Evidence From Studies With Objective Measures of Stressors

To examine whether the relationship between stressors and strains can be primarily explained by the use of self-report measures and the associated methodological problems, stud­ies are needed in which stressors are assessed by non-self-report measures. There is an increasing number of such studies. In some of these studies, researchers inferred objec­tive stressors from occupational titles and similar information. Analyses revealed significant relationships between stressful jobs and poor health and well-being. For example, Tsutsumi, Theorell, Hallqvist, Reuterwall, and de Faire (1999) reported increased odd ratios of plasma fibrinogen concentrations—a physiological indicator assumed to be associated with coro­nary heart disease—in study participants working in highly demanding jobs.

Other researchers assessed objective stressors by means of observations. These studies also showed association between objective stressors and impaired health and well-being. Forex-ample, Frese (1985) found correlations of r = .18 and r = .19 between observer ratings of psychological stressors and psy­chosomatic complaints. Melamed et al. (1995) measured mo­notony with observational ratings and found that short-cycle and medium-cycle repetitive work was significantly associ­ated with psychological distress, particularly in women. Greiner et al. (1997) reported increased odd ratios of psycho­somatic complaints in observed high-stress jobs.

In summary, these findings show that stressors at work are related to poor health and well-being—even when objective measures of stressors are used. Often the correlations be­tween objective stressor measures and strains are smaller in size than are the correlations between self-report measures of stressors and strains (cf. Frese, 1985), but they do not break down completely; this suggests that common method variance inflates the relationships between self-reported stressors and self-reported strains, but it does not fully ex­plain the empirical relationship between organizational stres­sors and strains. For methodological reasons, the correlations found between objective stressors and self-reported strains

present the lower boundary of the stressor-illness relation­ships (Frese, 1993).

Evidence From Longitudinal Studies

To arrive at a clearer picture about the causal processes be­tween stressors and strains, longitudinal studies are needed. Although they do not solve all the methodological prob­lems (Zapf, Dormann, et al., 1996), they at least allow re­searchers to rule out some of the alternative interpretations. Table 18.3 gives an overview over longitudinal studies published between 1981 and 2000 that meet the following criteria: (a) data collection on work-related stressors and strains and (b) control for initial level of strains in the analyses.

Table 18.3 shows the number of time lags, the time interval between the various measurement points, sample size, type of Stressors assessed, type of strains assessed, results with re­spect to lagged effects, concurrent effects, reverse effects (i.e., effects of strains on stressors), and nonsignificant findings. Most of the studies assessed data at two measurement points. Time lags ranged between 1 month and 180 months, with most studies using time lags of 12 months or less. A wide range of stressors were assessed, including workload, social stressors, and job insecurity. Also strain measured covered a large variety of indicators, including physiological measures, distress symptoms, depression, psychosomatic complaints, and physical illnesses. Most researchers analyzed their data with variants of cross-lagged panel correlations (CLPC), mul­tiple regression analyses, or structural equation approaches (e.g.,LISREL).

We discuss the study findings separately for concurrent, ^gged, and reverse effects. Concurrent effects refer to syn-( chronous effects of stressors (Time 2) on strain (Time 2) with controlling for strain (Time 1). Lagged effects imply effects of stressors (Time 1) on strain (Time 2) when controlling for ^straui (Time 1). Reverse effects refer to effects of strains (Time 1) on stressors (Time 2) with controlling for stressors Himel; drift hypothesis).

Most studies that examined concurrent effects focused on

Psychological strains (exceptions: Howard, Cunningham, &

Kechniter, 1986; Spector, Chen, & O'Connell, 2000, which

ooked at physiological strain). About half of the studies

nd concurrent effects of all measured stressors on strains.

other half of the studies found support for relationships

^een some combinations of stressors and strains. Stressors

concurrent effects on strains included workload, role

^lcts, and role ambiguity. Strains affected were depressive

P °ms, burnout, and fatigue spillover into leisure time.

Empirical Evidence 461

There was no systematic pattern of stressor-strain relation­ships for which concurrent effects were found.

