Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Does Distraction Facilitate Problem-focused Coping with Job Stress? A 1 year Longitudinal Study

  • Published:
Journal of Behavioral Medicine Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

This study examined the sole and combined effects of problem-focused coping and distraction on employee well-being (i.e., stress responses and job performance) using two-wave panel survey data with a 1-year time lag. Participants were 488 male employees, who worked for a construction machinery company in western Japan. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses were conducted to examine whether distraction moderates the relationship of problem-focused coping with well-being. More use of problem-focused coping was negatively related to subsequent stress responses among those high in distraction. The combination of high problem-focused coping and high distraction was positively related to subsequent job performance, although it was limited only to the high job stress situation. Results suggest that the combination of high problem-focused coping and high distraction may lead to lower stress responses and better performance (but only in high job stress situations for performance) than the combination of high problem-focused coping and low distraction, at least for male blue-collar workers.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. In this study, we consider stressful work situation as follows: the more amount of job stressor a respondent reported, the more stressful the situation would be (Hurrell et al. 1998).

References

  • Aiken, L. S., & West, S. G. (1991). Multiple regression: Testing and interpreting interactions. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Aldwin, C. M. (1994). Stress, coping, and development – an integrative perspective. New York: Guildford.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brown, S. P., Westbrook, R. A., & Challagalla, G. (2005). Good cope, bad cope: Adaptive and maladaptive coping strategies following a critical negative work event. Journal of Applied Psychology, 90, 792–798.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Carver, C. S., Scheier, M. F., & Weintraub, J. K. (1989). Assessing coping strategies: A theoretically based approach. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 56, 267–283.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cohen, J., Cohen, P., West, S. G., & Aiken, L. S. (2003). Applied multiple regression/correlation analysis for the behavioral sciences (3rd ed.). New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cohen, S., Evans, G. W., Stokols, D., & Krantz, D. S. (1986). Behavior, health, and environmental stress. New York: Plenum Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cohen, S., & Spacapan, S. (1978). The aftereffects of stress: An attentional interpretation. Environmental Psychology and Nonverbal Behavior, 3, 43–57.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Contrada, R. J., Glass, D. C., Krakoff, L. R., Krantz, D. S., Kehoe, K., Isecke, W., Collins, C., & Elting, E. (1982). Effects of control over aversive stimulation and Type A behavior on cardiovascular and plasma catecholamine responses. Psychophysiology, 19, 408–419.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cooper, C. L., Dewe, P. J., & O’Driscoll, M. P. (2001). Organizational stress. California: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Daniels, K. (1999). Coping and the job-demands-control-support model: An exploratory study. International Journal of Stress Management, 6, 125–144.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Daniels, K., & Guppy, A. (1994). Occupational stress, social support, job control, and psychological well-being. Human Relations, 47, 1523–1544.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • De Jonge, J., Dormann, C., Janssen, P. P. M., Dollard, M. F., Landeweerd, J. A., & Nijhuis, F. J. N. (2001). Testing reciprocal relationships between job characteristics and psychological well-being: A cross-lagged structural equation model. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 74, 29–46.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • De Rijk, A. E., Le Blanc, P. M., Schaufeli, W. B., & De Jonge, J. (1998). Active coping and need for control as moderators of the job demand-control model: Effects on burn out. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 71, 1–18.

    Google Scholar 

  • Demerouti, E., Bakker, A. B., & Schaufeli, W. B. (2005). Spillover and crossover of exhaustion and life satisfaction among dual-earner parents. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 67, 266–289.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Elfering, A., Grebner, S., Semmer, N. K., Kaiser-Freiburghaus, D., Ponte, S. L., & Witschi, I. (2005). Chronic job stressors and job control: Effects on event-related coping success and well-being. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 78, 237–252.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eriksen, H. R., Olff, M., & Ursin, H. (2000). Coping with subjective health problems in organizations. In P. Dewe, M. Leiter, & T. Cox (Eds.), Coping, health and organizations (pp. 34–51). New York: Taylor and Francis.

    Google Scholar 

  • Folkman, S., & Lazarus, R. S. (1980). An analysis of coping in a middle-aged community sample. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 21, 219–239.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Folkman, S., & Lazarus, R. S. (1985). If it changes it must be a process: Study of emotion and coping during three stages of a college examination. Journal of Abnormal and Psychology, 48, 150–170.

