scholarly journals Stress among on-duty firefighters: an ambulatory assessment study

PeerJ ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. e5967 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susana Rodrigues ◽  
Joana S. Paiva ◽  
Duarte Dias ◽  
João Paulo S. Cunha
Keyword(s):  
Occupational Health ◽  
Physiological Stress ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Stressful Events ◽  
Ambulatory Assessment ◽  
Healthy Population ◽  
Stress Reactions ◽  
Stress Appraisal ◽  
Assessment Protocol ◽  
Medical Quality

Background Stress at work has been broadly acknowledged as a worldwide problem and has been the focus of concern for many researchers. Firefighting, in particular, is frequently reported as a highly stressful occupation. In order to investigate firefighters’ occupational health in terms of stress events, perceptions, symptoms, and physiological reactions under real-world conditions, an ambulatory assessment protocol was developed. Methods Seventeen firefighters’ cardiac signal was continuously monitored during an average of three shifts within a working week with medical clinically certified equipment (VitalJacket®), which allows for continuous electrocardiogram (ECG) and actigraphy measurement. Psychological data were collected with a software application running on smartphones, collecting potential stressful events, stress symptoms, and stress appraisal. Results A total of 450.56 h of medical-quality ECG were collected, and heart rate variability (HRV) analysis was performed. Findings suggest that although ‘fire’ situations are more common, ‘accidents’ are more stressful. Additionally, firefighters showed high levels of physiological stress (based on AVNN and LF/HF HRV metrics) when compared to normative healthy population values that may not be diagnosed using merely self-reports. Discussion The proposed ambulatory study seems to be useful for the monitoring of stress levels and its potential impact on health of first responders. Additionally, it could also be an important tool for the design and implementation of efficient interventions and informed management resolutions in real time. Potential applications of this research include the development of quantified occupational health (qOHealth) devices for real life monitoring of emergency personnel stress reactions.

Ambulatory Assessment

2009 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 109-119 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ulrich W. Ebner-Priemer ◽  
Timothy J. Trull
Keyword(s):  
Real Time ◽  
Clinical Psychology ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Ambulatory Assessment ◽  
Computer Assisted ◽  
Affective Valence ◽  
Time Data ◽  
Physiological Processes ◽  
Context Specific ◽  
Questionnaire Studies

Convergent experimental data, autobiographical studies, and investigations on daily life have all demonstrated that gathering information retrospectively is a highly dubious methodology. Retrospection is subject to multiple systematic distortions (i.e., affective valence effect, mood congruent memory effect, duration neglect; peak end rule) as it is based on (often biased) storage and recollection of memories of the original experience or the behavior that are of interest. The method of choice to circumvent these biases is the use of electronic diaries to collect self-reported symptoms, behaviors, or physiological processes in real time. Different terms have been used for this kind of methodology: ambulatory assessment, ecological momentary assessment, experience sampling method, and real-time data capture. Even though the terms differ, they have in common the use of computer-assisted methodology to assess self-reported symptoms, behaviors, or physiological processes, while the participant undergoes normal daily activities. In this review we discuss the main features and advantages of ambulatory assessment regarding clinical psychology and psychiatry: (a) the use of realtime assessment to circumvent biased recollection, (b) assessment in real life to enhance generalizability, (c) repeated assessment to investigate within person processes, (d) multimodal assessment, including psychological, physiological and behavioral data, (e) the opportunity to assess and investigate context-specific relationships, and (f) the possibility of giving feedback in real time. Using prototypic examples from the literature of clinical psychology and psychiatry, we demonstrate that ambulatory assessment can answer specific research questions better than laboratory or questionnaire studies.

scholarly journals Experimentally-induced and real-world acute anxiety have no effect on goal-directed behaviour

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
CM Gillan ◽  
MM Vaghi ◽  
FH Hezemans ◽  
Grothe S van Ghesel ◽  
J Dafflon ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Anxiety Disorders ◽  
Healthy Volunteers ◽  
Real World ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Stressful Events ◽  
Panic Attacks ◽  
Healthy Individuals ◽  
Correlational Design ◽  
Acute Anxiety

AbstractCompulsivity is associated with failures in goal-directed control, an important cognitive faculty that protects against developing habits. But might this effect be explained by co-occurring anxiety? Previous studies have found goal-directed deficits in other anxiety disorders, and to some extent when healthy individuals are stressed, suggesting this is plausible. We carried out a causal test of this hypothesis in two experiments (between-subject N=88; within-subject N=50) that used the inhalation of hypercapnic gas (7.5% CO2) to induce an acute state of anxiety in healthy volunteers. In both experiments, we successfully induced anxiety, assessed physiologically and psychologically, but this did not affect goal-directed performance. In a third experiment (N=1413), we used a correlational design to test if real-life anxiety-provoking events (panic attacks, stressful events) impair goal-directed control. While small effects were observed, none survived controlling for individual differences in compulsivity. These data suggest that anxiety has no meaningful impact on goal-directed control.

