Personality and resistance to illness

Brodsky C.M.

Rodin J., Langer E.J.

Rabkin J.G., Struening E.L.

Hough R.L., Fairbank D.T., Garcia A.M.

The development and use of Holmes and Rahe's Social Readjustment Rating Scale is examined. The scale is regarded as a laudable attempt at ratio measurement and as deserving more attention and emulation in sociology than it has received. However, there are problems with the work of Rahe and his associates. In particular, the relative lack of concern with careful instrument construction and administration, the glossing over of the problem of cultural variance, and the use of analytic procedures that do not fully exploit the potential of their measurement technique are discussed. Data from the authors' exploratory work on the measurement of the stressfulness of life events in a culturally heterogeneous environment are brought into the discussion.

Huberty C.J.

Wershow H.J., Reinhart G.

Rahe R.H., Lundberg U., Bennett L., Theorell T.

IT HAS become apparent that among twentieth century peoples there is rather universal agreement concerning the relative significances of many commonly experienced life change events [l-4]. Such events range from an individual’s change of residence, or a vacation, to life changes of greater significance such as retirement from work, or death of a spouse. Prior reports concerning subjects’ scaling of a standard series of life changes, between various cultures and various American sub-cultures, have emphasized the high levels of agreement found between two samples’ rank orderings of the life change eventsrl-41. It has also been found, however, that up to 45 per cent of the life change events are given significantly different mean scores by two different samples [2]. This report presents recently derived life changes scaling data for both young and middle-aged Swedish samples and these data are compared to results previously obtained for comparable American samples. As found in previous cross-cultural life changes scaling studies, an impressively high agreement was seen between Swedes and Americans in their rank ordering of the standard list of 43 life change events. This time, however, up to 84 per cent of the life change questions were given significantly different mean scores by the Swedish and American samples. In an effort to illustrate this often substantial variance between samples, a technique of graphing of the data around ideal and actual regression lines, for pairs of samples, is presented.

Wyler A.R., Masuda M., Holmes T.H.

This study further evaluated the Seriousness of Illness Rating Scale. Reproducibility was determined by the test-retest method, using Spearman's rank order correlation coefficient and the Mann-Whitney U test as statistical measures. Spearman's rho was a highly significant 0·988. The Mann-Whitney U test showed no significant differences between the 126 disease items on two samples. Six specialties were analyzed to determine whether there were significant differences between the specialties in the rating of each of the 126 disease items. Only five diseases were rated significantly different between specialties, indicating the insignificance of this variable.

Wyler A.R., Masuda M., Holmes T.H.

Holmes T.H., Rahe R.H.

An J., Suh K.

This study explored psychosocial factors related to young adults’ expectations for the future and verified a model that can predict these expectations using psychosocial factors and demographic profiles to provide useful information for further studies and interventions. The participants were 371 Korean adults aged 20–39 years. The predictive models were examined using stepwise regression and decision tree analyses. The results revealed that stress, depression, gratitude, hardiness, interpersonal competence, and social support were significantly correlated with expectations for the future among young adults. Stepwise regression analysis revealed that commitment, reflecting a sense of purpose, and engagement in life accounted for the greatest variance in expectations for the future. Commitment, gratitude, self-directedness, depression, and the presence of disease accounted for approximately 66.7% of the variance in expectations for the future in young adulthood. The decision tree analysis identified commitment as the most important predictor, followed by gratitude, stress, self-directedness, empathy, perceived health, and marital status, showing how these factors are associated with shaping future expectations. These findings suggest that psychological variables such as commitment and gratitude may play a more important role in young adults’ expectations of their future than health or marital status.

Kim H., An J., Suh K.

This study explored the psychological factors related to the intention to avoid childbirth among Korean adult women of childbearing age. The study verified predictive models for this intention using psychological variables and demographic profiles to provide useful information and knowledge for further studies and interventions. The participants were 400 Korean women of childbearing age, aged 18–45 years. The predictive models were verified using stepwise regression and decision tree analyses. The results revealed that neuroticism, extraversion, agreeableness, behavioral activation system (BAS), behavioral inhibition system (BIS), stress, hardiness, life satisfaction, and expectations for the future were significantly correlated with the intention to avoid childbirth among Korean adult women of childbearing age. Stepwise regression analysis revealed that neuroticism accounted for the greatest variance in the intention to avoid childbirth. Neuroticism, life satisfaction, drive, expectations for the future, and tenacity accounted for approximately 16.5% of the variance in women’s intentions to avoid childbirth in young adulthood. The decision tree model predicting the intention to avoid childbirth included life satisfaction, extraversion, witnessing mothers’ difficulties raising children, religion, and neuroticism. These findings suggest that psychological variables such as neuroticism and life satisfaction may play a more important role in Korean young adult women’s intention to avoid childbirth.

