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Summary: Elite athletes are vulnerable to sleep and circadian disruption and associated mental health symptoms. This study aimed to investigate sex differences in sleep, circadian rhythms, and mental health, as well as the moderating role of sex in the prediction of mental health, among male professional and female semi‐professional elite athletes. Participants were 87 elite Australian Rules football (ARF) athletes (43% female; mean [standard deviation] age 24.0 [4.1] years). Participants completed baseline questionnaires, 2 weeks of sleep/wake monitoring via actigraphy, and a circadian phase assessment (dim‐light melatonin onset [DLMO]). Cross‐sectional data were collected in training‐only Australian Football League (AFL) Men's and Women's pre‐season periods, with 53 providing data in two pre‐seasons. Female athletes, relative to males, reported poorer mental health (a higher athlete psychological strain score), had a later mid‐sleep time (by 28 min), reported a greater preference towards eveningness, and displayed a later circadian phase (by 33 min). For female athletes, lower sleep efficiency and lower sleep regularity were associated with poorer mental health. For female athletes, there were U‐shaped relationships between both morningness–eveningness and phase angle (interval between sleep onset and DLMO time) and mental health. No significant relationships were found for male athletes. In summary, elite female ARF athletes reported poorer mental health, relative to males, especially when experiencing sleep or circadian disruption. Lifestyle factors associated with sex differences in ARF professionalism (scheduling, finances, supports) may contribute to these findings. Programmes to improve sleep, circadian alignment, and mental health among female semi‐professional elite athletes should be strongly considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This study aimed to identify factors associated with suicidal ideation (SI) in adolescents and to explore the mediating role of depression and hopelessness in these predictive relationships. Method: Employing a cross-sectional research design, this study included adolescents aged 14 to 19 from Lorestan Province in Iran. A total of 623 middle-school students were selected through a multi-stage cluster sampling technique. Data were collected using a series of assessment tools, including the Depressive Symptom Index-Suicidality Subscale (DSI-SS), the Psychological Strain Questionnaire, the Hopelessness Scale, the Defeat Scale, and the Thwarted Belongingness Questionnaire. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) in AMOS version 26 and SPSS version 26 was utilized to evaluate the proposed model. Results: The findings revealed that in the context of Iranian adolescents, defeat and psychological strains emerge as significant predictors of SI. Notably, hopelessness was found to mediate the relationship between psychological strains, defeat, and SI. Conclusion: These insights provide valuable knowledge for addressing the issue of SI in Iranian adolescents and may inform future prevention and intervention strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aggressive student behavior is considered one of the main risk factors for teacher stress. The present study investigated teachers' physiological and behavioral reactions when facing aggressive student behavior and examined which resources favor adaptive teacher reactions. The sample included 42 teachers. We assessed (a) teacher self-reports (i.e., resources, risk factors, and vital exhaustion) (b) classroom observations, (c) ambulatory assessments of teachers' heart rate and heart rate variability, and (d) teachers' progesterone concentrations in the hair. The present study focused on a subsample of ten teachers (9 females, Mage = 34.70, SD = 11.32) managing classes which were potentially very stressful as they had a high density of aggressive behavior. High levels of work satisfaction, hair progesterone, and a low level of work overload fostered social integrative teacher responses. Moreover, in 75% of the cases, teachers succeeded in downregulating their physiological reaction. Our results support the notion that teachers evaluate stressors in light of their resources. When they perceive their resources as insufficient for coping with a challenging situation, stress arises, and subsequently, they react inefficiently to aggressive behavior. Thus, teacher education could benefit from strengthening teacher resources and strategies for coping with aggressive student behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aversive leadership remains a relatively underexplored area in organizational behavior. This study advances the field by identifying emotional exhaustion as a key mechanism linking aversive leadership to employees’ psychological health outcomes, including psychological well-being, psychological strain, and psychological detachment. It also examines the role of Islamic work ethics (IWE) as a moderator in the relationship between aversive leadership and emotional exhaustion. Supported by conservation of resource (COR) theory, which posits that stressful workplace situations, such as aversive leadership, lead to resource depletion resulting in emotional exhaustion and poor psychological health, this study finds that individuals with strong personal resources, such as IWE, are better equipped to cope with these negative outcomes. Data were collected from 260 employees in service sector organizations of Pakistan using self-administrated questionnaires. The results supported direct and indirect effects, as well as the moderating role of IWE. This study provides valuable insights for policymakers in addressing the negative impacts of aversive leadership and offers organizations guidance on selecting and nurturing supportive and positive leaders. Such leaders can foster a healthier and more productive work environment.

