Subjective Stress Scale Research Articles

A Survey of Changes in the Psychological State of Individuals with Social Withdrawal (hikikomori) in the Context of the COVID Pandemic

Background: The coronavirus disease (COVID) 2019 pandemic has been reported to have resulted in psychological disturbances. The Japanese term “hikikomori” refers to a state of preferring to stay at home. The COVID pandemic provided an opportunity to extend our current understanding of hikikomori by examining the psychological states of individuals who were in this state under lockdown, during which, paradoxically, their condition may have been adaptive. Methods: We administered a questionnaire to examine psychological changes among 600 people with hikikomori traits in Japan. The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), Subjective Stress Scale, and Stigma Questions for hikikomori were administered retrospectively at three time points. We also collected descriptive data regarding the participants’ coping strategies. Results: The participants’ sense of stigma regarding hikikomori was improved during the pandemic, whereas depression and anxiety worsened. The participants with ‘definite’ hikikomori (they met the diagnostic criteria) reported more severe depression and anxiety than those with ‘possible’ hikikomori. Their coping strategies were adaptive to the pandemic situation. Conclusion: Although the sense of stigma against hikikomori was improved and adaptive strategies were employed, the participants with hikikomori experienced a worsening of depression and anxiety during the COVID lockdowns. The improvement of stigma and the participants’ indoor adaptive coping strategies could not ameliorate the mental state of hikikomori. Therapeutic interventions should be considered in the future for definite hikikomori meeting the criteria.

Prevalence of Depression and Subjective Job Stress Among Men who have Sex with Men and Transgender Community Health Workers in Pakistan.

To determine the prevalence of depression, subjective work-related stress and associated factors among men who have sex with men and transgender people working in community-based organisations in Pakistan. Cross-sectional descriptive study. Place and Duration of the Study: Community-based organisations in Lahore, October 2022. Community-based organisations were contacted and link of the study tool in the Urdu language was shared. The study tool consisted of sociodemographic questions, substance abuse history, Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ) 9, the General Self-Efficacy Scale (GSE), and the Subjective job stress scale (SJSS). The composite score for each scale was calculated and compared. A total of 91 men participated in the study. Of them, 52.1% were below 30 years of age. The mean PHQ-9 score was 7.62 (range 0-27), mean GSE score was 32.38 (range 12-40), and mean SJSS score was 10.48 (4-14). While 41.7% of the participants were not depressed, 31.77% had depression of at least moderate severity. About 56.52% of the study participants had an SJSS score of more than ten showing a high level of work-related stress. There is a high frequency of depression among MSM and TG community health workers. High degree of self-efficacy may protect against depression. There is a need of developing comprehensive referral systems with psychiatric units for these community workers. Community health workers, Homosexual men, Transgender, Depression.

The effectiveness of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy and acceptance and commitment therapy on medical science students’ subjective well-being, psychological distress, and emotion regulation

Background and aims: Subjective well-being as a major prerequisite of health ensures mental and physical health, a long life, happiness, improved quality of life, and higher socioeconomic indices. The present study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) and acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) on subjective well-being, psychological distress, and emotion regulation in medical science students. Methods: The statistical population of this semi-experimental comprised all female students at Kerman University of Medical Sciences (Iran) in the academic year of 2019-2020. Forty-five students referring to the university counseling center were selected as the sample of the study using convenience sampling and randomly divided into two experimental groups and a control group (n=15 per group). The first and second experimental groups underwent eight 90- and 45-sessions (twice a week) of MBCT and of ACT, respectively. The research instruments included the Subjective Well-being Scale (SWS), the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale, and the Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire. Results: The results showed that MBCT and ACT were effective in improving the components of subjective well-being and emotion regulation in medical students (P<0.001). Moreover, MBCT and ACT significantly reduced the post-test scores of psychological distress subscales in the experimental group compared to the control group (P<0.001). Finally, no difference was observed between the two therapies in terms of effectiveness. Conclusion: According to the results, MBCT and ACT effectively promoted female students’ subjective well-being and emotion regulation and alleviated their psychological distress.

