Effectiveness Of Stress Management Interventions Research Articles

Stress management interventions for police officers and recruits: a meta-analysis

A systematic review was conducted to examine the effects of stress management interventions on outcomes among police officers and recruits. The search methods included searching electronic databases, journals, books, conference proceedings, websites and contacting organizations and authors. Inclusion criteria were randomized controlled trials and quasi-experimental studies, and any type of stress management intervention given to police officers, recruits or civilian law enforcement personnel. The 12 primary studies included in the systematic review were published between 1984 and 2008 and included 8 published studies, 3 unpublished doctoral dissertations, and 1 unpublished report. The sample was comprised of 906 participants, with an average age of 34.48 years, and an average of 10.77 years of police experience. The average duration of the interventions was 10.95 h with a range of 30 min to 24 h. A total of 221 effects were examined in a metaanalysis. Effect sizes were calculated separately for physiological, psychological and behavioral outcomes. The overall mean effect for physiological outcomes was 0.196, 0.038 among psychological outcomes, and −0.176 among behavioral outcomes. These small effect sizes suggest that the interventions were not effective. Moderator analyses results did not show any meaningful differences across the studies. Further research is needed to develop and implement effective stress management interventions intended for police officers and recruits that address specific field work, organizational and personal stressors, utilize randomized controlled trials, and indicate the primary, secondary or tertiary focus of the intervention.

The effects of stress management interventions among police officers and recruits

Law enforcement organizations began to take notice of officer stress during the late 1970s. Stress has been found to not only affect the officers’ job performance, but their personal lives and relationships as well. Because police officers are first responders to potentially stressful situations, their ability to successfully manage stress is critical not only to their own mental health but to the safety of society as a whole. Research has found that police officers who have difficulties coping with stress exhibit maladaptive behavior and personality traits such as aloofness, authoritarianism, cynicism, depersonalization, emotional detachment, suspiciousness, and excessive use of alcohol. High levels of stress can lead to serious physiological (headaches, stomachaches, backaches, ulcers, heart attacks) and psychological (anxiety, depression, flashbacks, and panic attacks) symptoms. Stress among police officers has also been connected to police misconduct and can also have a negative effect on the law enforcement organization due to lawsuits resulting from officers’ performance. Other organizational effects include impaired officer performance, lower productivity, poor morale, poor public relations, labor-management problems, tardiness and missed work, and officer turnover. Law enforcement organizations provide a wide variety of stress management interventions aimed at ameliorating officer stress.

The Influence of Subjective Well-being toward the Effect of Stress-Management Intervention

The Influence of Subjective Well-being toward the Effect of Stress-Management Intervention

Effects of occupational stress management intervention programs: A meta-analysis.

A meta-analysis was conducted to determine the effectiveness of stress management interventions in occupational settings. Thirty-six experimental studies were included, representing 55 interventions. Total sample size was 2,847. Of the participants, 59% were female, mean age was 35.4, and average length of intervention was 7.4 weeks. The overall weighted effect size (Cohen's d) for all studies was 0.526 (95% confidence interval = 0.364, 0.687), a significant medium to large effect. Interventions were coded as cognitive-behavioral, relaxation, organizational, multimodal, or alternative. Analyses based on these subgroups suggested that intervention type played a moderating role. Cognitive-behavioral programs consistently produced larger effects than other types of interventions, but if additional treatment components were added the effect was reduced. Within the sample of studies, relaxation interventions were most frequently used, and organizational interventions continued to be scarce. Effects were based mainly on psychological outcome variables, as opposed to physiological or organizational measures. The examination of additional moderators such as treatment length, outcome variable, and occupation did not reveal significant variations in effect size by intervention type.

Optimizing the effects of stress management interventions in HIV.

