Die Rolle von Persönlichkeitsmerkmalen im Umgang mit Arbeitsbelastungen und gesundheitliche Folgen

Overcommitment, Work-Related Behavior, and Cognitive and Emotional Irritation in Veterinarians: A Comparison of Different Veterinary Working Fields

Mental health is a serious problem among veterinarians. The aim of this study was to analyze work-related behaviors and experience (AVEM), overcommitment (OC), and cognitive and emotional irritation (IS) in different veterinary working fields. The survey included 724 German veterinarians (average age 41.0 ± 9.72 years). Validated questionnaires were used to assess overcommitment, work-related behavior and experience patterns (health-promoting pattern G or S; health-hazardous risk pattern A or B), and irritation in several working fields. A correlation analysis and a multivariate test were performed. Increased OC was observed in 35.8% of veterinarians (mixed animals vs. inspectors, p = 0.042; small vs. mixed animals, p = 0.001). A total of 66% of veterinarians exhibited AVEM risk pattern A or B. There was no significant association of AVEM risk patterns and veterinary specialty. Only the AVEM dimension "tendency toward resignation in the face of failure" differed among working fields (p = 0.04). Regardless of direct animal contact, German veterinarians showed increased psychological stress. Inadequate compensation and prolonged stress are significant factors that can lead to burnout or depression. These risks should be considered in the context of occupational healthcare.

Persönlichkeitsprofile und individueller Umgang mit Stress im Altersgruppenvergleich von ukrainischen (weiblichen) Lehrern

Hintergrund

Lehrer gehören zu den Berufen mit hohen psychoemotionalen Belastungen, denen Persönlichkeitsmerkmale und der individuelle Umgang mit Stress entgegenwirken, um die negativen Beanspruchungsfolgen zu vermeiden. Das Ziel dieser Arbeit bestand in der altersabhängigen Analyse des individuellen Umgangs mit Stresssituationen und ihrer situationsbedingten Persönlichkeitsprofile.

Methodik

Die Stichprobe umfasste 238 ukrainische Lehrer (98,3 % weiblich) im Durchschnittsalter von 43,7 ± 12,55 Jahren. Die Gesamtstichprobe wurde in 2 Altersgruppen AG I (< 45 Jahre) und AG II (≥ 45 Jahre) unterteilt. Es wurden das Differentielle Stress Inventar (DSI-HR) nach Lefèvre und Kubinger sowie das Inventar zur Persönlichkeitsdiagnostik in Situationen (IPS) nach Schaarschmidt und Fischer bewertet.

Ergebnisse

Es fanden sich signifikante Altersgruppenunterschiede in den DSI-Variablen „Stressauslösung“ (p = 0,002), „Stressauslösung durch Alltagsgeschehen“ (p = 0,005), „Stressauslösung durch Interaktion“ (p = 0,001) und „Stressstabilisierung“ (p = 0,005). Dabei sind ältere Lehrer häufiger überbeansprucht (41,2 %) als jüngere (31,3 %). Hier gibt es eine statistisch vergleichbare Verteilung der Altersgruppen innerhalb der vier IPS-Profile.

Diskussion

Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass ältere ukrainische Lehrer sich subjektiv beanspruchter fühlten. Es bedarf einer Implementierung von Gesundheits- und Präventionsmaßnahmen bei alternder, hier überwiegend weiblicher Lehrerschaft, um die Gesundheit der älteren Lehrer der Ukraine langfristig aufrechtzuerhalten. Eine arbeitsmedizinische Vorsorge, wie in Deutschland vorgeschrieben, ist auch an Schulen in der Ukraine zu empfehlen.

Subjective perceptions of workload and stress of emergency service personnel depending on work-related behavior and experience patterns

Purpose

Stressors due to the workload in the ambulance service are numerous and can be positively counteracted by work-related behaviors and experiences. We analyzed the subjective perceptions of workload and stress as a function of work-related behavior and experience patterns among emergency service personnel (EMP).

Methods

A total of 276 EMP (94.6% men) participated (average age: 39.3 ± 8.04 years). Data on the stress situations of ambulance service staff according to the Slesina questionnaire, the Recovery–Stress Questionnaire (EBF), and the Questionnaire for Physical, Psychological and Social Symptoms (KOEPS) were obtained. Participants were classified into four patterns (A, B, G, and S) based on the Work-Related Behavior and Experience Patterns (AVEM) questionnaire.

Results

Overall, 32% of EMP were classified into AVEM risk patterns A and B. For half of the stress factors examined (23/46), the data were significantly different among the AVEM groups. Individuals with AVEM risk patterns have higher stress and lower recovery scores on the EBF and more physical, psychological, and social-communicative impairments shown using the KOEPS (all variables p < 0.001). Analyses showed moderate correlations among the AVEM dimensions (exceptions included striving for perfection, subjective importance of work, and work-related ambition), and the main scales of the EBF and KOEPS.

Conclusion

Work-related patterns of behavior and experience are used to determine how stress is handled, and it is possible to distinguish between patterns that promote health and those that hazardous to it. Individuals with AVEM patterns that are a risk to their health experience high stress, low recovery, and increased physical, psychological, and social-communicative impairments. Health-promoting work-related behaviors can be used to counteract stress. Companies developing preventive health promotion measures should focus on individuals with AVEM patterns that are a risk to their health.

