Examining occupational stress, sources of stress and stress management strategies through the eyes of management consultants: a multiple correspondence analysis for latent constructs

Wolf in Sheep's Clothing? Violent, Abusive, and Harmful Behavior by the Older Person Toward Their Family Caregivers: A Qualitative Study

Violent, abusive, and harmful behavior enacted by older adults upon their caregivers represents a distressing and frequently disregarded facet within the domain of caregiving. This qualitative study aims to (a) explore family caregivers' experiences of violent, abusive, and harmful behavior by the older person and (b) explore how violent, abusive, and harmful behavior by the older person affects family caregivers' mental health. This qualitative study encompassed 393 participants, with a diverse age range spanning from 40 to 72 years. All the interviews went through the process of content analysis. For the first objective, findings indicated six emerging themes: Frequent and extreme verbal violence (77.3%); feeling manipulated and controlled by older adults (74.7%); experiencing unpredictable illegal circumstances provoked by older adults (62.1%); experiencing damaging financial issues provoked by older adults (43.1%); experiencing physical violence (34.2.%); and experiencing sexual violence (31.1%). The second objective highlighted four themes: depression and anxiety (89.9 %), anger (81.2%), feeling morally isolated (78.3%), and emotional outbursts (65.1%). Brazilian participants mainly experienced frequent and extreme verbal violence (62.4%). Moreover, depression and anxiety were mainly verbalized by English participants (84.3%). These findings underscore the significant toll that older individuals' violent, abusive, and harmful behavior can have on the mental well-being of family caregivers. This study sheds light on the complex experiences faced by family caregivers and emphasizes the urgent need for targeted interventions to foster healthier caregiving environments. Older individuals' violent, abusive, and harmful behavior toward their caregivers has received limited attention in research and public discourse. The findings of this study call attention to the pressing need of addressing this issue, given its detrimental impact on the mental health of family carers. Recognizing the significance of this topic demands a comprehensive and targeted approach to ensure the well-being and safety of caregivers and older adults.

Older adults, perceived ageism, civic participation and mental health: a qualitative study

OBJECTIVES

This study has three objectives: A) To investigate the relationship of ageism on older adults' civic activities; B) To analyze the influence of ageism on mental health; and C) To explore the impact of civic participation on older adults' mental health.

METHOD

This qualitative study included 782 older people from three different nationalities (Portuguese, Brazilian, and English) ranging in age from 65 to 88. All the interviews went through the process of content analysis.

RESULTS

For the first objective, the findings encompass one high-level theme (Social and individual incompetence), which included social rejection (86%), reduced competence (84%), expectations of failure (83%), and not being able to contribute (77%). For the second objective, findings indicated two overarching categories: Perceived inability, including frustration and impotence (89%), incompetence (77%) and irrelevance (71%); and Perceived distress, including anger (81%), feelings of anxiety (68%); and emotional bursts (63%). For the third objective, the following two high-level themes emerged: Ego-oriented resources, which comprised the development of a sense of purpose (81%), learning cognitive skills (71%), and (A3) practising sense of agency (67%); and Social-oriented resources, encompassing feeling socially integrated (80%); and expressing emotionally (54%). Findings indicated that the most verbalized themes for the three objectives were the same across the three nationalities.

CONCLUSIONS

Ageism made it difficult for people to participate in civic life, which has been linked to better mental health. These findings emphasize the need to encourage inclusive civic involvement to improve older individuals' mental health.

The Upside of Negative Emotions: How Do Older Adults From Different Cultures Challenge Their Self-Growth During the COVID-19 Pandemic?

Background and Objective

The outbreak of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) has raised increased challenges for older adults' personal growth in diverse cultural settings. The aim of this study was to analyze negative emotions and their role on older adults' self-growth in Mexico, Italy, Portugal, and Spain, during the COVID-19 pandemic. For this purpose, a cross-national qualitative research was carried out.

Methods

Data were collected from 338 community-dwelling participants aged 65 years and older, using a semi-structured interview protocol. Older adults were asked about negative emotions that significantly contribute to their self-growth during the COVID-19 pandemic. Content analysis was used to identify key themes.

Results

Seven main negative emotions (fear, sadness, anger, grief, boredom, loneliness, and shame) significantly contributed to seven themes of self-growth, across the samples: sharing difficult experiences with others, supportive partner, spiritual practices, engagement with life, generativity, volunteering activities, and intimacy and sexual satisfaction. Sharing difficult experiences with others was most pertinent to Mexican (13.9%) and to Italian (3.0%) participants, and a supportive partner to Portuguese (12.1%), and to Spanish participants (6.5%).

Conclusion

The findings of this study indicate that negative emotions during the COVID-19 pandemic contributed to their older adults' self-growth. This study highlighted the cultural diversity of experiences during the pandemics and underlined the upside of negative emotions and its relation to older adults' self-growth during this period.

