Pharmacists' job stress as a transaction and a process

Gireesh Vijay Gupchup, Purdue University

Abstract

A conceptual framework that incorporated demographic and personality variables, primary and secondary cognitive appraisals of stressful situations, coping strategies, and job dissatisfaction was proposed to study pharmacists' job stress as a transaction and a process. The objectives of this study were to utilize the conceptual framework to: (1) study pharmacists' job stress as a transaction; and (2) study pharmacists' job stress as a process. Responses obtained from 284 Indiana pharmacists (47.4% usable response rate) were used in hierarchical regression models to test whether stress could be conceptualized as a transaction among pharmacists. Complete evidence of stress as a transaction using coping strategies as the dependent variables was obtained with seven of the 40 models tested, and primarily involved problem focused coping strategies (i.e., confrontive coping and planful problem solving). The R$\sp2$ values ranged from 18.67 to 45.68 percent. In these models variable blocks representing demographics, personality variables, and primary and secondary appraisals significantly contributed to the explained variance in the dependent variable. Partial evidence of stress as a transaction, in which at least one personal block and one cognitive appraisal block of variables were significant contributors to the explained variance in the dependent variable, was obtained for nine models using coping strategies as dependent variables. Empirical evidence for stress as a transaction using job dissatisfaction as the dependent variable was not obtained with any of the five models tested. Results obtained for stress as a transaction indicated that cognitive appraisal variables were important in predicting the extent of job dissatisfaction and the use of coping strategies among pharmacists. Empirical evidence for stress as a process was obtained since the significance of various blocks of variables as well as individual variables differed across the four different stressful situations presented to the respondents. Significant individual independent variables in the regression models were used to create profiles of pharmacists more (or less) likely to use a particular coping strategy or be dissatisfied with one's job, in a particular stressful situation. The results obtained in this study indicated that the conceptual framework was useful in understanding the psychological basis of stress among pharmacists.

Degree

Ph.D.

Advisors

Wolfgang, Purdue University.

Subject Area

Occupational safety|Personality|Occupational psychology

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