A Survey of Interim Nurse Managers to Understand the Role and the Impact on Nurse and Patient Outcomes.

The aim of this study was to describe the current state of the interim manager (IM) role and the impact of the role on job performance. Interim managers provide leadership during organizational change, yet little is known about the role and its impact on outcomes. An electronic survey was completed by 179 IMs working in acute care hospitals. Instruments included the Nurse Manager Practice Environment Scale, Decision Involvement Scale, Subjective Stress Scale, Maslach Burnout Inventory, and Brief Resilience Scale. The average tenure for IMs was 10 months. Despite moderately high levels of stress and exhaustion, IMs were resilient, positively viewed their work environment, and perceived their job performance as positively impacting nurse and patient outcomes. Interim managers were generally satisfied in their roles and likely to pursue nursing leadership as a career. Interim managers desire permanent leadership opportunities providing a pool for replacing exiting nurse managers. Support is needed to be successful.

Worried, weary and worn out: mixed-method study of stress and well-being in final-year medical students

ObjectiveAlthough there is much focus on burnout and psychological distress among doctors, studies about stress and well-being in medical students are limited but could inform early intervention and prevention strategies.DesignThe...

Relationship between Job Stress and Job Satisfaction among Rescuers of Rescue 1122 Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

The current study was conducted to find out the relationship of job stress and job satisfaction among operational emergency rescue service workers at district Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. 105 Emergency Medical Technicians and Fire Rescuers were selected as sample. They were selected through specified inclusion criteria by using purposive sampling technique from a pool of 200 rescuers. Subjective Job Stress Scale (Urdu) and Job Satisfaction Survey (Urdu) were used. Results showed that subjective job stress has a significant negative impact upon job satisfaction (B= -.13, p= 0.00). It reported a significant negative correlation between job stress and job satisfaction among operational rescuers of Emergency Rescue Service Rescue 1122 district Peshawar Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Trait Mindfulness Moderates Reactivity to Social Stress in an All-Male Sample

Mindful attitudes and practices may help individuals respond to stressors in a more positive way. By limiting reactivity to stress, mindfulness may buffer people against its ill effects. In this study, we examined whether individual differences in trait mindfulness predict psychological and physiological responses to a laboratory stress induction. Trait mindfulness and stress reactivity were assessed using salivary cortisol and a subjective stress scale in a sample of young healthy males (N = 40) who underwent the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST). Higher trait mindfulness was associated with lower subjective stress (r = − 0.41, p = 0.009) and cortisol stress reactivity (r = − 0.38, p = 0.017). In particular, men who are more proficient in describing their emotions had lower perceived stress to the TSST (r = − 0.42, p < 0.01). Psychological stress and cortisol response were also correlated. These findings replicate those in similar paradigms suggesting that mindfulness may protect individuals against the negative effects of stress. They also suggest that the relationship between mindfulness and stress reactivity is particular to male participants and may be modulated by affect labelling in this gender group.

The Effect of Cognitive Strain and Exercise at the Job Place on Heart Rate Variability

This study was conducted on senior managers and computer engineers of a big corporate holding in Istanbul. The goal of this study was to investigate and compare the effects cognitive strain and exercise on heart rate variability. 30 people participated in the study. The average age of the group (18 male and 12 female volunteers) was 37.4 ± SD. Eleven senior managers (9 male and 2 female). and 19 computer engineers (9 male and 10 female) participated in the study. Demographic and anthropometric data of all participants were collected. Heart rate variability was recorded at four sessions on two days seperated by a week. For the recording Polar S810i telemetric heart rate watch was used (accuracy 1 ms). Each recording lasted one hour. The time and frequency domain parameters of heart rate variability were calculated by the Polar software. The non-parametrical Friedman test was used for comparison of repeated measurement parameters of the whole group (significance level p&amp;lt;0.05). In order to determine the difference between categories the Mann-Whitney U test (significance level p&amp;lt;0.05) was applied. Pearson correlation was for the correlation between the subjective stress scale and heart rate variability (significance level p&amp;lt;0.05). Neither were there differences among the various categories regarding the mean heart rate. But significant differences were found between senior managers and computer engineers for heart rate variability parameters. In this context HF high frequency power was the most predictive parameter in favour of the computer engineers. There was no significant correlation between a subjective stress scale and heart rate variability parameters. In conclusion. the significant deterioration of heart rate variability of the senior managers points to a heavy cognitive strain at the job place.