    Google Scholar 

  • Folkman, S., & Moskowitz, J. (2000). Stress, positive emotion, and coping. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 9, 115–118.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fritz, C., & Sonnentag, S. (2005). Recovery, health, and job performance: Effects of weekend experiences. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 10, 187–199.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gaudreau, P., & Blondin, J. (2004). Differential associations of dispositional optimism and pessimism with coping, goal attainment, and emotional adjustment during sport competition. International Journal of Stress Management, 11, 245–269.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gilligan, S. G., & Bower, G. H. (1985). Cognitive consequences of emotional arousal. In C. E. Izard, & J. Kagan (Eds.), Emotions, cognition, and behavior (pp. 547–588). New York: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Glass, D. C., & Singer, J. E. (1972). Urban stress: Experiments on noise and social stressors. New York: Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gotlib, I. H., & Cane, D. B. (1989). Self-report assessment of depression and anxiety. In P. C. Kendall, & D. Watson, (Eds.), Anxiety and depression: Distinctive and overlapping features (pp. 131–169). San Diego, CA: Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hobfoll, S. E. (1989). Conservation of resources: A new attempt at conceptualizing stress. American Psychologist, 44, 513–524.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hockey, G. R. J. (1997). Compensatory control in the regulation of human performance under stress and high workload: A cognitive-energetical framework. Biological Psychology, 45, 73–93.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hurrell, J. J. Jr., Nelson, D. L., & Simmons, B. L. (1998). Measuring job stressors and strains: Where we have been, where we are, and where we need to go. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 3, 368–389.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ingledew, D. K., Hardy, L., & Cooper, C. L. (1997). Do resources bolster coping and does coping buffer stress? An organizational study with longitudinal aspect and control for negative affectivity. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 2, 118–133.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kageyama, T., Kobayashi, T., Kawashima, M., & Kanamaru, Y. (2004). Development of the Brief Scales for Coping Profiles (BSCP) for workers: Basic information about its reliability and validity. Sangyo Eiseigatu Zasshi, 46, 103–114 (in Japanese).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Karasek, R., & Theorell, T. (1990). Healthy work: Stress, productivity, and the reconstruction of working life. New York: Basic Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kessler, R. C., Barber, C., Beck, A., Berglund, P., Cleary, P. D., McKenas, D., Pronk, N., Simon, G., Stang, P., Ustun, T. B., & Wang, P. (2003). The world health organization health and work performance questionnaire (HPQ). Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 45, 156–174.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kristenson, M., Eriksen, H. R., Sluiter, J. K., Starke, D., & Ursin, H. (2004). Psychobiological mechanisms of socioeconomic differences in health. Social Science and Medicine, 58, 1511–1522.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Latack, J. C., & Havlovic, S. J. (1992). Coping with job stress: A conceptual evaluation framework for coping measures. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 13, 479–508.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lazarus, R. S. (1993). Coping theory and research: Past, present, and future. Psychosomatic Medicine, 55, 234–247.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lazarus, R. S. (1999). Stress and emotion. New York: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lazarus, R. S., & Folkman, S. (1984). Stress, appraisal, and coping. New York: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lee-Baggley, D., Preece, M., & DeLongis, A. (2005). Coping with interpersonal stress: Role of big five traits. Journal of Personality, 73, 1141–1180.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Livneh, H., Wilson, L. M., Duchesneau, A., & Antonak, R. F. (2001). Psychosocial adaptation to epilepsy: The role of coping strategies. Epilepsy and Behavior, 2, 533–544.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Llorens, S., Schaufeli, W. B., Bakker, A. B., & Salanova, M. (2007). Does a positive gain spiral of resources, efficacy beliefs and engagement exist? Computers in Human Behavior, 23, 825–841.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Maslach, C., Schaufeli, W. B., & Leiter, M. P. (2001). Job burnout. Annual Review of Psychology, 52, 397–422.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Mayer, J. D., & Salovey, P. (1988). Personality moderates the interaction of mood and cognition. In K. Fiedler, & J. Forgas (Eds.), Affect, cognition and social behavior (pp. 87–99). Gottingen, Germany: Hogrefe.

    Google Scholar 

  • Meijman, T. F., & Mulder, G. (1998). Psychological aspects of workload. In P. J. D. Drenth, & H. Thierry (Eds.), Handbook of work and organizational psychology: Work psychology, Vol. 2, (pp. 5–33). Hove: Psychology Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Moyle, P. (1995). The role of negative affectivity in the stress process: Tests of alternative models. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 16, 647–668.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Muraven, M., & Baumeister, R. F. (2000). Self-regulation and depletion of limited resources: Does self-control resemble a muscle? Psychological Bulletin, 126, 247–259.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Nolen-Hoeksema, S., & Morrow, J. (1993). Effect of rumination and distraction on naturally occurring depressed mood. Cognition and Emotion, 7, 561–570.