Supplementary Information

The online version of this article (10.1007/s10049-022-01076-y) contains further tables and figures. The article and additional material are available at www.springermedizin.de. Please enter the title of the article in the search field. You will find the additional material under “Supplementary Information” at the article.

Feasibility of a Music System Intervention to Affect Mental Stress and Strain of Employees in Inpatient Dementia Care

OBJECTIVES

If family caregivers participate with people with dementia in group music therapies, their mental stress can be reduced. The interventions investigated this context are often limited to active music therapies in groups, which do not consider the inclusion of formal caregivers. In the presented study, a music system was implemented in the routine nursing care of a dementia residential community. Aiming to investigate the use and the effects of the music system on employees' mental stress and strain, hypotheses were derived, which, for the first time, qualitatively describe this connection.

METHODS

A controlled feasibility study with pretests and posttests was conducted. Two residential areas of an inpatient care facility for people with dementia participated as an intervention and control groups-these included 28 residents and 18 employees. In the intervention phase, the employees of the intervention group used the music systems during nursing activities and the operations were saved in log files. Mental stress and strain were recorded six times using the BGWmiab questionnaire. In the questionnaire part on mental stress, typical stress factors were assessed, while the part on mental strain records the extent of seven typical symptoms of overstrain.

RESULTS

The music systems were used 1.6 (±1.3) times per day and per resident, dependent on the residents (P < 0.05, n = 13). Changes in total mental stress and strain scores could not be determined. Regarding the strain symptoms, scores of work motivation, fatigue, and aversions decreased. Seventy-one percent of the employees stated an improved daily work routine. The strain changes in employees of the intervention group correlated significantly with their work experience (r = 0.73, P = 0.04, n = 8).

CONCLUSIONS

Eight hypotheses on the usage and effect of music systems were generated. These did not represent an additional stress factor and affected single strain symptoms. In addition, the study highlighted a positive impact that the music systems had on the employees' perception of stress. This is the first time that the positive effects of receptive music interventions on mental stress and strain of formal caregivers are described. Further investigations with an increased frequency of use of the music systems should validate and specify the findings and hypotheses.

[Relationship Between Stress Experience and Stress Behavior - Measured with the Differential Stress Inventory and Burnout Symptoms in the MBI]

OBJECTIVE

The aim of the study was to determine the relationship of the different DSI categories and stress types of stressor behaviour and experience on burnout in an occupational group.

METHODS

The Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) and the Differential Stress Inventory (DSI) were presented to 185 subjects. As a result, a classification into DSI types and the comparison of the MBI categories were performed.

RESULTS

Different types of stress behavior show differences in burnout dimensions. Four subjects (2.2 %) offered a high burnout. DSI type II is especially vulnerable to suffering from burnout symptoms.

CONCLUSION

Individuals with different degrees of stress triggers and manifestations as well as available coping strategies or risks of stress stabilization have different levels of MBI dimensions and thus different risks for burnout. Knowledge about the type of DSI could be included in the design of prevention interventions to reduce the risk of mental health impairment.

Subjective and objective demands on different types of differential stress inventory

Purpose

To validate the differential stress inventory (DSI) by evaluating the objective and subjective stress differences in the five DSI types in the occupational setting.

Methods

A total of 119 German participants working as medical assistants (n = 40) or in a bank (n = 79) were recruited. They completed the Maslach Burnout Inventory–General Survey, the DSI, and wore ECG measuring devices for 24 h to measure heart rate variability. The DSI was used to group people into one of five types according to how they perceived and coped with stress: normal, overstressed, stress-resistant, low stress/high coping, or high stress/high coping.

Results

The overstressed type had significantly more burnout symptoms than the other types. The high stress/high coping type also had more symptoms of emotional exhaustion and total burnout compared to the other types, while the low stress/high coping and the stress-resistant types generally had the lowest levels of burnout. There were no differences on the HRV parameters among the DSI types.

Conclusion

Categorising people into types like in the DSI can help make workers aware of unhealthy stress and coping patterns before they turn into more severe pathology. Proper application and targeted preventive measures can save the individual’s health and the company’s budget. While the DSI picked up on differences in burnout symptoms as a long-term consequence of stress, there is evidence that it cannot pick up on short-term stress or physical stress as measured by HRV from the 24 h recording.

[The Role of Personal Resources in Coping]

BACKGROUND

Stress reactions can be a result of occupational and everyday stress, which are perceived individually. The insufficient compensation of stress can lead to various diseases. Personality traits play an important role in this. Stress reactions can lead to health problems and diseases. Therefore it is important to reduce stress. The aim of this study was to examine the role of personality traits in dealing with stress perception and coping.

MATERIAL AND METHOD

The questionnaire on Differential stress inventory (DSI) differentiated 217 subjects into 5 types of DSI. The survey compared these 5 types along their personality traits via the Freiburg Personality Inventory (FPI-R).

RESULTS

The DSI types showed significant differences in the expression of the personality traits. This applies the everyday stress, professional and private interactions with other people and the existential and future fears. People with pronounced physical disorders in the FPI showed physical and/or emotional-cognitive stress manifestation as well as a sense of helplessness. Life satisfaction is negatively related to stressors, for example through everyday life.

CONCLUSION

The survey revealed the importance of personality traits in coping with job strain. Occupational health diagnostics should be integrated in occupational health care and prevention. The occupational physician or the prevention team appear here to be significant, as they see workers falling through the classic family doctor model. In the prevention team, personality traits can be supplemented by psychologists. Personal resources can be imparted or reinforced to prevent physical disorders.