Scott-Sheldon, Kalichman, Carey, and Fiedler (2008) present a thoughtful, important, and timely meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials of stress management interventions in HIV. They differentiate controlled effect sizes across classes of acute outcomes including psychological distress, psychosocial processes, biological processes (immune status, viral, and hormonal) and fatigue. The authors join Scott-Sheldon et al., in considering future directions for this type of clinical psychosocial intervention research in HIV. Recommendations for addressing the high prevalence of psychosocial problems including diagnosable mental health disorders comorbid with HIV are presented. Suggestions for addressing medication adherence and accommodating interventions with concomitant substance use treatment are also considered. These recommendations are presented with an emphasis on expanding both the efficacy and effectiveness of psychosocial interventions in HIV. These recommendations are presented as realistic strategies for improving the modest treatment effect sizes for psychosocial outcomes and identifying meaningful effects on distal physiological outcomes associated with traditional stress management interventions in HIV.

Participants' appraisals of process issues and the effects of stress management interventions

AbstractIt has been argued that traditional quasi‐experimental approaches to evaluation do not adequately measure, or take account of, perceptual processes that could contribute to the effectiveness of organizational‐level interventions. Using longitudinal data with added process measures at time 2 gathered from 11 intervention projects in Denmark, this paper used structural equation modelling (n = 462) to explore the impact of employees' direct appraisals of the intervention itself on intervention outcomes. Perceived influence on the content of interventions was directly linked to voluntary participation in these interventions. Participants' appraisals of the activities within an intervention were found to fully mediate the relationships between exposure to interventions and outcome measures (changes in working conditions, behavioural stress and job satisfaction). The results of the study indicate that employees' appraisal of the intervention itself can play an important role in determining the success or failure of a variety of organizational‐level interventions. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Eustress, distress and their interpretation in primary and secondary occupational stress management interventions: which way first?

PurposeTo develop an argument for the retention of secondary approaches to stress management (those that focus on the individual within the organization) as first interventions, prior to the employment of primary approaches (those that focus on the organization's processes and structures). This is based on a reconsideration of eustress versus distress and a review of current empirical evidence on the effectiveness of stress management interventions.Design/methodology/approachMajor empirical studies and reviews are critically reviewed and placed within a theoretical framework derived from both early and more recent work in the field.FindingsThere is little empirical evidence on which to base recommendations for organization‐based stress management interventions as first or sole approaches and therefore the value of these as first or sole approaches is questioned. Instead secondary, individual‐focused, approaches are recommended as first‐line interventions prior to the adoption of organization‐based interventions.Practical implicationsIn practice secondary stress management approaches are currently most common. Broader primary approaches appear to have excellent theoretical support and a growing body of supportive literature and accompanying recommendations for employment. We suggest, however, that secondary approaches be employed prior to the introduction of primary methodologies within a client organization.Originality/valueThis paper provides a review and framework for interpreting/understanding the research on the effectiveness of stress management interventions and makes recommendations relevant to practitioners in the field.

Stress Management for African American Women With Elevated Blood Pressure: A Pilot Study

This article reports the results of a pilot study testing the effects of two stress management interventions on blood pressure (BP) and stress-related variables in employed African American women. Thirty-three women with mean age 44.8 +/- 7.6 years were randomly assigned to a cognitive mediation group (n=10), a relaxation group (n=12), or a delayed treatment control group (n=11). The participants in the two stress management groups participated in a 10-week intervention; the delayed treatment control group received BP monitoring during the 10-week period. Measures included BP, the State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory, Personal Strain, and Coping Resources. Although no significant Group x Time effects were found in BP, anger, or personal strain, several of the outcome measures appear to be sensitive and showed cell means in the hypothesized direction. Further study of the effects of stress management interventions on BP and stress, with a larger sample, is warranted.

Stress, burnout, coping and stress management in psychiatrists: findings from a systematic review.

