Biomedical subjects

C D Spielberger

Publications and source records attributed to C D Spielberger.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed1999

The Job Stress Survey: assessing perceived severity and frequency of occurrence of generic sources of stress in the workplace.

In this article, the authors respond to comments in the October 1998 issue of the Journal of Occupational Health Psychology (Vol. 3, No. 4) in regard to measuring occupational stress with the Job Stress Survey (JSS). The authors are pleased that (a) the need to assess the perceived severity and frequency of occurrence of specific sources of occupational stress was acknowledged and (b) job pressure and lack of organizational support were recognized as key dimensions of stress in the workplace. In addressing concerns about the independence of JSS severity and frequency ratings and the utility of the JSS for assessing jobs with extensive person-machine interactions, the authors noted that correlations among JSS severity and frequency scores were relatively low, and that person-focused stressor items were relevant for employees with person-machine jobs because most workers are required to deal with supervisors and fellow employees. It was concluded that the JSS provides important information about sources of occupational stress that can adversely affect the health and productivity of men and women employed in a wide variety of work settings.

Female↗

PubMed1998

Occupational stress: measuring job pressure and organizational support in the workplace.

Person-environment fit and demand-control theoretical models developed to explain stress and strain in the workplace have guided the construction of most measures of occupational stress. The strengths and limitations of 8 job stress measures are briefly reviewed, and the Job Stress Survey (JSS), designed to assess the severity and frequency of occurrence of 30 specific sources of occupational stress, is described in some detail. Factor analyses of responses to the JSS items identified Job Pressure and Lack of Organizational Support as major dimensions of occupational stress for male and female employees in a wide variety of work settings. JSS Index, scale, subscale, and item scores assess general and specific aspects of the work environment that are most distressing for individual workers and that adversely affect groups of employees.

Adult↗

PubMed1998

Factor structure of the State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory for middle-aged men and women.

Recently, Forgays, Forgays, and Spielberger (in press) reported the first exploratory factor analysis of the total 44-item State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory (STAXI) by gender. The analyses were based on a sample of over 700 male and female university students and identified quite well six of the original STAXI scales and subscales. In addition, a seventh factor, "Feel-Like-Expressing-Anger," emerged for women. In the present study, we examined the STAXI responses from a middle-aged adult population. Exploratory factor analyses replicated the majority of the original structure of the STAXI measure including a Feel-Like-Expressing-Anger factor for men and women. In addition, we employed confirmatory factor analyses and cross-validation procedures to test the validity of Spielberger's (1988) AHA! model. Based on these procedures, we found (a) that a seven-factor model provided a better fit than a six-factor solution for each gender and (b) evidence of robust gender differences for two factors: Feel-Like-Expressing-Anger and State Anger. These gender differences are consistent with the social costs for anger expression in women and the social benefits for men.

Adult↗

PubMed1998

Positive and negative affect in the factor structure of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Japanese workers.

The factor structure of Form Y of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-Y) was examined with 1,862 Japanese adult workers (1,509 men, 353 women). The initial principal component analysis extracted three factors based on the scree test. All 20 state (S-Anxiety) and 20 trait (T-Anxiety) items had dominant salient loadings on the first factor, which reflected "over-all anxiety." The three factors identified by an oblique (promax) rotation were labeled "anxiety-absent," "state anxiety-present," and "trait anxiety-present." All 20 items with dominant salient loadings on the first oblique factor were clearly grouped on the basis of their content, indicating the absence of anxiety. The second and third oblique factors, defined almost entirely by the STAI-Y anxiety-present items, clearly reflected the state-trait distinction in this sample of Japanese workers.

Adult↗

PubMed1998

The Japanese adaptation of the STAI Form Y in Japanese working adults--the presence or absence of anxiety.