Kozyreva V.V., Cherniavskii A.A.

The article compares the features of positive thinking and stress levels in physicians and medical staff, but the nature of duties and work differs in many ways, which may serve to identify significant differences among workers of two similar professions. The purpose of the study is to examine the positive thinking and stress levels characteristics in helping professions. Objectives of the study are to analyze the scientific literature, to identify the positive thinking and stress levels in specialists, and to establish differences in these levels in specialists of different profiles. The subject of the study is the peculiarities of positive thinking and stress levels in specialists. The literature on the topic under study has been analyzed according to the works of N.E. Vodopyanova, T.O. Gordeeva, E.N. Osin, V.Y. Shevyakhova, and Yu.V. Scherbatykh. The following methods were used: stress manifestations complex assessment (Yu.V. Shcherbatykh (2008), questionnaire of successes and failures reaction ways for adults (STONE-V, T.O. Gordeeva, V.Y. Shevyakhova (2008), optimism and activity scale in N.E. Vodopyanova’s adaptation (2009). Statistically significant differences have been revealed only on the “Optimism in the situation of success” scale, which indicates the difference in the behavior of physicians and medical staff. The results of the study can be the basis for creating recommendations for helping employees cope with stress. The prospect is to extend the study of the phenomenon to other helping professions and compare the results.

Park A., Suh K.

This study investigated the relationship between hardiness and Korean adults’ expectations for future life, and verified the multiple mediating effects of perceived stress, music listening for negative emotion regulation, and life satisfaction on that relationship. The participants were 412 Korean adults aged 20–65 years. PROCESS Macro 3.5 Model 80 was used to examine the multiple mediating effects. Correlational analysis showed that hardiness was positively correlated with music listening for negative emotion regulation, life satisfaction, and expectations for future life, whereas it was negatively correlated with perceived stress. Perceived stress was negatively correlated with life satisfaction and expectations for future life, whereas music listening for negative emotion regulation was positively correlated with life satisfaction and expectations for future life. In the multiple mediation model, the relationships between hardiness and expectations for future life, the sequential mediating effect of perceived stress and life satisfaction, and the sequential mediating effect of music listening for negative emotion regulation and life satisfaction were significant. The direct effect of hardiness on expectations for future life was also significant, indicating that perceived stress, music listening for negative emotion regulation, and life satisfaction only partially mediated the relationship between hardiness and expectations for future life. It seems, thus, that perceived stress, music listening for negative emotion regulation, and life satisfaction play an important role in Korean adults’ expectations for future life.

Suzuki M., Kato D.

This study aimed to examine the potential associations between rolefulness and hardiness among high school students. We hypothesized that rolefulness would positively predict hardiness. The present study utilized data from assessments completed by 301 students (51％ girls) in three waves over three years. Cross-lagged panel analysis indicated a significant relationship between rolefulness and hardiness. Specifically, social rolefulness at Time 1 influenced control at Time 2, and control at Time 2 predicted challenge at Time 3. Control at Time 1 influenced rolefulness at Time 2, and rolefulness at Time 2 predicted hardiness at Time 3.

Bartone P.T., McDonald K., Hansma B.J., Stermac-Stein J., Escobar E.M., Stein S.J., Ryznar R.

Abstract. Previous research shows that psychological hardiness is an important factor contributing to stress resilience in individuals. Of the various instruments available to measure hardiness, the most commonly used is the Dispositional Resilience Scale (DRS). Despite its demonstrated utility, the DRS-15 still has a number of serious limitations, including low subscale reliability and limited construct validity. The present work aims to create a new hardiness scale that addresses these limitations. A pool of new items plus the original DRS item set was administered to a census-matched stratified sample of N = 2,021 men and women across the United States. Items for the new scale were selected based on item distribution characteristics, item response theory plots, scale reliabilities, item-total correlations, and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). CFA results showed the best fitting model reflected a hierarchical structure with three factors (commitment, control, and challenge) nested under a broad hardiness factor. This factor structure is replicated in two independent validation samples and also holds invariant across gender and age. The new scale shows much improved reliability coefficients (e.g., Cronbach’s α of .93, .85, .84, and .89 for total hardiness, challenge, control, and commitment, respectively), as well as structural equivalence across gender and age. Validity is demonstrated in multiple samples via predictive associations of hardiness scores with theoretically relevant outcome measures, including coping, life satisfaction, anxiety, and depression. The Hardiness Resilience Gauge (HRG) possesses excellent reliability and validity and appears to be a more effective tool for measuring hardiness in adult populations.

Xiang K., Liu J., Qiao G., Gao F., Zhang H.

