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The moderating effect of personality differences on job stress: A longitudinal investigation
Abstract
The purpose of this investigation was to assess the interaction of personality differences and work stressors upon the emotional and physical well-being of individuals over time. The theoretical foundation for this study is that offered by Hans Eysenck (1970). According to Eysenck (1970), neurotic introverts exhibit higher levels of arousal than stable extraverts under conditions of high stress. Employing a prospective design over a seven year period, 181 police officers, firefighters and white collar workers completed questionnaires which measured demographic, psychological, and physical status. Independent variables were occupational complexity (objective measure), control, role ambiguity, role conflict, skill utilization, quantitative workload and variance in workload. Moderator variables were neuroticism and introversion-extraversion. Dependent variables included job satisfaction, mental health, somatic complaints and physical health. The demographic variables included age, education level, number of position changes, number of employer changes, number of years in present position, supervisory responsibilities and number of employees supervised. After controlling for prior health levels, four significant three-way interactions were found between introversion-extraversion and neuroticism and quantitative workload, variance in workload, complexity and control predicting physical health and somatic complaints. However, the interaction for complexity was not in the predicted direction. The three-way interactions for skill utilization, role conflict and role ambiguity were not significant. Significant two-way interactions were found for neuroticism and role ambiguity predicting physical health and introversion-extraversion and quantitative workload predicting physical health. Main effects included role ambiguity, role conflict, utilization of skills and control predicting job satisfaction as well as role conflict and ambiguity predicting somatic complaints and physical health difficulties. It was concluded that further exploration into the arousal hypothesis seems to be warranted. The findings support the consideration of individual differences in the implementation of stress management programs.
Subject Area
Management|Personality
Recommended Citation
Kemmerer, Barbara Ellen, "The moderating effect of personality differences on job stress: A longitudinal investigation" (1990). ETD collection for University of Nebraska-Lincoln. AAI9030129.
https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/dissertations/AAI9030129