Symptom endorsements and response patterns of 1,862 Japanese adult workers (1,509 males and 353 females) to the Japanese adaptation of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory Form Y (STAI-JY) items, were examined in this study. The mean STAI-JY State and Trait anxiety scores of Japanese workers were substantially higher than those of American workers reported in the Manual, due primarily to the much higher scores of Japanese workers in responding to the anxiety-absent items. The correlations between the State and Trait anxiety-present scales and those of their anxiety-absent scales' counterparts were higher than those between the State anxiety-present and -absent scales and those of their Trait scales' counterparts. These findings suggested that responses to anxiety-present and -absent items should be considered independently in scoring the STAI-JY scales in Japanese working adults.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1997

Factor structure of the State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory.

The assessment of anger has received increased attention because of growing evidence that anger and hostility are related to heart disease. Research on anger assessment has also been stimulated by the development of psychometric measures for evaluating different facets of anger, such as the State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory (STAXI). In this study, factor analyses of the responses of a large sample of university students to the 44 STAXI items identified 7 factors. Of these, the first 6 factors closely corresponded with the 6 STAXI scales and subscales: State Anger (S-Anger); Trait Anger Temperament and Reaction; and Anger-In, Anger-Out, and Anger-Control. All 10 STAXI S-Anger items had salient loadings on the 1st factor for both sexes; the 7th factor also consisted primarily of S-Anger items. Factor analyses of responses to the 10 S-Anger items clearly confirmed two S-Anger factors for both sexes: Feeling Angry (e.g., "I am furious") and Feel Like Expressing Anger (e.g., "I feel like hitting someone").

Adult↗

PubMed1997

Anger and drug addiction.

Differences in the experience, expression, and control of anger were evaluated for young-adult drug addicts and a control group (matched in age, residence, and education) of nondrug users from Southern Italy. The Italian adaptation of Spielberger's State- Trait Anger Expression Inventory (STAXI) was administered with standard instructions to both groups. Drug abusers had significantly higher scores on the STAXI State and Trait scales, the Trait-Angry Temperament and Reaction sub-scales, and the Anger-Out and Total Anger Expression scales, and significantly lower scores on Anger-Control. These findings indicate that the drug abusers experienced anger more often than the nonusers, were more likely to express anger toward other persons or objects in the environment, and had less control of their angry feelings.

Adult↗

PubMed1992

The Rationality/Emotional Defensiveness Scale--II. Convergent and discriminant correlational analysis in males and females with and without cancer.

The psychological correlates of the Rationality/Emotional Defensiveness Scale and its two subscales were examined in 1236 males and 863 females from the Western Collaborative Group Study. An additional 157 males and 164 females with some form of cancer other than of the skin were also included in this analysis. Characteristics measured included self-reported emotional control, anger expression, trait personality, depressive and neurotic symptomatology, Type A behavior, hostility, and social desirability. Results indicate that the Rationality/Emotional Defensiveness Scale is most strongly related to the suppression and control of emotions, especially anger. Scores on this scale also tend to be associated with less Type A behavior and hostility and with more social conformity. Analysis of the component subscale suggests that Antiemotionality, i.e. the extent to which an individual uses reason and logic to avoid interpersonally related emotions, is most strongly marked by the control of anger, while Rationality, i.e. the extent to which an individual uses reason and logic as a general approach to coping with the environment, is related to the control of anxiety and a higher level of trait curiosity. The psychological interpretation of the scale appears to be largely invariant across gender, unaffected by residualization of the total scale score for its association with Social Desirability, and, except for a few minor instances, unrelated to the diagnosis of cancer.

Aged↗

PubMed1992

Injury control. A promising field for psychologists.

Injury is the fourth leading cause of death for all Americans and the most frequent cause of death for those from age 1 to 45. Moreover, injury is associated with higher treatment costs and with greater lost life-years than the other three leading causes of death. Traffic accidents are the leading cause of severe brain injury, including most paraplegic and quadriplegic cases. Because injury control is essentially psychological, there are many opportunities for psychologists to contribute, both to scientific research on the causes of injury and to clinical interventions for injury control.

Health Behavior↗

PubMed1992

Profile of the membership of the Society for Personality Assessment: comparisons between 1987 and 1990.