The Subjective Masculinity Stress Scale: Scale development and psychometric properties.

This article describes the development and psychometric properties of the Subjective Masculinity Stress Scale (SMSS), which assesses the stress associated with men’s subjective experiences of what it means to be male. Two hundred twenty men from the United States completed the sentence, “As a ma n... ” 10 times, after which they indicated the frequency with which each of the 10 experiences was stressful. Evidence for the internal consistency and test–retest reliability as well as the convergent, discriminant, and concurrent validity of the SMSS was provided. In terms of incremental validity, a multiple regression analysis revealed that after controlling for three other masculinity measures and a generic measure of stress, the SMSS remained significantly and positively related to psychological distress. Implications for future research and clinical practice are discussed.

Breast Cancer in a Wife

Husbands of patients with breast cancer (HBCs) experience as much as or even more distress than patients. Husbands' coping strategies may predict their level of distress. The present study examined the coping strategies of HBCs compared with husbands of women without cancer (HWCs) and the relationship between coping and various psychosocial variables. Psychosocial and physical health correlates of coping in both groups were assessed. Husbands of women with breast cancer (n=83) and without breast cancer (n=79) completed self-report questionnaires including the Ways of Coping Questionnaire, the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale, the Subjective Stress Scale, the Satisfaction With Life Scale, and the Locke-Wallace Marital Adjustment Test, in addition to measures of burden. The HBC and HWC groups were significantly different for 6 of the 8 coping styles assessed, with HBC using these strategies less than HWCs. Among HBCs, higher use of distancing, accepting responsibility, and escape-avoidance was associated with higher stress and symptoms of depression, and distancing and accepting responsibility were associated with lower marital satisfaction. Results suggest that coping strategies may be different when dealing with cancer in a wife than at other times and that coping relates to well-being and is therefore worthy of focus. Simple assessments of primary coping strategies may help clinicians identify HBCs in need of interventions. Husbands of women with breast cancer can be given problems to solve that will help them cope and help the patient and clinic staff as well. Interventions aimed at the couple, and not exclusively the HBC, may be particularly helpful.

Stress and Depressive symptoms of Mentally retarded person in Jeju area; A pilot study

Background: This study was performed to evaluate stress and depressive symptoms of mentally retarded person in Jeju area.Method: CES-D (the Center of Epidemiological Studies-Depression Scale) to evaluate depressive symptoms, SSS (Subjective Stress Scale) to evaluate stress, PWI (Psychosocial Well-being Index) to evaluate stress have been used.Subjects were 45 mentally retarded person. 18 men, 27 women.Results: Pocket money socioeconomic status, occupation and sex have been founded to be correlates of depressive symptoms. Disability degree, pocket money, socioeconomic status, sex, education level of parent have been founded to be correlates of stress.Conclusion: Much attention and financial support from governments should be needed. The results also suggested that feeble minded person who attain adulthood needs more chance to train for social adjustment and to be educated.

