Breakdown in Human Adaptation to ‘Stress': Towards a multidisciplinary approach Volume I

ISBN-13: 9789401079747 / Angielski / Miękka / 2011 / 622 str.

J. Cullen;J. Siegrist;H. M. Wegmann

Opis

The widespread interest in "stressful" aspects of contemporary society which contribute to its burden of illness and diseases (e.g. gastro intestinal, cardiovascular) has led to a large number of state- ments and reports which relate the manifestations to a maladaptation of the individual. Furthermore, recent research suggests that under some condi tions stress may have a more generalized effect of decreasing the body's ability to combat destructive forces and expose it to a variety of diseases. Breakdown in adaptation occurs when an individual cannot cope with demands inherent in his environment. These may be due to an excessive mental or physical load, including factors of a social or psychological nature and task performance requirements ranging from those which are monotonous, simple and repetitive to complex, fast, decision-taking ones. Experience shows however that not all people placed under the same condi tions suffer similarly, and it follows that to the social and psychological environment should be added a genetic factor influencing, through the brain, the responses of individuals. It is clear that, besides human suffering, this "breakdown in adaptation" causes massive losses of revenue to industry and national health authorities. Thus a reduction in "stress," before "breakdown" occurs, or an improvement in coping with it would be very valuable.

Spis treści

1 - Psychological and Sociological Parameters for Studies of Breakdown in Human Adaptation.- I. General Overviews.- Towards a taxonomy of methods: a general overview of psychological approaches in the study of breakdown of human adaptation.- Psychological field study techniques: overview and needs.- Psychological field study techniques: a critical evaluation.- Sociological parameters in studies of breakdown: a selective overview.- Use of psychological indices in epidemiological studies: overview and needs.- Stressful life events and illness: a review with special reference to a criticism of the life-event method.- II. Conceptual Approaches.- A lifetime prospective study of human adaptation and health.- Psychosocial and psychophysiological factors in the design and the evaluation of working conditions within health care systems.- The relation of social to pathophysiological processes: evidence from epidemiological studies.- Unemployment and health: a review of methodology.- Ontogenetic development and breakdown in adaptation: a review on psychosocial factors contributing to the development of myocardial infarction, and a description of a research program.- Physiological issues in establishing links between psychosocial factors and cardiovascular illness.- White collar occupation and coronary prone behaviour.- III. Methods.- Psychological methods: an overview of clinical applications.- Psychological factors in the breakdown of human adaptation: some methodological issues.- Monitoring signs of decrease in human adaptation: use of quantitative measures available in official statistics.- Inventory of stressful life-events (ILE).- The Norwegian female climacteric project (VOS).- Questionnaire for organisational stress (VOS).- A scale for measuring the marital relationship among males.- 2 - Human Performance and Breakdown in Adaptation.- Human performance in transport operations: introductory remarks.- I. Air Transport.- Air crew workload.- Safety, individual performance and mental workload in air transport: Oedipus as Icarus.- Stress management in air transport operations: beyond alcohol and drugs.- Reasons for eliminating the “age 60” regulation for airline pilots.- Human factors education in European air transport operations.- II. Road Transport.- Behaviour research in road traffic.- Some theoretical considerations on accident research.- Accident of bus drivers — practical and methodological problems.- Effects of alcohol on driving performance: a critical look on the epidemiological, experimental and psychosocial approaches.- Investigations on the influence of continuous driving on the motion activity of vehicle drivers.- III. Sea Transport.- Human performance in seafaring.- Stress factors and countermeasures in navigation.- Ship of the future: human problems and performance.- Accidents on board merchant ships.- Sleep data sampled from the crew of a merchant marine ship.- IV; Special Reviews.- Transport operators as responsible persons in stressful situations.- Stress response as a function of age and sex.- Drugs and transport operations.- Mechanical vibration in transport operations.- V. Methods.- Continuous electrophysiological recording.- Dimensions of flight crew performance decrements: methodological implications for field research.- Methodology in workstress studies.