How Do Older Portuguese and Mexican Adults Experience Their Sexual Well-Being? A Cross-Cultural Qualitative Study

Sexual well-being (SWB) refers to the subjective emotional and cognitive evaluation of the quality of the individual's sexuality. SWB plays a relevant role in quality of life and health promotion on old age and has cross-cultural implications. In addition to the scarcity of in-depth qualitative studies in this area and studies with cross-cultural samples, no studies have compared perceptions of SWB among Portuguese and Mexican older adults. The aim of this study was to comparatively analyze perspectives on SWB among older adults residing in Portugal and Mexico. Data were collected from 86 Portuguese and 80 Mexican community-dwelling participants aged 65 years and older, using a semi-structured interview protocol. Older adults were asked about factors that significantly contribute to their SWB. Sociodemographic data were also gathered. Content analysis was used to identify key themes. Eight themes were identified across both studied samples: eroticism, supportive relationship, positive self-concept, health and self-care, romance, active life, tenderness and care, and no pain and no pregnancy restrictions. Eroticism was most pertinent to Portuguese participants (31.4%). Health and self-care was most frequently reported by Mexican participants (26.5%). The findings of this study indicate that SWB is strongly influenced by sociocultural and psychosocial values. Cross-cultural comparisons between older Portuguese and Mexican people provide a broader understanding of SWB in older age and suggest a scenario for future culture-adapted interventions and comprehensive policies.

Personal and occupational factors contributing to biomechanical risk of the distal upper limb among dairy workers in the Lombardy region of Italy

Biomechanical overload in the wrist flexor and extensor muscles, together with awkward hand positions during work activities, can result in occupational wrist and hand disorders. Dairy workers, specifically those that work in the milking parlor, are exposed to highly repetitive and forceful exertions of the upper limb throughout their work shift. There are very few studies that have investigated the determinants that contribute to the risk of distal upper limb musculoskeletal disorders among dairy workers. The purpose of the present study was to identify the variables affecting the biomechanical overload of the distal upper limb among milking parlor workers, define risk profiles, and propose possible interventions to reduce the high physical loads to the distal upper limb during milking activities. Forty male workers from the three most common milking parlor systems in Lombardy Italy were recruited to participate in this study. Multiple correspondence analysis of personal characteristics and occupational risk factors, followed by cluster analysis, led to the identification of three distinct groups of workers. Low, medium and high risk profiles were assigned to each group based on the risk assessments performed using the Strain Index and electromyography of the distal upper limb. The main risk determinants were workstation characteristics, work organization and milking routine. A well-organized milking routine, milking cluster weight below 2.4 kg or the use of supporting arms for the milking cluster may reduce the risk of biomechanical overload.

Perceived stress in human-machine interaction in modern manufacturing environments-Results of a qualitative interview study

Rapid advances in digitization technologies are changing modern working conditions especially in industrial settings. Consequently, employees are confronted with new forms of human-machine interaction. Whether changes in working conditions in general, and the increasing relevance of human-machine interaction in particular, affect psychosocial working conditions, and employee's health is currently matter of debate, but empirical data are lacking. Therefore, we conducted semistructured interviews with 36 employees working in five different companies. The interviews were aimed at identifying potential stressors associated with the introduction and use of modern technologies in the manufacturing industry. The results show that stressors linked to human-machine interaction are technical problems, poor usability, low situation awareness, and increased requirements on employees' qualification. For example, technical problems such as breakdowns or slowdowns were described as a main stressor when employees were not qualified to handle these problems on their own, thus decelerating work flows and causing additional time pressure. Overall, the results show that problems in human-machine interaction, which have been observed in laboratory and nonindustrial settings, also apply to industrial work places with highly automated working conditions and are a potential source of stress. These factors should be considered in psychosocial risk assessment of work-related stressors.

Unique aspects of impulsive traits in substance use and overeating: specific contributions of common assessments of impulsivity

Abstract Background: Impulsivity is a complex trait often studied in substance abuse and overeating disorders, but the exact nature of impulsivity traits and their contribution to these disorders are still debated. Thus, understanding how to measure impulsivity is essential for comprehending addictive behaviors.

OBJECTIVES

Identify unique impulsivity traits specific to substance use and overeating.

METHODS

Impulsive Sensation Seeking (ImpSS) and Barratt's Impulsivity scales (BIS) Scales were analyzed with a non-parametric factor analytic technique (discriminant correspondence analysis) to identify group-specific traits on 297 individuals from five groups: Marijuana (n = 88), Nicotine (n = 82), Overeaters (n = 27), Marijuauna + Nicotine (n = 63), and CONTROLs (n = 37).

RESULTS

A significant overall factor structure revealed three components of impulsivity that explained respectively 50.19% (pperm < 0.0005), 24.18% (pperm < 0.0005), and 15.98% (pperm < 0.0005) of the variance. All groups were significantly different from one another. When analyzed together, the BIS and ImpSS produce a multi-factorial structure that identified the impulsivity traits specific to these groups. The group specific traits are (1) CONTROL: low impulse, avoids thrill-seeking behaviors; (2) Marijuana: seeks mild sensation, is focused and attentive; (3) Marijuana + Nicotine: pursues thrill-seeking, lacks focus and attention; (4) Nicotine: lacks focus and planning; (5) Overeating: lacks focus, but plans (short and long term).

CONCLUSIONS

Our results reveal impulsivity traits specific to each group. This may provide better criteria to define spectrums and trajectories - instead of categories - of symptoms for substance use and eating disorders. Defining symptomatic spectrums could be an important step forward in diagnostic strategies.