Validation of Recruiter Personality Traits for Stress Resiliency

Recent research conducted with Army recruiters has classified recruiting as a high-risk occupation that includes consistently high levels of stress (Mullins &amp; Fatkin, 2000). Research found that recruiters with high neuroticism scores perceived higher levels of job-related stress. The objective of the present study was to validate these previous findings and identify recruiter characteristics that contribute to recruiter stress and performance. Participants for the study included 55 recruiters. The Zuckerman Kuhlman Personality Questionnaire III-Revised (ZKPQ) was used to measure personality. The Multiple Affect Adjective CheckList - Revised (MAACL-R), Subjective Stress Scale, and Specific Rating of Events Scale were used to measure state levels of stress. A cluster analysis was performed with the five subscale measures of the ZKPQ resulting in a four-cluster solution: High Impulsivity-High Neuroticism, Low Impulsivity-High Neuroticism, Low Impulsivity-Low Neuroticism, and High Impulsivity-Low Neuroticism. Separate ANOVAs were computed between personality clusters and recruiter performance and stress measures. Research findings partially supported previous results. Consistent with previous findings (Mullins &amp; Fatkin, 2000), differences in personality did not result in mission performance differences. MAACL-R results indicate that individuals in the high Neuroticism groups perceive higher levels of stress. However, findings for the Subjective Stress Scale and Specific Rating of Events Scale were not significantly related to trait personality clusters.

Personality, Stress, and Performance for Army Recruiters

Recent research conducted with Army Recruiters has classified recruiting as a high-risk occupation that includes consistently high levels of stress. Some recruiters seem to possess stress-resilient characteristics while others are more vulnerable to the effects of stress. The objective of the present study was to empirically identify recruiter characteristics that contribute to recruiter stress and performance. Participants for the study included 145 recruiters. The Zuckerman Kuhlman Personality Questionnaire III-Revised was used as a measure of personality. The Multiple Affect Adjective CheckList - Revised, Subjective Stress Scale, and Specific Rating of Events Scale were administered as state measures of stress. A performance percentage was calculated for each recruiter by dividing the number of individuals recruited by the number of recruits required to meet their mission. A cluster analysis was performed using the subscale measures of the ZKPQ resulting in a four-cluster solution: High Impulsivity-High Neuroticism, Low Impulsivity-High Neuroticism, Low Impulsivity-Low Neuroticism, and High Impulsivity-Low Neuroticism. Separate ANOVAs were computed between clusters for recruiter performance and stress measures. Generally the results from this research indicate individuals in the high Neuroticism groups perceive higher levels of stress. Differences in personality did not result in performance differences.

Validation of the lifestress inventory for people with a mild intellectual disability

The Subjective Stress Scale (SSS; Bramston & Bostock, 1994) was developed to measure stress in people with a mild intellectual disability. In previous research, the SSS was found to measure two broad dimensions of stress (a) a General Worry factor and (b) a factor that tapped concerns about Negative Interpersonal Relations (Bramston & Fogarty, 1995). The present study sought to continue this line of research by introducing a slightly modified form of the SSS, to be known as the Lifestress Inventory (LI) and examining the psychometric properties of the scale when administered to a new sample of 221 people with mild intellectual disabilities. Confirmatory factor analysis indicated that three underlying factors corresponding to General Worry, Negative Interpersonal Relations, and Coping were sufficient to account for the correlations among the items in the LI. Rasch analysis indicated some improvements to the scoring format for the LI and also showed that the most easily experienced stressors were associated with the Negative Interpersonal Relations dimension. The refinements introduced by the LI and the further demonstration that some of the broad stress dimensions identified in the general population can also be found in people with an intellectual disability represent important milestones for researchers interested in exploring reactions to stress among this population.

Measuring stress in the mildly intellectually handicapped: The factorial structure of the subjective stress scale

The Subjective Stress Scale (SSS) was developed by Bramston and Bostock (1994) to provide a sensitive measure of stress for people with intellectual disabilities. This study examined the underlying structure of the SSS by analysing responses of 221 intellectually disabled people to the questionnaire. Exploratory factor analysis of the interitem correlation matrix yielded at least three solutions that were quite interpretable: a one-factor, a two-factor, and a four-factor solution. Factors in all three solutions bore a strong resemblance to stress dimensions reported for the general population using other stress measures. The results suggest that although the actual stressors vary, persons with mild intellectual disability are affected by the same major stress dimensions as the general population. The results also suggest that the SSS can be used as a much needed measure of subjective stress levels in people with mild intellectual disabilities.