In this study, we report the findings of a 1990 survey of the membership of the Society for Personality Assessment (SPA) and compare these results with a similar survey conducted in 1987. A four-page questionnaire was sent to approximately 1,800 SPA members; 900 surveys were returned, for a 50% response rate. Information was obtained on professional activities, occupational setting, theoretical orientation, and various demographic characteristics. Clinical practice was reported as the primary professional activity of the vast majority of SPA members; more than 40% of the 1990 sample indicated private practice as their primary job setting, compared to 35% in I987. A larger proportion of SPA members are also now working in private/clinical practice, medical centers, and outpatient community clinics than in 1987. Although a psychodynamic-psychoanalytic orientation continues to be the dominant theoretical perspective of SPA members, the proportion of members with a cognitive-behavioral orientation has increased substantially since 1987. We concluded that SPA members are now more involved in clinical practice, and that the SPA has become more ecumenical in theoretical perspective as the membership has more than doubled over the past 3 years.

Journal Article↗

PubMed1991

The Rationality/Emotional Defensiveness Scale--I. Internal structure and stability.

In a 10-year prospective study, Grossarth-Maticek and colleagues reported that the tendency to repress and/or deny emotions was strongly predictive of cancer mortality. The method used to assess repression/denial was modified recently by Spielberger to form the Rationality/Emotional Defensiveness (R/ED) Scale. The present study investigates the psychometric properties of the R/ED Scale in 1236 male (mean age = 71.8 yr) and 863 female (mean age = 68.5 yr) participants in a 27-year follow-up of the Western Collaborative Group Study. Analyses revealed high interitem consistency (Cronbach's alpha = 0.77 and 0.78 for men and women, respectively) and two independent and stable factors that we labeled 'Anti-emotionality' (27% of total variance) and 'Rationality' (21% of total variance). Excluding cancer subjects, significant gender differences were observed for individual items, total R/ED score, and the two subscales. Comparisons of the 159 male cancer patients and the 175 female cancer patients with the corresponding noncancer subjects suggest possible gender x cancer status and age x cancer status interactions. These results challenge Grossarth-Maticek's assertion that rationality/anti-emotionality is a unidimensional construct and indicate the need to take into account the effect of age and gender on the presence of these psychological constructs.

Aged↗

PubMed1991

War-related stress. Addressing the stress of war and other traumatic events.

A task force on war-related stress was convened to develop strategies for prevention and treatment of psychological, psychosocial, and psychosomatic disorders associated with the Persian Gulf War and other extreme stressors facing communities in general. The task force focused on the return home, reunion, and reintegration of service personnel with their families and work. Although the Persian Gulf War was won with relative ease, negative psychological sequelae may develop in some individuals because of the stress of war, family disruption, financial difficulty, and changes in family routines. Typical stress reactions and modes of coping that are usually unsuccessful or destructive were outlined, and suggestions were made for monitoring these. In addition, guidelines for successful coping were developed. Special attention was given to children's reactions and needs. Recommendations were made for outreach and intervention on the policy, systems (e.g., schools, businesses, governmental agencies), family, and individual levels.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMed1989

Effects of smoking/nicotine on anxiety, heart rate, and lateralization of EEG during a stressful movie.

The effects of smoking cigarettes with differing FTC nicotine deliveries on anxiety and EEG activity were evaluated in 40 smokers who were compared with 40 non-smokers, matched for age and gender. Following smoking (sham-smoking in the case of the non-smokers), the participants viewed a stress-inducing movie. Smoking higher-nicotine delivery cigarettes during the movie, as compared to smoking low-nicotine control cigarettes, was associated with reductions in anxiety and right hemisphere activation, increased heart rate, and enhancement of the ratio of left-hemisphere parietal EEG activation to right-hemisphere activation. These results are interpreted as indicating that the anxiolytic effects of nicotine may be mediated by the right hemisphere. The EEG activity and emotional responses of non-smokers were more like those of smokers who smoked the lower-nicotine cigarettes than those of smokers of the higher-nicotine cigarettes.