Due to social comparison in the team, leader-member exchange (LMX) differentiation has been shown to play a crucial role for explaining follower outcomes. LMX differentiation may be beneficial for some followers, but also detrimental for others, when perceived as unfair. In order to understand the impact of LMX differentiation on work-related outcomes, LMX differentiation should be described by three properties (relative LMX position, LMX variability, and team-level LMX). The aim of the study is to focus on LMX differentiation and test relationships between different properties of LMX and followers' psychological strain. In sum, 75 teams with 322 followers answered an online survey about their leaders' LMX and their individual levels of psychological strain. Results of multilevel modeling showed that the relative LMX position was negatively related to psychological strain on the individual level. This relation was moderated by LMX variability and team-level LMX. However, we did not find significant relations between team-level LMX and team-level psychological strain. The present study extends previous research by looking at relations between LMX and psychological strain on an individual follower level as well as on the team level. Our results suggest that the relative position of LMX within a team seems to play a crucial role for individual follower psychological strain. Results imply that leaders should aim to improve LMX relationships within their team and to reduce differences between team members. Leadership trainings should impart knowledge and skills to improve LMX quality and include elements about LMX differentiation, its origins, as well as consequences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study harnessed job demands‐resources theory to identify key predictors of psychological strain (feeling overwhelmed by one's problems) and life satisfaction among a sample of 1060 adults randomly selected from the Australian electoral roll. The investigation sought to ascertain: (a) the relative contribution of health demands (e.g., inadequate health treatment) and health resources (e.g., access to helpful health‐related information) in predicting psychological strain and life satisfaction, (b) the extent to which a recently proposed personal resource—adaptability—explained variance in wellbeing beyond individuals' health demands and resources, and (c) the role of psychological strain in predicting life satisfaction in the context of these demands and resources. Applying structural equation modelling we found that contextual health demands predicted greater psychological strain, individual health resources and adaptability both predicted lower psychological strain and greater life satisfaction, and psychological strain predicted lower life satisfaction. Notably, the adverse effects of health demands reduced significantly when health resources and adaptability were entered into the modelling. Taken together, the findings offer support for a health demands‐resources framework that may be applied to better support individuals to respond to the stressors in their lives and in turn boost their sense of subjective wellbeing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has caused considerable uncertainty in workplaces. Building on a transactional model of stress perspective, this study develops and examines a model describing how COVID-19 generates employee job insecurity and decreases organizational citizenship behavior (OCB). This study also identified psychological strain as an important mediating factor of COVID-19 in the relationship between helping behavior and job insecurity. Data were obtained from a large private company in Taiwan in three waves of measurements to replicate the mediating effects of psychological strain on the relationship between perceived COVID-19 and its outcomes (i.e., job insecurity and OCB) with structural equation modeling. A COVID-19 event was found to evoke employees' psychological strain, resulting in increased job insecurity and diminished OCB. Such findings should assist employers in the improvement and positive appraisal of the disease crisis, as they realize that employees feel job insecurity and tend to display less helping behavior during the pandemic. Furthermore, this study contributes to a developing stream of psychological and behavioral studies on COVID-19 and its mediating role and outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The COVID-19 outbreak necessitated physical distancing, as part of secondary prevention, at a personal and professional level. Working from home (WFH) became increasingly important. In this study, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions on physical and mental health is investigated, compared with pre-pandemic data, and with employees who WFH and are on-site. Methods: Data from the German Saxon longitudinal study population were used. Attitudes towards WFH as well as mental and physical health assessments during the COVID-19 pandemic were examined. Comparisons were made with corresponding pre-pandemic scores