The hospitality industry receives the most bullying and harassment claims, and hotel employee bullying has created some damaging psychosocial risks. using a mixed research approach, this study integrates resource conservation and embodied cognitive theories within a stimulate-organism-response framework to explore the relationship between hotel employees' experiences of bullying and their occupational commitment, and underlying mechanisms of sensory and psychological cognition. This study qualitatively examines the inner framework of employees' bodily sensory perceptions, resource dynamics allocation mechanism, and key influencing factors and dimensions of occupational commitment, and quantitatively verifies the effect of guest bullying on occupational commitment. The findings show that guest bullying and occupational stigma perception positively influenced occupational commitment. Organizational resources positive moderate the relationship between guest bullying and occupational commitment. The study highlights the mechanisms associated with employees' ability to maintain high occupational commitment despite bullying, underlines the driven and self-motivated nature of individual psychological and behavioral adjustment in a specific cultural context, and unveils the inherent "black box" of organizational behavior under the embodied cognition perspective. • Using a mixed research approach, this study explores the intrinsic relationship and mind-body interaction mechanisms between bullying experiences and occupational commitment among hotel employees. • The study provides new insights into the mechanisms associated with employees' ability to maintain high occupational commitment levels despite bullying situations. • Highlight the driving and self-motivated nature of individual psychological and behavioral adjustment in a specific cultural context, and provide an explanatory basis for the inherent "black box" of organizational behavior under the mind-body interaction.

Bartone P.T., McDonald K., Hansma B.J., Solomon J.

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to sharp increases in mental health problems around the world, most notably in anxiety and depression. The present study examines hardiness and age as potential protective factors against the mental health effects of COVID-related stress. A sample of Canadians balanced across age and gender, completed an online survey including measures of COVID related stressors, hardiness, depression, and anxiety, along with age, gender, and other demographics. Conditional PROCESS analysis showed that COVID stressors led to significant increases in anxiety and depression. Hardiness moderated these relations, with those high in hardiness showing less anxiety and depression. Age was negatively related to anxiety and depression, with highest levels observed among the younger respondents. At the same time, a moderating effect of age was found with respect to depression, with older people showing sharper increases in depression as COVID-related stress goes up. Gender was not a significant factor in any of these relations, meaning that the results apply equally well to both women and men. This study provides evidence that younger people who are also low in hardiness are most vulnerable to developing anxiety and depression while under COVID stress, and so would likely benefit from preventive intervention strategies. While anxiety and depression symptoms are highest among the young, older age groups appear more vulnerable to increasing rates of depression symptoms related to COVID stress. Clinicians and practitioners should thus be especially vigilant for COVID related increases in depression among older people, and those low in psychological hardiness.

Romas J.A., Sharma M.

This chapter covers both knowledge and awareness about managing stress. Applications for stress management include the health belief model, social cognitive theory, and multitheory model of health behavioral change. Stress affects all of us in many ways. Acute manifestations of stress predominately affect the body, while chronic stress will eventually have adverse consequences on the mind. Acute and chronic effects of stress are associated with numerous diseases, thus it is important to recognize symptoms. Dealing with expectations, change, and catastrophic disasters like COVID-19 are described in the chapter. This chapter includes important terms defined and explores four websites. Thoughts for Reflection focus on commitment and happiness. There are nine worksheets: (1) how your body reacts to acute stress, (2) do you suffer from chronic stress, (3) thought identification, (4) stress awareness log, (5) stress and tension test, (6) personal stress test, (7) Patient Health Questionnaire-9, (8) sense of coherence test, and (9) college student hardiness measure.

Ruparel N., Choubisa R., Seth H., Dubey S.

PurposeTime and again, scholars have emphasized the vitality of mental toughness for success in performance-oriented contexts. Despite the awareness about the significance of mental toughness, there is ambiguity in the conceptual consensus of the factors that comprise of the construct in an organizational setup. Second, there is a dearth of a psychometrically sound measure that assesses mental toughness among employees.Design/methodology/approachThe study follows a multi-method approach to develop a mental toughness questionnaire. First, to arrive at a consensus of the factors that construe mental toughness, a meta-ethnography was done. Subsequently, a measure of mental toughness was developed and tested following scale development norms.FindingsDrawing from the results of qualitative inquiry, four factors of mental toughness were derived, namely, perseverance, control, challenge and commitment. Then, the scale development process was followed. Results of psychometric testing using three samples were above the acceptable range, justifying the use of developed scale for academic and professional purposes.Originality/valueThis study is a novel attempt in the literature to extract factors of mental toughness through meta-ethnography and consequently develop a scale.

Wen L.L., Xiang K., Gao F., Zhou J.

