4 research outputs found
Entrepreneurs as parents : the antecedents and consequence of parenting stress
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to understand parenting stress of entrepreneurs and to attempt to extend the empirical evidence on the predictors and consequences of parenting stress for entrepreneurs.
Design/methodology/approach
This study draws on data from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia Survey. The quantitative research method was used. Drawing on the data of 2,051 entrepreneurs, a model was tested using structural equation modeling.
Findings
The results reveal that social support is a strong predictor of parenting stress and that there is a direct effect between parenting stress and family to work interference (FWI). In addition, parenting stress partially mediates the relationship between social support and FWI. Adding a direct path from social support to FWI substantially improves the validity in a revised model. No effects of gender stereotypes are found.
Originality/value
This study attempts to extend previous work on parenting and vocational behavior by investigating the perceptional and stereotypical antecedents of parenting stress and examining the impact of parenting stress on FWI. To the challenges of parenting, many entrepreneurs face constant pressure to achieve a positive return in their business venture and work hard, for long hours. Therefore, a better understanding of entrepreneurs’ parenting roles and stress can shed some light on the challenges faced by self-employed individuals and contributes to the vocational behavior and career development literature and practical experiences
Longitudinal investigation on personality traits and mental health relationships : the mediating role of work-family interference and enhancement
Background
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of the Big Five personality traits on work-family interference/enhancement and mental health using a three-wave longitudinal design.
Participants and procedure
The paper draws on a sample (N = 886) from the Household, Income and Labor Dynamics in Australia survey. Structural equation modeling was used to examine the measures of the variables and assess their associations across three time periods.
Results
The results indicate that conscientiousness and emotional stability are the personality traits that are associated with work-to-family enhancement over time. In addition, work-to-family enhancement is a mediator between emotional stability and mental health. Overall, there exists a positive reciprocal relationship between work-to-family enhancement and mental health throughout the three waves.
Conclusions
This study showed that there is a bidirectional positive link between work-to-family enhancement and mental health. The findings suggest that organizations will benefit not only from developing interventions to enrich employees’ work skills, behaviors/attitudes but also from promoting their mental health and emotional stability. This study is the first to confirm the partial mediation role of work-to-family enhancement between emotional stability and mental health, and bidirectional relations of work-to-family enhancement and mental health. Moreover, the longitudinal design of this study overcomes the limitations of prior cross-sectional studies in evaluating the relationships of constructs
The Effects of Interferon alpha 2b on Chemically-induced Peritoneal Fibrosis and on Peritoneal Tissue MMP-2 and TIMP-2 Levels in Rats
This study investigated the effect of interferon alpha 2b on chlorhexidine gluconate (CH)-induced peritoneal fibrosis (PF) in rats and assessed peritoneal tissue levels of metalloproteinase (MMP)-2 and tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases (TIMP)-2. Wistar albino rats (n = 8 per group) were treated as follows: control group, 3 ml/day of 0.9% saline intraperitoneally for 28 days; CH group, 0.1% CH (200 g [3 ml]/day) in 15% ethanol and 0.9% saline intra-peritoneally for 28 days; CH + interferon (IFN) group, CH (as above) plus pegylated IFN-alpha 2b 1.5 mu g/kg per week subcutaneously on days 0, 7, 14, 21 and 28; IFN group, pegylated IFN-alpha 2b (as above). Parietal peritoneum samples were obtained from the left anterior abdominal wall after 35 days. Parietal thickness, degree of vascular proliferation and inflammation, and MMP-2 and TIMP-2 levels were determined. The mean peritoneal thicknesses of the control, CH, CH + IFN and IFN groups were 7.02 +/- 3.89, 156.86 +/- 29.13, 59.88 +/- 22.1, 9.27 +/- 2.03 mu m, respectively. Pegylated IFN-alpha 2b decreased CH-induced expression of MMP-2 in the parietal peritoneum, but had no effect on TIMP-2 levels. Further studies are needed to determine the optimal dosage and duration for pegylated IFN-alpha 2b treatment
The Effects of Interferon α2b on Chemically-Induced Peritoneal Fibrosis and on Peritoneal Tissue MMP-2 and TIMP-2 Levels in Rats
This study investigated the effect of interferon alpha 2b on chlorhexidine gluconate (CH)-induced peritoneal fibrosis (PF) in rats and assessed peritoneal tissue levels of metalloproteinase (MMP)-2 and tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases (TIMP)-2. Wistar albino rats (n = 8 per group) were treated as follows: control group, 3 ml/day of 0.9% saline intraperitoneally for 28 days; CH group, 0.1% CH (200 g [3 ml]/day) in 15% ethanol and 0.9% saline intra-peritoneally for 28 days; CH + interferon (IFN) group, CH (as above) plus pegylated IFN-alpha 2b 1.5 mu g/kg per week subcutaneously on days 0, 7, 14, 21 and 28; IFN group, pegylated IFN-alpha 2b (as above). Parietal peritoneum samples were obtained from the left anterior abdominal wall after 35 days. Parietal thickness, degree of vascular proliferation and inflammation, and MMP-2 and TIMP-2 levels were determined. The mean peritoneal thicknesses of the control, CH, CH + IFN and IFN groups were 7.02 +/- 3.89, 156.86 +/- 29.13, 59.88 +/- 22.1, 9.27 +/- 2.03 mu m, respectively. Pegylated IFN-alpha 2b decreased CH-induced expression of MMP-2 in the parietal peritoneum, but had no effect on TIMP-2 levels. Further studies are needed to determine the optimal dosage and duration for pegylated IFN-alpha 2b treatment