A Malay version of perceived stress screening scale (PSS-10): psychometric evaluation among manufacturing industry workers

The 10-item Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10) is one of the most widely used scales for measuring psychological stress. It has been translated into more than 25 languages and validated among different populations. This study evaluated psychometric properties of Malay version PSS-10 in measuring perceived stress among manufacturing industry workers. A cross-sectional study was conducted in random sample of 42 workers from a pipeline manufacturing company. The Malay version PSS-10 was translated and back translated from original PSS-10. Psychometric properties of PSS-10 were evaluated by principal component analysis (construct validity), Cronbach`s alpha coefficients (internal consistency) and correlation coefficients with the 21-item Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale (DASS-21) (concurrent validity). There were no significant differences of PSS-10 scores (M=17.4) across socio-economic characteristics (p> .05). Principal component analysis with varimax rotation showed a 2-factors structure that accounted for 48.59% of the variance (Factor loadings: 0.56 - 0.76). The Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin value (0.66) and significant Bartlett`s Test of Sphericity suggested that the items were appropriate and adequate for factor analysis. Acceptable internal consistency was observed (α=0.77). Concurrent validity of PSS-10 was reflected as the moderate correlations with DASS-21 stress subscale [r(40)=0.58, p< .05]. Severely stressed respondents as classified according to DASS-21 scores had significantly higher PSS-10 scores compared to normal respondents. [F(3,38)=4.21, p< .05]. This is the first study in Malaysia to evaluate the psychometric properties of PSS-10 among manufacturing industry workers. The findings supported that Malay version PSS-10 is a valid and reliable scale to measure perceived stress level of the population

Pengaruh Tingkat Stres Dan Kadar Kortisol Dengan Jumlah Folikel Dominan Pada Penderita Infertilitas Yang Menjalani Fertilisasi Invitro

Tujuan: Mempelajari hubungan antara tingkat stres dan kadar kortisol darah dengan jumlah folikel dominan pada pasien infertilitas yang menjalani prosedur fertilisasi in vitroBahan dan Metode: Studi ini merupakan penelitian analitik cross sectionaldi dua klinik infertilitas di Surabaya selama 4 bulan. Didapatkan 30 subyek penelitian yang diambil data mengenai tingkat stres dengan menggunakan 2 kuisioner yaitu Percieved Stres Scale-10 (PSS-10) dan Infertility Reaction Scale (IRS) dan kadar kortisol darah sewaktu pagi. Subyek penelitian kemudian menjalani prosedur stimulasi ovarium dan dilakukan penghitung-an jumlah folikel dominan sebelum dilakukan tindakan ovum pick upHasil: Dengan menggunakan hasil analisa statistik korelasi Spearman didapatkan hasil hubungan negatif antara tingkat stres menggunakan skoring PSS-10 (r=0,64; p<0,01) dan juga IRS (r=0,83; p<0,01) dengan jumlah folikel dominan. Didapatkan pula hubungan negatif antara kadar kortisol darah dengan jumlah folikel dominan (r=0,80 p<0,01).Simpulan: Tingkat stres dapat berdampak pada jumlah folikel dominan. Kadar kortisol yang tinggi dapat menyebabkan jumlah folikel dominan semakin menurun

Evaluation of the Effectiveness of a Humor Workshop on the Perceived Stress of Nurse Practitioner Students

A quasi-experimental one-group pretest posttest design was used to evaluate the effectiveness of a humor workshop on the perceived stress of a sample of nurse practitioner students (n = 9) at a major university. Testing aimed at measuring perceived stress, was completed before and after participation in a orkshop focusing on the application of humor skills in the healthcare environment. For the total sample, the mean pretest score was 15.22, SD = 5.42 and the mean posttest score was 1 0.33, SD = 3.90. A dependent samples !-test revealed a statistically significant difference (t = 4.55, p \u3c .002). Results indicate that participation in a humor workshop of this type may be associated with lower levels of perceived stress

Perceived stress in obsessive-compulsive disorder is related with obsessive but not cmpulsive symptoms

Obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD) is achronic psychiatric disorder characterized by recurrent intrusive thoughts and/or repetitive compulsory behaviors. This psychiatric disorder is known to be stress responsive, as symptoms increase during periods of stress but also because stressful events may precede the onset of OCD. However, only a few and inconsistent reports have been published about the stress perception and the stress-response in these patients. Herein, we have characterized the correlations of OCD symptoms with basal serum cortisol levels and scores in a stress perceived questionnaire (PSS-10). The present data reveals that cortisol levels and the stress scores in the PSS-10 were significantly higher in OCD patients that in controls. Moreover, stress levels self-reported by patients using the PSS-10 correlated positively with OCD severity in the Yale–Brown Obsessive–Compulsive Scale (Y–BOCS). Interestingly, PSS-10 scores correlated with the obsessive component, but not with the compulsive component, of Y–BOCS. These results confirm that stress is relevant in the context of OCD, particularly for the obsessive symptomatology.Pedro Morgado is supported by a fellowship “SFRH/SINTD/60129/2009” funded by FCT – Foundation for Science and Technology. Supported by FEDER funds through Operational program for competitive factors – COMPETE and by national funds through FCT –Foundation for Science and Technology to project “PTDC/SAU-NSC/111814/2009.

Healthcare workers in Saudi Arabia (KSA) perceive stress differently according to gender but not in cortisol levels - an immunoassay study

Background: Working in the healthcare sector is generally regarded as stress inductive, which hampers performance, yet one demanding constant accuracy. This dichotomy has led to numerous investigations on the impact from perceived stress on hospital workers but focused primarily on employing psychological methods to determine perceived stress. This study sought to employ an arguably more objective measure of chronic stress on female healthcare professionals in Saudi Arabia, by assaying the concentration of hair cortisol (HCC) in parallel with stress questionnaires. Methods: Pharmacists, nurses and lab workers participated in providing hair samples. Cortisol levels were subsequently quantified using immunoassay methods. Investigations considered the variables of age, gender, and smoking, hair coloring or bleaching or working in shifts on both stress perception and HCC. Results: On average chronic stress was perceived comparably between the different healthcare professions and not differ significantly against the female control group. However, chronic stress differed significantly between genders within the healthcare profession. In contrast, HCC levels showed no direct relation to stress perception with respect to either gender or profession. HCC did, however, show steady decreases with respect to age, as an indirect measure of experience, that contrasted against the identical scores for stress perception. Finally, night shifts, smoking or hair colouring did not produce a significant change on HCC in the healthcare cohorts. Conclusions: Women in the healthcare profession perceive stress higher irrespective of profession compared to men. Also show a pattern of decreasing levels of cortisol with increasing age despite reporting similar stress perception against younger participants

Work-related stress and role of personality in a sample of Italian bus drivers

BACKGROUND: Several studies have shown that professional drivers are at risk of developing work-related stress. Stress may be responsible for a variety of adverse effects and may also be associated with an increased number of accidents. OBJECTIVE: Perform an integrated, objective and subjective evaluation of work-related stress in bus drivers, that also considered the role of personality traits. METHODS: Salivary α-amylase and cortisol were measured in 42 bus drivers. Subjective stress evaluation was performed with the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10) and Driver Stress Inventory (DSI). To evaluate personality traits, we administered the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire-Revised (EPQ-R) and the Impulsivity Inventory (IVE). RESULTS: Salivary biomarkers showed no associations with PSS-10 and personality traits. Cortisol levels were positively correlated with fatigue (r = 0.44) at the middle of the work-shift and with aggression (r = 0.51) at the end of a day off. At the end of the work-shift, cortisol levels were negatively correlated with hazard monitoring (r = -0.37) and salivary α-amylase was positively correlated with thrill-seeking (r = 0.36). Neuroticism (β = 0.44) and impulsiveness (β = 0.38) were predictors of perceived stress by multiple regression. CONCLUSIONS: An integrated method, considering both objective and subjective indicators, seems adequate to evaluate work-related stress in professional drivers. Personality traits are relevant in determining perception of stress