    Google Scholar 

  • Parkes, K. R. (1991). Locus of control as moderator: An explanation for additive versus interactive findings in the demand-discretion model of work stress? British Journal of Psychology, 82, 291–312.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Pascual, E., Perez-Jover, V., Mirambell, E., Ivanez, G., & Terol, M. C. (2003). Job conditions, coping and wellness/health outcomes in Spanish secondary school teachers. Psychology and Health, 18, 511–521.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Penley, J. A., Tomaka, J., & Wiebe, J. S. (2002). The association of coping to physical and psychological health outcomes: A meta-analytic review. Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 25, 551–603.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Reid, G. J., Gilbert, C. A., & McGrath, P. J. (1998). The pain coping questionnaire: Preliminary validation. Pain, 76, 83–96.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ross, M. (1989). Relation of implicit theories to the construction of personal histories. Psychological Review, 96, 341–357.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schaufeli, W. B., & Bakker, A. B. (2004). Job demands, job resources, and their relationship with burnout and engagement: A multi-sample study. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 25, 293–315.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shimazu, A., De Jonge, J., & Irimajiri, H. (in press). Lagged effects of active coping within the demand-control model: A three-wave panel study among Japanese employees. International Journal of Behavioral Medicine.

  • Shimazu, A., & Kosugi, S. (2003). Job stressor, coping, and psychological distress among Japanese employees: Interplay between active and non-active coping. Work and Stress, 17, 38–51.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shimomitsu, T., Yokoyama, K., Ono, Y., Maruta, T., & Tanigawa, T. (1998). Development of a novel brief job stress questionnaire. In S. Kato (Ed.), Report of the research grant for the prevention of work-related diseases from the Ministry of Labour (pp. 107–115). Tokyo, Ministry of Labour (in Japanese).

    Google Scholar 

  • Skinner, E. A., Edge, K., Altman, J., & Sherwood, H. (2003). Searching for the structure of coping: A review and critique of category systems for classifying ways of coping. Psychological Bulletin, 129, 216–269.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sluiter, J. K., Frings-Dresen, M. H. W., Meijman, T. F., & Van der Beek, A. J. (2000). Reactivity and recovery from different types of work measured by catecholamines and cortisol: A systematic overview. Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 57, 298–315.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Spector, P. E., Zapf, D., Chen, P. Y., & Frese, M. (2000). Why negative affectivity should not be controlled in job stress research: Don’t throw out the baby with the bath water. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 21, 79–95.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stanton, A. L., Kirk, S. B., Cameron, C. L., & Danoff-Burg, S. (2000). Coping through emotional approach: Scale construction and validation. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 78, 1150–1169.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Suls, J., & Fletcher, B. (1985). The relative efficacy of avoidant and nonavoidant coping strategies: A meta-analysis. Health Psychology, 4, 247–288.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tamres, L. K., Janicki, D., & Helgeson, V. S. (2002). Sex differences in coping behavior: A meta-analytic review and an examination of relative coping. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 6, 2–30.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Taris, T. W., & Kompier, M. (2003). Challenges in longitudinal designs in occupational health psychology. Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment and Health, 29, 1–4.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Todd, M., Tennen, H., Carney, M. A., Armeli, S., & Affleck, G. (2004). Do we know how we cope? Relating daily coping reports to global and time-limited retrospective assessments. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 86, 310–319.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Tsutsumi, A., Takao, S., Mineyama, S., Nishiuchi, K., Komatsu, H., & Kawakami, N. (2005). Effects of a supervisory education for positive mental health in the workplace: A quasi-experimental study. Journal of Occupational Health, 47, 226–235.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ursin, H. (1980). Personality, activation and somatic health: A new psychosomatic theory. In S. Levine, & H. Ursin (Eds.), Coping and health (pp. 259–279). New York: Plenum Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Van Vegchel, N., De Jonge, J., & Landsbergis, P. A. (2005). Occupational stress in (inter)action: The interplay between job demands and job resources. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 26, 535–560.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vitaliano, P. P., DeWolfe, D. J., Maiuro, R. D., Russo, J., & Katon, W. (1990). Appraised changeability of a stressor as a modifier of the relationship between coping and depression: A test of the hypothesis of fit. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 59, 582–592.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Westman, M., & Eden, D. (1997). Effects of a respite from work on burnout: Vacation relief and fade-out. Journal of Applied Psychology, 82, 516–527.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Westman, M., & Etzion, D. (2001). The impact of vacation and job stress on burnout and absenteeism. Psychology and Health, 16, 595–606.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zakowski, S. G., Hall, M. H., Klein, L. C., & Baum, A. (2001). Appraised control, coping, and stress in a community sample: A test of the Goodness-of-fit hypothesis. Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 23, 158–165.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mental Health, The University of Tokyo Graduate School of Medicine, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-0033, Japan

    Akihito Shimazu

  2. Department of Social and Organizational Psychology, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands

    Wilmar B. Schaufeli

Authors
  1. Akihito Shimazu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Wilmar B. Schaufeli
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Akihito Shimazu.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Shimazu, A., Schaufeli, W.B. Does Distraction Facilitate Problem-focused Coping with Job Stress? A 1 year Longitudinal Study. J Behav Med 30, 423–434 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10865-007-9109-4

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10865-007-9109-4

Keywords

Search

Navigation