Adult↗

PubMed1988

Personality and smokeless tobacco use.

Smokeless tobacco use and personality factors associated with smokeless tobacco use were examined in a broad, representative sample of 8th and 10th graders from central and south-central Florida (n = 1413). Current, occasional, or ex-users of smokeless tobacco accounted for 51% of the males and 9% of the females. Smokeless tobacco users, as compared to non-users, had significantly higher Trait Anger, and Angry Temperament and Angry Reaction subscale scores on the State-Trait Personality Inventory, suggesting a possible role in the initiation of smokeless tobacco use. There were no differences in Trait Anger, Anxiety, or Curiosity scores between the three user groups, suggesting that trait personality does not play a role in the maintenance of smokeless tobacco use.

Adult↗

PubMed1987

Effects of smoking on heart rate, anxiety, and feelings of success during social interaction.

The effects of smoking on heart rate (HR) and emotional processes during social interactions were assessed in 12 smokers. Smoking was associated with less anxiety and with enhanced feelings of being successful both in changing the opinions of others and in expressing one's own point of view. These findings are consistent with others in the literature. The increase in HR during social interactions in which the participants smoked was similar in magnitude to the HR increase associated with speaking versus listening during conversation. The effects of smoking and social interaction on HR appeared to be additive. Smoking during the social interaction increased HR only about half as much as is typically reported for smokers seated quietly in nonsocial situations.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMed1987

Emotional and familial determinants of elevated blood pressure in black and white adolescent females.

The relationship between various measures of the expression and experience of anger (and anxiety), traditional risk factors and blood pressure were examined in a sample of black and white female adolescents who were enrolled in health science courses in Tampa, Florida. Whereas a number of the personality and traditional risk factors were significantly correlated with blood pressure, body mass (w/h2) was the most consistent predictor of blood pressure (SBP and DBP) for both black and white females. The findings examining the relationship between suppressed anger (AX/Anger-In) and blood pressure show that SBP and DBP was significantly higher for both black and white females who frequently harbored grudges and held in their angry feelings. In addition, the relationship of AX/Anger-In scores and blood pressure appears to have a 'threshold'.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1987

Emotional and familial determinants of elevated blood pressure in black and white adolescent males.

The relationships between blood pressure and several personality and traditional risk factors were examined in a sample of black and white adolescent males who were enrolled in a health science course in Tampa, Florida. Although a number of personality and traditional risk factors significantly predicted elevated blood pressure for both groups of adolescent males, suppressed anger and weight were the major independent predictors. Among black and white males, those who generally harbored grudges and suppressed their anger had higher systolic blood pressure; diastolic blood pressure was higher only for the white males who frequently held in their angry feelings. Weight and excessive salt usage significantly predicted both elevated systolic and diastolic pressures for white males, while these variables significantly predicted systolic pressures for black males. Familial factors were found to be independent predictors of systolic and diastolic blood pressure only for the white adolescent males. A further examination of the relationship between the frequency that anger is suppressed shows that the shape of the curves relating anger-in scores to blood pressure appears to have a 'threshold'. These findings indicate that adolescent males who are at increased risk for elevated systolic and diastolic blood pressure can be identified by how often angry feelings are held-in and suppressed.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1986

Assessment of anxiety and achievement in kindergarten and first- and second-grade children.

The psychometric properties of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children (STAIC) and relationships between STAIC T-Anxiety scores and standardized measures of achievement were determined for 948 kindergarten and first- and second-grade children. The T-anxiety scores of kindergarten children were lower than those of first- and second-graders. Internal consistency of the STAIC scales was higher in individual testing sessions than in small group administrations. Small but significant negative correlations were found between STAIC T-Anxiety scores and measures of school achievement. It was concluded that the STAIC is a potentially useful measure of state and trait anxiety in kindergarten through sixth-grade children, but it must be administered individually at the kindergarten and first-grade levels.

Achievement↗