Research into stress among psychiatrists has attempted to identify stressors, which can lead to physical illness and psychological distress. The aim of the study was systematically to review the current evidence for the effectiveness of stress management interventions for those working in the psychiatric profession. A systematic review of the current literature was conducted into stress and stress management within the profession of psychiatry. Twenty-three international studies were included in the psychiatry section of the review. Psychiatrists report a range of stressors in their work, including stress associated with their work and personal stresses. One personal stress, which psychiatrists find very difficult to cope with is patient suicide. Coping strategies include support from colleagues and outside interests. No studies evaluated the use of stress-management interventions for psychiatrists. Psychiatry is a stressful profession. Psychiatrists identified several stressors in their professional and personal lives.

A Systematic Review of the Effects of Stress and Coping Strategies Used by Occupational Therapists Working in Mental Health Settings

A systematic review of the research literature published in the United Kingdom between 1966 and 2000 was carried out to determine the effectiveness of stress management interventions for occupational therapists working in mental health settings. Studies from other countries were examined as potential models of good practice. The review was limited to primary research papers that involved occupational therapists working in the mental health arenas, where the health outcomes measured were stressors, moderators and stress outcomes and where sufficient data were provided.The initial search identified 30 papers, of which 13 met the inclusion criteria. One study has been reported since the completion of the review and has been included in this article. All the papers focused on the stressors, moderators and stress outcomes. There was no paper that specifically investigated the effectiveness of stress management interventions for occupational therapists working in the mental health arena. The only literature available was aimed at the occupational therapy profession as a whole and was in the form of a number of recommendations at an organisational and an individual level. Methodological flaws, however, detracted from the rigour of many of the studies.The review demonstrated that a great deal is known about the sources of stress at work, about how to measure stress and about the impact of stress on a range of outcome indicators. What was found to be lacking was a translation of these results either into practice or into research that assessed the impact of interventions that attempted to moderate, minimise or eliminate some of these stressors.

A systematic review of stress and stress management interventions for mental health nurses.

Health care professionals in the United Kingdom (UK) appear to have higher absence and sickness rates than staff in other sectors, and stress may be a reason for nurses leaving their jobs. These problems need to be addressed, particularly in the mental health field, if current service provision is to be maintained. The aim was to identify stressors, moderators and stress outcomes (i.e. measures included those related to stress, burnout and job satisfaction) for mental health nurses, as these have clear implications for stress management strategies. A systematic review of research published in English between 1966 and 2000 and undertaken in the UK that specifically identified participants as mental health nurses was carried out to determine the effectiveness of stress management interventions for those working in mental health nursing. Studies from non-UK countries were examined as potential models of good practice. The study was limited to primary research papers that specifically involved mental health nurses, where the health outcomes measured were stressors, moderators and stress outcomes and where sufficient data was provided. The initial search identified 176 papers, of these 70 met the inclusion criteria. Seven studies have been reported since the completion of the review and have been included in this article. Sixty-nine focused on the stressors, moderators and stress outcomes and eight papers identified stress management techniques. Relaxation techniques, training in behavioural techniques, stress management workshops and training in therapeutic skills were effective stress management techniques for mental health nurses. Methodological flaws however, were detracted from the rigour of many of the studies. The review demonstrated that a great deal is known about the sources of stress at work, about how to measure it and about the impact on a range of outcome indicators. What was found to be lacking was a translation of these results into practice, into research that assessed the impact of interventions that attempt to moderate, minimize or eliminate some of these stressors.

Stress management for mental health professionals: a review of effective techniques

AbstractThis paper presents the findings of a systematic review of the current evidence for the effectiveness of stress management interventions for those working in the mental health field. Research articles from 1966 to 2000 which reported studies undertaken in the United Kingdom and which specifically identified participants as mental health workers were included in the review. Studies from other European countries and from the USA were examined as potential models of good practice. The review demonstrated that a great deal is known about the sources of stress at work, about how to measure them and about their interaction and impact on a range of outcome indicators. What was found to be lacking was a translation of these results into practice, into research that assessed the impact of interventions that attempted to moderate, minimize or eliminate some of these stressors. Three papers were retrieved which reported intervention strategies for workers classified as working within the mental health arena. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.