Increasing coping resources at work: A field experiment to increase social support, improve work team functioning, and enhance employee mental health

A central paradox in the mental health literature is the tendency for black Americans to report similar or better mental health than white Americans despite experiencing greater stress exposure. However, black Americans’ higher levels of certain coping resources may explain this finding. Using data from the Nashville Stress and Health Study (n = 1,186), we examine whether black Americans have higher levels of self-esteem, social support, religious attendance, and divine control than white Americans and whether these resources, in turn, explain the black–white paradox in mental health. In adjusted models, the black–white paradox holds for depressive symptoms and any DSM-IV disorder. Findings indicate that black Americans have higher levels of self-esteem, family social support, and religiosity than white Americans. Causal mediation techniques reveal that self-esteem has the largest effect in explaining black–white differences in depressive symptoms, whereas divine control has the largest effect in explaining differences in disorder.

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The Social Distribution of Distress and Well-Being in the Canadian Aboriginal Population Living Off Reserve

International Indigenous Policy Journal ◽

10.18584/iipj.2011.2.1.4 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 2 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Susan Wingert

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Social Support ◽

Health Outcomes ◽

Social Status ◽

Process Model ◽

Well Being ◽

Coping Resources ◽

Mental Health Outcomes ◽

Aboriginal Population ◽

The Social

This article examines how the social structure distributes risk and protective factors and mental health outcomes within the off reserve Aboriginal population in Canada. It uses the stress process model, a prominent model in the sociology of mental health, to explore pathways between social status, stress, coping resources, and mental health outcomes. Path analyses are used to decompose total effects on distress and well-being into direct and indirect or mediating pathways. The results suggest that stress, mastery, and social support are important mediators between social status and mental health outcomes. Stress appears to be a stronger contributor to distress while mastery and social support are of higher relative importance to well-being.

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Determinants of employee mental health in the South African public service: the role of organizational citizenship behaviours and workplace social support

Advances in Mental Health ◽

10.1080/18387357.2021.1938153 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-11

Author(s):

M. S. Mathibe ◽

W. T. Chinyamurindi

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Social Support ◽

South African ◽

Organizational Citizenship ◽

Public Service ◽

The South ◽

Organizational Citizenship Behaviours ◽

Workplace Social Support ◽

Employee Mental Health

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Psychosocial coping resources and health among Germans and Poles

Polish Psychological Bulletin ◽

10.2478/v10059-011-0016-8 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 42 (3) ◽

pp. 114-122 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Harry Schrőder ◽

Konrad Reschke ◽

Angelika Gärtner ◽

Łukasz Kaczmarek ◽

Helena Sęk ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Social Support ◽

Self Efficacy ◽

Self Esteem ◽

Cross Cultural ◽

Coping Resources ◽

West Germany ◽

Proactive Coping ◽

Satisfaction With Life Scale ◽

Mental Health Questionnaire

Psychosocial coping resources and health among Germans and Poles Culture has a substantial impact on mechanism of coping with stress and related health outcomes. We proposed a model emphasizing the mediating role of coping resources and competences in the relationship between controllability of demands in professional/educational life and health in the cross-cultural context. The model is based on the transactional model of stress. 595 participants from East Germany, West Germany and Poland completed: Sense of Coherence Scale SOC-9, Self-Esteem Scale, Social Support Scale, Generalized Self-Efficacy Scale, Proactive Coping Inventory, Scale of Demands in Professional Life, Brief Stress Scale, Satisfaction with Life Scale and Mental Health Questionnaire. The results have shown the general cross-cultural validity of the proposed mediational model but also indicated some cultural differences in the determinants of health. Germans had higher self-esteem and social support. Poles had higher self-efficacy and used proactive coping strategies more often. Self-esteem was the strongest predictor of mental health in both nations. We discussed the results within a broad interpretive framework of social transitions.