and between employees WFH and on-site in 2022. Results: In total, 319 participants with equal gender distribution were included. Of those, 86 worked from home stating better organizability of their work, more time for partnership, less stress, and greater work satisfaction. Compared to pre-pandemic data, the D-score, PHQ-4, G-Score, and PHQ-SSS-8 showed a significant increase. No difference in physical or mental health between employees WFH and on-site was observed. Conclusion: In general, COVID-19 restrictions had a negative impact on mental and physical health. Although WFH is well accepted, it did not show significant health benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the living experience of visiting faculty in higher education institutions, i.e., postgraduate colleges and universities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Visiting faculty are sometimes called 'permanent visiting teachers'; they face a lot of hardships and challenges in their journey to achieve the milestones of acknowledgment and stability. We examine the role of visiting teachers and the challenging conditions of the academic job market by conducting an extensive analysis of existing scholarly works. We interviewed forty visiting faculty members, ensuring their confidentiality per their wishes. Our interview guide emphasised themes like employment insecurity, psychological distress, lack of support, and intellectual alienation, following Marx's Theory of Alienation. The study findings are that visiting teachers lack support from their respective departments, are denied research supervision, are given fewer opportunities to utilise the institution's resources, are delayed, and are underpaid. Such difficulties cause the visiting teachers to experience psychological stress; this is consistent with Karl Marx's thesis of alienation, as they feel cut off from the institutions, their coworkers, and themselves. Higher education institutions should implement changes such as fair recognition, prompt payment, more excellent representation, and a calm, harmonious, and expanding environment for visiting teachers. Through provoking a critical conversation, this study hopes to promote a more inclusive academic environment that recognises the priceless contributions of visiting faculty members while pursuing an equitable and prosperous educational system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This essay investigates the progression of artillery prior to and during the First World War, and examines how soldiers' and nurses' experiences of combat were transformed by the development of artillery. Psychological trauma caused by prolonged artillery bombardments, the cause and cost of attritional warfare, and the devastation of environment are also explained. It highlights the link between technology and the artillery experiences, asserting its ability to transform military doctrine, societal expectations, and responses to adversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study focuses on examining how different training conditions impact the mental well-being of athletes during the COVID-19 pandemic. It also aims to validate the Athlete Psychological Strain Questionnaire (APSQ) in the context of Iranian society. This descriptive survey was conducted on a population consisting of Iranian male and female sportspersons (16 to 40 years old), of whom 300 sportspersons were selected as the sample using snowball sampling. The tools used in this study were the APSQ, Kessler-10 Scale, and Ryff Mental Well-Being Scale, which were used online. SPSS 23 and AMOS 22 were used for data analysis. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was utilized to assess the validity of the questionnaire, while the reliability of the questionnaire was examined through the application of Cronbach's alpha coefficient. Furthermore, Pearson's correlation test was employed to assess the concurrent validity of the questionnaire. Furthermore, discriminant analysis and ROC curve were utilized for examining the discriminant validity and cut-off point. Findings: Results indicate that sportspersons who had stopped playing sports during the COVID-19 pandemic suffered more psychological strain than those who continued playing sports during this period. The number of training sessions per week and the duration of each training session exhibited a significant inverse relationship with psychological strain. However, concern about progress and athletic burnout had a significant positive association with psychological strain. Furthermore, the validity and reliability of the APSQ were proved among Iranian athletes. Conclusion: The mental well-being of athletes is correlated with the extent of their training. The psychometric validation of the APSQ was confirmed in Iranian athletes. Therefore, researchers can use this scale to examine and detect early psychological strain and the psychological consequences of COVID-19 among these athletes. Early detection of psychological problems by this instrument may aid in improving athletes’ mental health.