Trust as a mediator in the relationship between childhood sexual abuse and IL-6 level in adulthood

Childhood sexual abuse (CSA) has been shown to predict the coupling of depression and inflammation in adulthood. Trust within intimate relationships, a core element in marital relations, has been shown to predict positive physical and mental health outcomes, but the mediating role of trust in partners in the association between CSA and inflammation in adulthood requires further study. The present study aimed to examine the impact of CSA on inflammatory biomarkers (IL-6 and IL-1β) in adults with depression and the mediating role of trust. A cross-sectional survey data set of adults presenting with mood and sleep disturbance was used in the analysis. CSA demonstrated a significant negative correlation with IL-6 level (r = -0.28, p&lt;0. 01) in adults with clinically significant depression, while trust showed a significant positive correlation with IL-6 level (r = 0.36, p &lt; .01). Sobel test and bootstrapping revealed a significant mediating role for trust between CSA and IL-6 level. CSA and trust in partners were revealed to have significant associations with IL-6 level in adulthood. Counterintuitively, the directions of association were not those expected. Trust played a mediating role between CSA and adulthood levels of IL-6. Plausible explanations for these counterintuitive findings are discussed

Posttraumatic Stress Symptomatology in Aging Combat Veterans: The Direct and Buffering Effects of Stress and Social Support

AbstractThe literature has reported that some older veterans are still distressed by memories of traumatic experiences decades after wartime military service. Recent research has suggested that posttraumatic stress symptoms may appear or reappear during late life in survivors of past trauma and that stress associated with age-related changes may intensify this phenomenon. This dissertation research examined the relationship between past combat exposure and posttraumatic stress symptomatology in community-dwelling veterans of World War II and the Korean War. The risk factor of perceived stress and the protective factor of perceived social support were examined for their potential to exacerbate or mitigate this relationship. The study also investigated the effect of past combat exposure and the role of the moderating variables on health-related quality of life. A secondary aim of the research was to assess the direct effect of perceived stress and perceived social support on the outcome variables.The results indicated that past combat exposure was positively associated with experiencing posttraumatic stress symptoms in World War II and Korean War veterans. Perceived stress was found to significantly exacerbate this relationship. Direct effect relationships were found between perceived stress and both posttraumatic stress symptomatology and health-related quality of life. The mean number of posttraumatic stress symptoms experienced by participants at the symptomatic level was five. The most frequent symptom experienced was sleep disturbance, the second was becoming upset at reminders of the traumatic experience. Increased levels of posttraumatic stress symptoms were found in veterans who were not married, living in an urban area, and diagnosed with depression

Stress, Nutritional Status and Blood Glucose Levels Among Patients with Diabetes Mellitus Type 2

Prevalence of diabetes mellitus (DM) was increased significantly. Stress increased cortisol could increase blood glucose levels while obesity could increase insulin resistance. Objective of this study was to examine correlation of stress and nutritional status with blood glucose levels in patients with DM type 2. Design study was cross sectional using 120 samples from patients with DM type 2 at Polyclinic of Internal Disease Dr. Moewardi Hospital Surakarta during April-May 2018. Variables in this study were stress with perceived stress scale 10 items (PSS-10), nutritional status with body mass index (BMI) and blood glucose levels with fasting blood glucose (FBG) and post-prandial blood glucose (PPBG) examination. The results showed that mean of FBG was 152.9±63.66 mg/dL and PPBG was 213.96±70.17 mg/dL. There was no significant correlation between stress and blood glucose levels, by FBG (p=0.389) and PPBG (p=0.202). However, there was significant correlation between nutritional status and PPBG (p=0.016), but FBG was not significant (p=0.209). In conclusion, there was significant correlation between nutritional status and PPBG in patients with DM type 2, but FBG was not significant. However, there was no significant correlation between stress and blood glucose levels in patients with DM type 2