Studies that addressed lagged effects of stressful work situ­ations examined both psychological and physical strain symp­toms. Psychological symptoms included strains such as distress, anxiety, depressive symptoms, and exhaustion. Physi­cal symptoms included mainly (psycho)somatic health com­plaints, cardiovascular disease, and other illnesses. Lagged effects of stressors on psychological strain symptoms appeared in more than half of the studies, at least for some of the stressors or strains tested. Significant effects were more often found when stressors such as high demands and high workload were examined (as opposed to social stressors), when the time lag was relatively short (not longer than 12 months), and when no concurrent effects were tested simultaneously.

There is rather strong evidence that stressors at work have a lagged effect on physical strain symptoms, particularly (psy­chosomatic health complaints (Carayon, 1993; Frese, 1985; Leitner, 1993; Parkes et al., 1994; for an exception, cf. Mauno & Kinnunen, 1999). Stressors have lagged effects on cardio­vascular disease, particularly in men (Hibbard & Pope. 1993; Karasek, Baker, Marxner, Ahlbom, & Theoreli, 1981). How­ever, stressors seems to have none or only a minor lagged effect on other illnesses such as cancer (Hibbard & Pope, 1993). Taken together, these longitudinal studies suggest that there are lagged effects of stressors on strains, particularly if the time lag between two measurement points does not exceed 12 months.

Most of the studies tested either concurrent or lagged ef­fects. The majority of these studies found evidence for an effect of stressors on strains, at least for some of the stressor or strain indicators. There are only a few studies that ana­lyzed both lagged and concurrent effects within the same data set (Glickman, Tanaka, & Chan, 1991; Kohn & Schooler, 1982; Moyle, 1998; Roy & Steptoe, 1994; Schonfeld, 1992; Wolpin, Burke, & Greenglass, 1991). All these studies found concurrent effects (at least for some of the indicators). How­ever, half of the studies failed to find lagged effects when concurrent effects were present. Only Wolpin et al. (1991), Schonfeld (1992), and Moyle (1998) reported lagged effects in the presence of concurrent effects. These findings indicate that individuals develop distress reactions to stressful situa­tions rather quickly; this implies that having experienced stressful work situations in the past may have little effect on one's psychological well-being unless the stressful situation continues into the present. We assume, however, that the situation is different for physical symptoms. More studies on physical indicators are needed that examine concurrent and lagged effects simultaneously.

Agrowing number of studies have tested reverse effect. These studies addressed the question of whether strains lead to an increase in stressors as suggested in the drift hypothesis (cf. Zapf, Dormannn, et al., 1996). In 9 out of 12 studies, no such reverse effects were found (Carayon, 1993; Frese, 1985; Garst et al., 2000; Leitner, 1993; Mauno & Kinnunen, 1999; Moyle, 1998; Roy & Steptoe, 1994; Schonfeld, 1992; Zapf & Frese, 1991). Three studies reported reverse effects for (some of the) strain symptoms on (some of the) stressors (Bakker etal.,2000;Glickmanetal., 1991; Kohn & Schooler, 1982). It is interesting to note that in most of the studies that found such reverse effects, both types of effects were present—effects of stressors on strains and effects of strains on stressors. This suggests that—at least for some individuals—experiencing organizational stress may be linked to a negative spiral: Stres­sors increase strain, which in turn increases stressors. Moyle (1998) and Garst et al. (2000), however, found an effect oppo-9 site to the drift hypotheses (a sort of refuge model). People with high strain eventually received workplaces that had fewer demands and stressors.

In summary, there is good and increasing evidence that stressors at work have a causal effect on health and well-being. The support for concurrent effects is stronger than for lagged effects, at least for psychological strains. Consistent lagged effects were mainly found for physical strain symp­toms. This implies that an individual's present work situation seems to be more relevant for developing psychological dis­turbances, whereas an individual's past work situation may also have long-term effects on his or her physical health and well-being. Clearly more research is needed that examines concurrent versus lagged effects more systematically. More­over, more attention should be paid to the time intervals at which data are gathered (cf. Dormann & Zapf, 1999). Differ­ential effects of different stressors and different models of stressor-strain relationships should be examined (Frese & Zapf, 1988; Garst etal., 2000).

Date: 2016-03-03; view: 835