Building on cognitive appraisal theory of stress, we examined the direct relationship between the emotional labor strategies of employees (i.e., surface and deep acting) and outcomes (i.e., psychological strain and creativity). In addition, we investigated the indirect relationship between emotional labor strategies and outcomes via job stressors (i.e., challenge and hindrance stressors). We collected time-lagged data from service sector employees in Italy and tested the data using path analysis. We found that surface acting predicted psychological strain and creativity, and the indirect relationship between surface acting and outcomes via hindrance stressor was significant. Whereas, deep acting predicted psychological strain but not creativity and the indirect relationship between deep acting and psychological strain via challenge stressor was significant. Our data failed to support the indirect association between deep acting and creativity. Our study highlighted that emotion regulation strategies of employees were related to challenge and hindrance stressors and thus underlines that employees should carefully manage their emotional displays at work. Implications and future research directions are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The link between psychological strain and suicidal ideation is well embedded in literature, however, the underlying mechanism is rarely explored. Therefore, this study aimed to examine the relationship between psychological strain, suicidal ideation, rumination, and depression among Pakistani young adults during the Covid-19 outbreak. In addition, it will also try to determine the mediating role of ruminative subtypes and depression in the relationship between psychological strain and suicidal ideation. The sample consists of 400 university students (83 males and 289 females) with the age range from 18 to 30 years (M = 22.25, SD = 2.40). Psychological strain scale, Suicidal Ideation Scale, Beck Depression Inventory, and Ruminative Response Scale were administered to the participants. Results indicated a significant and positive association between the study variables. Psychological strain positively influenced suicidal ideation both directly, and indirectly via brooding and depression. Both variables were found to be serially mediated by the brooding subtype of rumination and depression and not with the reflective subtype. Strain theory of suicide and response style theory also postulated important insights regarding the association of these variables in young adults, among which, strain is serially related to first brooding and then depression, which is eventually related to suicidal ideation. The present study makes a significant contribution to the literature by providing a unique conceptual and theoretical framework to identify suicide at the ideation level before it proceeds to behavior during this unprecedented time of the pandemic outbreak. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing on the identity asymmetry literature, transactional stress theory, and creativity literature, we investigate how a perceived discrepancy between an individual's creative role identity and others' views toward his/her creative role identity (i.e., creative identity asymmetry) influences individual's creative performance via psychological strain. We also examine how perceived creativity requirement and self-monitoring alter the relationships between creative identity asymmetry, psychological strain, and creative performance. Based on two studies (an experimental study and a field study), we found that creative identity asymmetry was positively related to psychological strain and negatively and indirectly related to creative performance. We also found that the effects of negative asymmetry were stronger than positive asymmetry, while perceived creativity requirement and self-monitoring significantly strengthened most of these relationships. Hence, this study contributes to the literature on creativity, identity asymmetry, and stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent scholarship has shown the prevalence of work–family conflict among social workers caused by their intense job demands. Correspondingly, academics and practitioners alike have recommended work–home segmentation as an effective coping strategy to help social workers deal with work–family conflict. Drawing on the stressor-strain-outcome framework, we first conducted Study 1 using a survey of 504 social workers to test psychological strain as a mediator of the relationship between work–family conflict and job performance, and to examine if work–home segmentation buffered the mediating relationship. Contrary to prior studies, work–home segmentation only alleviated work–family conflict for some social workers, but intensified the psychological strain and reduced the job performance of other social workers. To probe this finding further, we conducted semi-structured interviews with 15 social workers in Study 2 to understand why work–home segmentation did not reduce their psychological strain. The interviews revealed that most struggled to detach themselves psychologically and emotionally from work at home. The inability to implement work–home segmentation thus became an additional stressor, and they also engaged in after-hours work-related rumination. Therefore, we encourage organisations and managers to adopt a nuanced approach when advocating work–home segmentation as a coping strategy for frontline workers to deal with work–family conflict. