RESUMEN
In order to advance research on stress-related symptoms in occupational health psychology, our study examined three ways to measure physical symptoms-by asking about symptom frequency, interference with daily activities and whether a doctor was seen for each symptom. We used exploratory factor analysis and item response theory to gain greater insight into these measures and compared how symptoms measured along these dimensions predicted other stress-related outcomes in the workplace. Among the main findings of our study are the following: (1) symptoms may be categorized as those that occur as a response to acute events and those that reflect more chronic stress; (2) individuals appear to have a relatively low threshold for reporting that acute symptoms (e.g. heart pounding) interfere with daily activities; and (3) specific symptom (acute, chronic)-response format (frequency, interference) combinations uniquely predicted other strain variables in conceptually meaningful ways. Recommendations for the assessment of physical symptoms are provided.
Asunto(s)
Satisfacción en el Trabajo , Salud Laboral , Medicina del Trabajo/métodos , Estrés Psicológico/fisiopatología , Enfermedad Aguda , Adolescente , Adulto , Enfermedad Crónica , Análisis Factorial , Femenino , Humanos , Modelos Logísticos , Masculino , Persona de Mediana Edad , Aceptación de la Atención de Salud/psicología , Proyectos de Investigación , Índice de Severidad de la Enfermedad , Ausencia por Enfermedad , Encuestas y Cuestionarios , Lugar de Trabajo , Adulto JovenRESUMEN
The purpose of this multicenter longitudinal randomized controlled trial was to examine the efficacy of self-administered stress management training (SSMT) in improving quality of life and reducing psychological distress among patients receiving cancer chemotherapy. Participants were randomized to SSMT (n = 111) or usual psychosocial care only (n = 109). Mixed linear modeling demonstrated no significant improvements in primary outcome measures; however, participants assigned to SSMT reported using significantly more relaxation techniques (p < 0.0001), showed improvements on emotional adjustment scores, and demonstrated a stabilizing effect on the functional adjustment scores. Findings highlight the usefulness of SSMT in community clinical settings.