Beyond the job demand control (-support) model : explaining stress reactions in nurses

Nurses have been identified as having a risk of experiencing stress and burnout. The nature and organization of the job make nursing inherently difficult. Research highlights that occupational stress is largely dependent on psychosocial job characteristics, such as job demands and job resources. The studies included in this thesis focus on the relationships between occupational stressors and job resources, operationalized on the basis of the JDC(-S) model, and different outcomes (such as burnout, psychological and somatic complaints, and diminished job satisfaction) among nurses. The JDC(S) model focuses on three dimensions of psychosocial working conditions: job demands and the two job resources: job control and social support. Psychosocial job demands relate to the work load, and include, for example, time pressure, role conflict and quantitative workload. Job control, or decision latitude, refers to the employe e’s ability to control his or her work activities and skill usage. Social support refers to instrumental and emotional support from colleagues and superiors. The model predicts that health and wellness are most threatened in a situation of high work demands, low control and low social support. Furthermore it is assumed that high control and high social support moderate (buffering effect) the detrimental impact of high work demands on health and wellbeing.In this dissertation, we distinguished five main questions that can extend earlier research on JDC(-S) model. More specifically: (1) beyond the JDC (-S) dimensions, which is the contribute of organizational variables on psychological well being and distress outcomes ? (2) Could the lack of support for the buffer hypotheses of the model(s) be attributable to the use of general scales to assess the JDC (-S) dimensions ? (3) The third question concerns the validity of the JDC(S) model in various countries. Is the JDC (-S) model cross-national generalizable across different countries ? (4) What is the role of individual variables in the relationships between psychosocial job characteristics on the one hand, and psychological well being and distress, on the other hand ? (5) The fifth question regards the longitudinal effects of psychosocial job characteristics on a specific construct of psychological strain. What are the across-time effects of changes in JDC(S) dimensions on burno ut indicators ?