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Currently employees are under a great stress such as excess, role doubt, role conflict, lack of feedback, and rapid technological change. This article aimed to determine the predictors of psychological strain and identify multidimensional criteria for psychological strain. The present study includes review research articles collected from Scopus and Science Direct databases. A total of 60 articles from 2015 to 2021 have been reviewed. This study is classified into components of work stress and psychological strain and then its definitions and dimensions are classified. It was observed that work stress affects different dimensions of psychological strain. These findings also indicate work-related stressors that can be classified into two main themes, which are work characteristics and psychosocial work characteristics. This article also helps to understand the conceptual knowledge of work stress, psychological strain and its causes and consequences in the workplace. Stress management workshops can be held regularly in different organizations in different departments, which can educate employees about the sources of stress and its harmful effects on health and how to reduce stress effectively. A total of 60 research articles on work-related stress and psychological consequences were reviewed in this study. In addition, the article is classified based on the main work stressors and dimensions of psychological strain in heterogeneous occupations.

Abstract Background The COVID-19 outbreak has taken a heavy toll on the mental well-being of healthcare workers, even those who have not been directly involved in the care of acutely ill patients. The aims of this study were to identify the overall burden and mental health status of healthcare workers in pediatric developmental services under the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic, and to identify the risk and protective factors associated with mental health. Methods This cross-sectional web-based study was part of a large multicenter VOICE study conducted among employees ((neuro-)pediatricians, psychologists, speech therapists, occupational therapists, etc.) from various pediatric developmental services between June and July 2020. A total of 1291 questionnaires regarding overall burden, mental health status (depression, generalized anxiety disorder and emotional exhaustion) and risk and protective factors for mental health (working conditions, potential problems during the COVID-19 pandemic and psychological resources) were analyzed. Descriptive statistics and multiple linear regression were used for data analysis. Results A total of 44.5% (574/1291) participants felt a high or very high overall burden during the COVID-19 pandemic. Of all the participants, 14.6% (171/1173) reported clinically significant levels of depressive symptoms, 17.0% (199/1173) reported generalized anxiety disorder symptoms and 44.6% (532/1192) reported emotional exhaustion. Multiple linear regression analyses identified several common risk and protective factors for mental health status variables. The burden of an increase in the quantity of work, fear of work and fear of becoming infected showed the strongest negative associations, whereas psychological resources and sufficient relaxation in leisure time exhibited the strongest positive associations. Conclusion Employees who were not directly involved in the care of acutely ill patients were also exposed to considerable stress, some of which was not different from that experienced by professionals who were directly affected. These employees should not be lost sight of and must be offered appropriate support.

The reason that some victims of suicide behaviors survived while the others died is unknown, and few studies have been conducted for Chinese populations. We aimed to analyze the effect of suicide intent on outcomes of suicide behaviors, and to explore the impact of psychological strain on suicide intent. Data for this study was derived from two psychological autopsy research projects conducted in China. The same interview procedure and instruments were used in the two projects. Suicide intent was measured by Beck's Suicidal Intention Scale. Information on psychological strain was obtained. A total of 274 suicide deaths and 507 suicide attempters were included in the study. After controlling for socio-demographic variables, suicide intent was significantly associated with suicide death among people having suicide behaviors. Aspiration strain and coping strain were significantly associated with suicide intent. Significant intent-death association and psychological strain-suicide intent association were found in this study. Suicide intent might be an intermediate variable in the pathway from psychological strain to suicide death. Therefore, suicides might be more determined or motivated to die than those attempters who did not die of the act. Future research should continue to explore the mechanism of the psychological strain-suicide intent association, and more efforts on suicide prevention should be made from the perspective of psychological strain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]