scholarly journals Teacher Stress: A Psychobiological Approach to Stressful Interactions in the Classroom

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander Wettstein ◽  
Sandra Schneider ◽  
Martin grosse Holtforth ◽  
Roberto La Marca
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Stress ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Subjective Perception ◽  
Stress Reactions ◽  
Psychological Measures ◽  
Primary Stress ◽  
Biological Stress ◽  
Self Reports ◽  
Classroom Disruptions ◽  
Psychobiological Approach

Teachers report elevated levels of stress and psychosomatic illnesses compared to other professions. Teacher stress has far-reaching consequences on their health outcomes, the student's motivation, and the economy. However, research on teacher stress relies mainly on self-reports, hence, assesses stress on purely subjective perception. Personal or subjective aspects can strongly influence these measures, and biological stress may even be unnoticed. It is, therefore, necessary to include both subjective and objective measures to investigate stress, preferably in real-life situations. This review aims to demonstrate the importance of a psychobiological ambulatory assessment (AA) approach to investigate teacher stress, in contrast to purely subjective measures. We discuss classroom disruptions as the primary stress factor within the classroom and how a multimethod AA approach using psychological measures while simultaneously recording classroom disruptions and biological stress reactions of teachers would enable a much deeper understanding of stressful transactional processes taking place in the classroom that has not been achieved before.

Reactions to stressful experiences

2012 ◽  
pp. 153-175
Author(s):  
Philip Cowen ◽  
Paul Harrison ◽  
Tom Burns
Keyword(s):  
Terminal Illness ◽  
Acute Stress ◽  
Stressful Events ◽  
Stress Reactions ◽  
Severe Stress ◽  
Post Traumatic Stress ◽  
Stressful Experience ◽  
Post Traumatic ◽  
Stressful Experiences

Chapter 8 begins with a description of the various components of the response to stressful events, including coping strategies and mechanisms of defence. The classification of reactions to stressful experience is discussed next. The various syndromes are then described, including acute stress reactions, post-traumatic stress disorder, special forms of response to severe stress, and adjustment disorders. The chapter ends with an account of special forms of adjustment reaction, including adjustment to bereavement (grief) and to terminal illness, and the problems of adults who experienced sexual abuse in childhood.

scholarly journals Body Status and Occupational Health Hazards of Female Workers : A Comparative Analysis

2015 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 26-30
Author(s):  
Dimpal Arora ◽  
Pooja Sitholay ◽  
Soudeep Kr Sau
Keyword(s):  
Occupational Health ◽  
Life Style ◽  
Physiological Stress ◽  
Work Group ◽  
The Body ◽  
Health Hazards ◽  
Anthropometric Measurement ◽  
Physical Work ◽  
Fat Percentage ◽  
Objective Health

Objective: Health is nothing but a state of complete physical, mental and social wellbeing not merely the absence of disease. Health depends on life style and requires the promotion of healthy life style. Health is both a consequence of an individual’s life style and factors in determining it. Working pattern or type of work has long been known to influence human health specially. The present study was under taken to evaluate the body status and physiological stress and occupational health hazards of the female workers.Methods: According to the work load the working group was classified in to low physical work group (LPWG) and the moderate type of physical work group (MPWG). Eighty women (forty in each group), excluding pregnant women, were selected from the municipal area of Bhilai, Chhattisgarh, India, aged between 20 to 40 years. The anthropometric measurement and skin fold thickness were taken, from which the body mass index (BMI) and fat percentage were determined. The blood pressure of all the   subjects was taken by mercury sphygmomanometer at resting condition. The occupational health hazards were determined by questionnaire technique.Result: The result indicates that the MPWG workers suffer in significantly (p<0.001) low weight, BMI and Fat% than that of the LPWG workers. The MPWG workers also suffer from significantly (p<0.001) higher percentage of musculoskeletal disorder (MSD) at neck, shoulder, elbow, wrist, finger, cuff and feet-ankle joint. MPWG workers, hemoglobin concentration also significantly (p<0.01) lower than that of the LPWG workers.Conclusion: It may be concluded that, this study is helpful to identify the risk factor for the occurrence of different cardiovascular as well as musculoskeletal abnormalities and accordingly prevention program, regarding proper food habit be undertaken. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/ijosh.v4i1.12166

scholarly journals Types of Cognitive Appraisal and Undertaken Coping Strategies during Sport Competitions

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (18) ◽  
pp. 6522
Author(s):  
Kamila Litwic-Kaminska
Keyword(s):  
Coping Strategies ◽  
Stressful Events ◽  
Stressful Situation ◽  
Coping With Stress ◽  
Stress Appraisal ◽  
Coping Methods ◽  
Frequent Use ◽  
Sport Competition ◽  
Stress Coping Strategies ◽  
Post Hoc