The Psychological Impact of Diagnostic Ultrasound

The psychological impact of ultrasound scanning in pregnancy was examined in low- and high-risk pregnancies. Women in each category were assigned consecutively to a condition of either low or high feedback. In the latter condition, the women received extensive verbal and visual feedback, whereas in the former, subjects were denied visual access to the monitor. Psychological changes were measured using the State Anxiety Inventory and the Subjective Stress Scale. When a male partner attended, he was included in the assessment. The emotional impact of ultrasound was influenced by the level of feedback provided, with those in the high-feedback condition indicating significantly less anxiety and more positive emotional experiences during the scan, compared with those who received less feedback.

An educational format for teaching stress management to groups with a wide range of stress symptoms.

In view of the pervasiveness of stress reactions in contemporary society, together with the limited availability of effective coping techniques, the authors attempted to develop a stress management program that combined education on the nature of stress disorders with instruction on several practical procedures useful in coping with stress. Our study used a general population drawn from a small rural university community. There were 38 subjects, 17 male and 21 female, in the final statistical analyses. One independent variable was a lecture-discussion format to present cognitive and relaxation skills. A second independent variable was biofeedback training to decrease frontal EMG activity. The subjects were divided into five treatment groups that consisted of one or some combination of these two treatment conditions. Dependent variables were the two scales--A-State and A-Trait--of Spielberger's STAI (Spielberger, Gorsuch, & Lushene, 1970) and an adaptive application of Kerle and Bialek's (1958) Subjective Stress Scale (SSS). The SSS served as an instrument to keep subjects aware of their physical and psychological responses to stress as well as providing a pre/post measure of reactions to stress as they experienced it. Results indicated that the lecture-discussion format was effective in reducing the subjects' level of stress as measured by the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory and the Subjective Stress Scale. There was no evidence that frontal EMG feedback relaxation training contributed to the reduction of stress.

Reactions of Transcendental Meditators and Nonmeditators to Stress Films

To experimentally test the claimed stress-reducing effects of Transcendental Meditation (TM), two stress films were shown to a group of 60 meditators and nonmeditators. Stress response was observed through the use of cognitive and affective measures employing content analysis techniques and self-ratings. The meditators did not show less stress response than the nonmeditators. On several self-rating scales, a group of subjects who had signed up to be initiated into TM rated themselves significantly more stressed and emotionally distressed than either a control group or meditators. There was a trend for meditators who meditated during the experiment to show less stress response to the films than meditators who were told not to meditate; however, this difference was significant on only one measure, a subjective stress scale.

Locus of control, coping behaviors, and performance in a stress setting: A longitudinal study.

Examined the relationship between managerial locus of control (Rotter's Internal-External Control Scale), perceived stress (Subjective Stress Scale), coping behaviors (task- vs emotion-centered as defined in the R. L. Kahn et al 1964 typology), and performance (credit ratings). 90 small business own

The Relationship Between Locus of Control, Decision Behaviors, and Performance in a Stress Setting: A Longitudinal Study.

This research tested the hypothesis that the locus of control construct may have a significant influence on performance through its effect on the intervening variables perceived stress and decision behaviors (task vs. emotion centered). In addition, the relationship between changes in performance and changes in locus of control were examined over an extended period. Ninety entrepreneurs participated in two data collection phases at a 2½ year interval following the effects of a major disaster. Initial data collected included type of decision (coping) behaviors, perceived stress (Subjective Stress Scale), locus of control (Rotter's IE scale) and performance. The longitudinal analysis centered on changes in locus of control and changes in performance. Internals were found to perceive less stress, employ more task centered coping behaviors, and employ fewer emotion centered coping behaviors than externals. Successful internals who followed this trait and behavior pattern were found to become more internal while unsuccessful externals who followed the typical external pattern became more external. Changes in performance were found to be related to changes in locus of control. The nature of locus of control as a possible cause of task behavior and as an effect of environmental reinforcement is discussed.