and their styles of coping with stress.

Emergency service workers such as firemen are exposed to severe stress, which may result in deteriorated functioning and development of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The aim of the presented study was to assess the stress coping styles of firemen exposed to severe stress, the prevalence of PTSD symptoms, and the correlation between them. The study was carried out in a group of 147 Polish firemen. Two questionnaires were used: the Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations (CISS) and the PTSD Interview (PTSD-I) in the Polish language version (K-PTSD). The study was carried out in a group of 147 Polish firemen. Two questionnaires were used: the Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations (CISS) and the PTSD Interview (PTSD-I) in the Polish language version (K-PTSD). Nearly one third of the investigated group of firemen suffered from symptoms of PTSD, with the stress coping strategy most often observed in that subgroup being style focused on avoidance. Age proved to be a factor associated with the readiness to undertake behavioral measures to cope with stress tension; such behavior tends to be undertaken by older firemen.

Coping styles and depression among psychiatric outpatients

To study the effectiveness of Reitman Centre "Coaching, Advocacy, Respite, Education, Relationship, and Simulation" (CARERS) program, which uses problem-solving techniques and simulation to train informal dementia carers. Seventy-three carers for family members with dementia were included in the pilot study. Pre- and post-intervention data were collected from carers using validated measures of depression, mastery, role captivity and overload, caregiving competence and burden, and coping styles. To assess program effectiveness, mean differences for these measures were calculated. One-way ANOVA was used to determine if change in scores is dependent on the respective baseline scores. Clinical effects for measures were expressed as Cohen's D values. Data from 73 carers were analyzed. The majority of these participants were female (79.5%). A total of 69.9% were spouses and 30.1% were children of the care recipient. Participants had an overall mean age of 68.34 ± 12.01 years. About 31.5% of participating carers had a past history of psychiatric illness (e.g., depression), and 34.2% sustained strained relationships with their respective care recipients. Results from carers demonstrated improvement in carers' self-perception of competence (1.26 ± 1.92, P < 0.0001), and significant reduction in emotion-focused coping (measured by the Coping Inventory of Stressful Situations, -2.37 ± 6.73, P < 0.01), Geriatric Depression scale (-0.67 ± 2.63, P < 0.05) and Pearlin's overload scale (-0.55 ± 2.07, P < 0.05), upon completion of the Program. Secondly, it was found that carers with more compromised baseline scores benefited most from the intervention, as they experienced statistically significant improvement in the following constructs: competence, stress-coping style (less emotion-oriented), sense of mastery, burden, overload. Study results supported the effectiveness of the CARERS Program in improving caregiving competence, stress coping ability and mental well-being in carers caring for family members with dementia.

The relationship between stress coping style and motivation to alcohol consumption was studied in the context of alcohol dependence risk in medical students. Study group included 268 med students. Authors used the Alcohol Use Dependency Identification Test (AUDIT), Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations (CISS) as well as self-designed questionnaire to collect demographic data and examine motivation and usual situations related to alcohol consumption in students. 94% of students reported alcohol consumption during past year. Risky or harmful alcohol use was found in 16% of med students and 22% of dentistry students, high risk of alcohol dependency was diagnosed in 2% of cases. More than 50% of students reported drinking for coping motives. Data on coping styles do not show statistically significant differences in terms of the main stress coping style: task-, emotion-, and avoidance-oriented. Medicine students used avoidance-oriented coping (social diversion subtype) more often than dentistry students. There was no correlation between stress coping styles, drinking motives and alcohol dependence risk in the studied group. Lack of correlations may indicate that the studied group used coping strategies other than alcohol drinking. It is essential to create environment for medical students, that would enhance healthy stress coping strategies and promote early prevention.

Although much has been written with regards to the interpersonal functioning of eating-disordered women, research in the domain of eating disorders (ED) has still overlooked the complex relationships between stressful life events, coping styles, social and marital support while considering the ED spectrum. This study evaluates to what extent stressful life events, coping styles, and social support represent useful concepts for differentiating between four groups of participants with varying severity of eating preoccupations and disturbances. One hundred twenty-five participants were divided into four groups: 40 women suffering from ED, 21 women in remission from an ED, 33 women with intense weight and shape preoccupations, and 31 women without eating preoccupations. Each participant completed the Eating Disorder Evaluation, as well as questionnaires concerning stressful life events, coping styles, social support, and couple satisfaction. There were significant differences between the groups in terms of negative impact of stressful events, social support, as well as task-oriented and emotion-oriented coping styles. Significant differences were not found between the groups for couple satisfaction. It appears that accurate cognitive appraisal of stressful situations, adaptive coping styles and improvement of the social network represent interesting dimensions to include in prevention and treatment programs for ED. Moreover, for women in remission from an ED, an effective relapse prevention strategy could be to learn to make better use of their social network.