The main aim of the research was to distinguish different types of sport competition appraisals and verify if athletes’ interpretation of a stressful situation changed their choice of coping methods. Athletes change their perception during competitions; thus, we assumed that configuration of different ways of interpreting stressful events is more important for coping than one particular appraisal. In total, 193 athletes filled out The Stress Appraisal Questionnaire and The Sport Stress-Coping Strategies Questionnaire to describe their stress appraisals and undertaken coping strategies during a remembered competition that took place within a month before the study. The athletes most often appraised stressful competitions as a challenge. They preferred the coping strategy of being determined to accomplish the established goal. The athletes hardly applied techniques that constituted the basis of mental training. The cluster analysis of the competitors determined three types of sport competition appraisals: positive, negative, and active. An ANOVA with post hoc comparisons showed that participants who revealed positive appraisals undertook the highest number of actions aimed at reaching goals and least frequently sought support. Athletes should be taught not only specific strategies for coping with stress, but also more frequent use of positive judgments of sports competitions.

scholarly journals Disturbed Cardiorespiratory Adaptation in Preeclampsia: Return to Normal Stress Regulation Shortly after Delivery?

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (13) ◽  
pp. 3149 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lackner ◽  
Papousek ◽  
Schmid-Zalaudek ◽  
Cervar-Zivkovic ◽  
Kolovetsiou-Kreiner ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Blood Pressure ◽  
Heart Rate ◽  
Systemic Vascular Resistance ◽  
Vascular Resistance ◽  
Physiological Stress ◽  
Cardiovascular Responses ◽  
Stressful Events ◽  
Severe Preeclampsia ◽  
Stroke Index ◽  
Increased Risk

Women with pregnancies complicated by preeclampsia appear to be at increased risk of metabolic and vascular diseases in later life. Previous research has also indicated disturbed cardiorespiratory adaptation during pregnancy. The aim of this study was to follow up on the physiological stress response in preeclampsia several weeks postpartum. A standardized laboratory test was used to illustrate potential deviations in the physiological stress responding to mildly stressful events of the kind and intensity in which they regularly occur in further everyday life after pregnancy. Fifteen to seventeen weeks postpartum, 35 women previously affected by preeclampsia (19 mild, 16 severe preeclampsia), 38 women after uncomplicated pregnancies, and 51 age-matched healthy controls were exposed to a self-relevant stressor in a standardized stress-reactivity protocol. Reactivity of blood pressure, heart rate, stroke index, and systemic vascular resistance index as well as baroreceptor sensitivity were analyzed. In addition, the mutual adjustment of blood pressure, heart rate, and respiration, partitioned for influences of the sympathetic and the parasympathetic branches of the autonomic nervous system, were quantified by determining their phase synchronization. Findings indicated moderately elevated blood pressure levels in the nonpathological range, reduced stroke volume, and elevated systemic vascular resistance in women previously affected by preeclampsia. Despite these moderate abnormalities, at the time of testing, women with previous preeclampsia did not differ from the other groups in their physiological response patterns to acute stress. Furthermore, no differences between early, preterm, and term preeclampsia or mild and severe preeclampsia were observed at the time of testing. The findings suggest that the overall cardiovascular responses to moderate stressors return to normal in women who experience a pregnancy with preeclampsia a few weeks after delivery, while the operating point of the arterial baroreflex is readjusted to a higher pressure. Yet, their regulation mechanisms may remain different.

Event-Related Electrodermal Response to Stress: Results From a Realistic Driving Simulator Scenario

2019 ◽  
Vol 62 (1) ◽  
pp. 138-151
Author(s):  
Yannick Daviaux ◽  
Emilien Bonhomme ◽  
Hans Ivers ◽  
Étienne de Sevin ◽  
Jean-Arthur Micoulaud-Franchi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Substance Abuse ◽  
Driving Simulator ◽  
Acute Stress ◽  
Electrodermal Activity ◽  
Stressful Events ◽  
Situational Factors ◽  
Electrodermal Response ◽  
Stress Reactions ◽  
Stress Experience ◽  
Response To Stress

Objective: The study goal was to test whether induced stress during driving could be measured at the event level through electrodermal activity responses. Background: Stress measured in simulation scenarios could thus far show an overall change in the stress state, but not be well attributed to acute stressful events. Driving simulator scenarios that induce stress measurable at the event level in realistic situations are thus warranted. As such, acute stress reactions can be measured in the context of changing situational factors such as fatigue, substance abuse, or medical conditions. Method: Twelve healthy female participants drove the same route numerous times in a driving simulator, each time with different random traffic events occurring throughout. During one of the scenarios, unknown to the participants, 10 programmed neutral traffic events occurred, whereas in another scenario, at the same location, 10 stressful events occurred. Results: Electrodermal response results showed both effects of scenario type and of events. The amplitude of the electrodermal response was significantly correlated with subjective stress experience. Conclusion: We conclude that our developed ecological driving simulation scenarios can be used to induce and measure stress at the event level. Application: The developed simulator scenarios enable us to measure stress reactions in driving situations at the time when the event actually happens. With these scenarios, we can measure how situational factors, such as fatigue or substance abuse, can change immediate stress reactions when driving. We can further measure more specifically how induced driving stress can affect physical and mental functioning afterward.

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