This study uses an integrated model of resource conservation theory and social learning theory to explore the antecedents of hotel interns’ perceptions of occupational stigma and to explore the mechanisms inherent to retention willingness. This study first manipulated relevant subjects’ experimental materials through a contextual experiment and used a one-way ANOVA to test the effects of competence stereotypes and occupational stereotypes on hotel interns’ stigma perceptions, respectively, and then used partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) as a statistical tool and the SmartPLS 3.0 program to validate the model of hotel interns’ occupational stigma perceptions-intention. The effects of both competence stereotypes and occupational stereotypes on hotel interns’ perceptions of occupational stigma were significant. The results of the partial least squares structural equation model showed that hotel interns’ perceptions of occupational stigma significantly contributed to emotional exhaustion and that emotional exhaustion significantly influenced hotel interns’ retention willingness, hotel interns’ perceptions of occupational stigma had a significant effect on their retention willingness, while the role of emotional exhaustion as a mediating variable and occupational commitment as a moderator. The inner psychological and behavioral linkage mechanisms of hotel interns’ occupational stigma perceptions and their retention willingness under COVID-19 were explored, and the resource dynamics operating mechanism and professional commitment were also confirmed.

Pahwa S., Khan N.

Emotional resilience may be seen as the ability of an individual to cope with adversities and bounce back from failures. Emotional resilience requires a high degree of self-awareness, strong self-regulation and a host of other attributes. Factors like stress, burnout, lack of social support and negative thinking are enemies of emotional resilience. Most of the existing models of emotional resilience deal with children, adolescents, the armed forces or patients. They do not take into account factors affecting emotional resilience of an adult in general. This article aims to study the concept of emotional resilience in adults, analyse key factors affecting the same and propose a new theoretical model of emotional resilience for adults. In addition, based on the literature and experiential knowledge of the authors, this article seeks to develop 12 propositions based on the antecedents of emotional resilience in adults.

Bhattacharjee A., Ghosh T.

COVID-19 is the new face of pandemic. Since the discovery of COVID-19 in December 2019 in Wuhan, China, it has spread all over the world and the numbers are increasing day by day. Anyone can be susceptible to this infection but children, older adults, pregnant women, and people with comorbidity are more vulnerable. The spread of coronavirus resulted in closures of schools, businesses, and public spaces worldwide and forced many communities to enact stay at home orders, causing stress to all irrespective of their age, gender, or socioeconomic status. The sudden and unexpected changes caused by the outbreak of coronavirus are overwhelming for both adults and children, causing stress and evoking negative emotions like fear, anxiety, and depression, among different populations. The aim of the paper is to ascertain how stress during this pandemic inculcates various psychological health issues like depression anxiety, OCD, panic behavior, and so on. Further, the paper is an attempt to identify different general as well as population specific coping strategies to reduce the stress level among individuals and prevent various stress-induced psychological disorders with reference to different theories and research articles.

Suh K., Lee H., Bartone P.T.

Hardiness and resilience are known as internal traits that buffer the negative effects of stress and play important roles in individuals’ well-being and psychological sustainability. This study aimed to validate the Korean version of the hardiness resilience gauge (HRG Korean). Reliability and validity were analyzed using data obtained from 389 Korean adults. Confirmatory factor analysis with three factors (challenge, control, and commitment) for the HRG Korean showed acceptable model fit, with satisfactory RMSEA and SRMR indices, allowing for some covariance in error terms. Cronbach’s α for challenge, control, commitment subscales, and the total HRG Korean were 0.84, 0.74, 0.86, and 0.92, respectively. Analyses of the concurrent validity revealed that the total score of the HRG Korean was closely correlated with the scores of the KHD-SF and MR-KA, which measure hardiness and resilience in Korea, respectively. In addition, the HRG Korean was relatively strongly correlated with life satisfaction and subjective happiness. These findings suggest that the HRG is a valid instrument for measuring Koreans’ hardiness and resilience to promote their well-being and sustainability.

Gao J., Li Y., Wu X.

The psychological state of coal miners may have negative changes because of the long-term underground working environment and complex production process and will cause unsafe behaviour. Resilience can enhance the adaptability of individuals to high-risk and high-pressure environments and predict unsafe behaviour. However, currently little research has been done to develop resilience measuring tools for coal miners. Therefore, this paper revised and verified the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC) among coal miners in China and developed an individual resilience scale available for the coal industry. Five hundred and twenty subject coal miners have finished the initial test, and the exploratory factor analysis and reliability analysis were used to revise the CD-RISC. Another survey on 639 samples was then conducted to assess a confirmatory factor analysis and test-retest reliability of the resilience scale. The resulting scale has two dimensions, tenacity and strength, including a collection of 6 items. This study assists in further exploring the structural factor of individual resilience level for China coal industry, and provides a new research idea for occupational health, and contributes to the safety management and sustainable development of the coal enterprises. • A reliable resilience scale has been revised and verified for Chinese coal miners based on the CD-RISC. • The resilience scale has two dimensions, tenacity and strength, based on six items. • This paper focuses on miners' psychological state and provides a new research idea for occupational health. • It contributes to the safety management and sustainable development of the coal mining industry.