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Examination the effects of stress coping with interpersonal stress and social support as coping resources to mental health

The Proceedings of the Annual Convention of the Japanese Psychological Association ◽

10.4992/pacjpa.78.0_l-015 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 78 (0) ◽

pp. L-015-L-015

Author(s):

Masahiro Takamoto ◽

Atsushi Aikawa

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Social Support ◽

Coping Resources ◽

Interpersonal Stress ◽

Stress Coping ◽

Effects Of Stress

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Individual, social and national coping resources and their relationships with mental health and anxiety: A comparative study in Israel, Italy, Spain, and the Netherlands during the Coronavirus pandemic

Global Health Promotion ◽

10.1177/1757975921992957 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 175797592199295

Author(s):

Adi Mana ◽

Sabina Super ◽

Claudia Sardu ◽

Dolors Juvinya Canal ◽

Neuman Moran ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Social Support ◽

Coping Resources ◽

Situational Factors ◽

Psychological Reactions ◽

Anxiety Levels ◽

The Difference ◽

Governmental Institutions ◽

Salutogenic Model ◽

The Individual

Employing the salutogenic model, we asked how individuals in different countries cope with the COVID-19 crisis and stay healthy. We were interested in exploring the individual (i.e. sense of coherence) as well as the social and national resources (i.e. social support, sense of national coherence, and trust in governmental institutions) that could explain levels of mental health and anxiety during the outbreak of the pandemic. Data collection was conducted via convenience sampling on online platforms, during the end of March and the beginning of April 2020. The data included four samples: 640 Israeli participants (319 males), 622 Dutch participants (177 males), 924 Italian participants (338 males) and 489 Spanish participants (117 males); age range of 18–88 years. The questionnaires included standard tools (MHC-SF, GAD-7, SOC, SONC). Several questions were adapted to the context of coronavirus and measured levels of exposure to COVID-19, trust in governmental institutions, and social support. The results significantly confirmed the suggested salutogenic model regarding the contribution to individual and national coping resources to anxiety levels and mental health. The patterns of the coping resources in explaining anxiety and mental health were similar in the four samples, and SOC was the main predictor these outcomes. Despite these similarities, a different pattern and also different magnitudes of the predictive value of the coping resources were found for the two different reactions: anxiety vs. mental health. While SOC and situational factors (like financial threat) were significant in explaining anxiety levels, the SOC and national resources were found as significant in explaining mental health levels. The findings support the salutogenic approach in studying reactions during pandemic time. They also shed some light on the difference between pathogenic and salutogenic measures in studying psychological reactions to stressful situations.

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Suicide Attempters, Suicide Ideators, and Non-Ideators

Crisis ◽

10.1027/0227-5910/a000554 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 40 (4) ◽

pp. 294-297 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Tobias Teismann ◽

Laura Paashaus ◽

Paula Siegmann ◽

Peter Nyhuis ◽

Marcus Wolter ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Social Support ◽

Protective Factors ◽

Suicide Ideation ◽

Suicide Attempts ◽

Self Esteem ◽

Positive Mental Health ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Reasons For Living ◽

Suicide Attempters

Abstract. Background: Suicide ideation is a prerequisite for suicide attempts. However, the majority of ideators will never act on their thoughts. It is therefore crucial to understand factors that differentiate those who consider suicide from those who make suicide attempts. Aim: Our aim was to investigate the role of protective factors in differentiating non-ideators, suicide ideators, and suicide attempters. Method: Inpatients without suicide ideation ( n = 32) were compared with inpatients with current suicide ideation ( n = 37) and with inpatients with current suicide ideation and a lifetime history of suicide attempts ( n = 26) regarding positive mental health, self-esteem, trust in higher guidance, social support, and reasons for living. Results: Non-ideators reported more positive mental health, social support, reasons for living, and self-esteem than suicide ideators and suicide attempters did. No group differences were found regarding trust in higher guidance. Suicide ideators and suicide attempters did not differ regarding any of the study variables. Limitations: Results stem from a cross-sectional study of suicide attempts; thus, neither directionality nor generalizability to fatal suicide attempts can be determined. Conclusion: Various protective factors are best characterized to distinguish ideators from nonsuicidal inpatients. However, the same variables seem to offer no information about the difference between ideators and attempters.

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