Effects of initial resources on the development of strains during a stressful training situation: Some counterintuitive results |
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| Authors: | Terry A. Beehr Jennifer M. Ragsdale Jonathan F. Kochert |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Psychology Department, Central Michigan University, Mt. Pleasant, Michigan, U.S.A.;2. Department of Psychology, The University of Tulsa, Tulsa, Oklahoma, U.S.A.;3. Army Research Institute, Leavenworth, Kansas, U.S.A. |
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| Abstract: | Resource theories of occupational stress argue that employees' personal and environmental resources protect them from too much distress or strain during stressful work experiences. We examined four resources (emotional stability, previous experience, low drain on pre‐existing resources, and workgroup quality) available to soldiers at the beginning of a stressful 3‐month training experience as predictors of the trajectories of their strains over that period of time. Based on conservation of resources theory and the job demands–resources model, we predicted that the trends of strains would be more favorable (would increase more slowly or decline more quickly) if participants started the training with greater resources. The resources, primarily emotional stability and lack of pre‐existing resource drain, tended to be negatively related to strains, consistent with the idea that they can reduce strains. Significant interactions predicting trends were found predicting two of the three strains (post‐traumatic stress symptoms and depression, but not reports of physical health). Contrary to expectations, however, the three resources that significantly predicted trends over time (emotional stability, previous experience, and low pre‐existing resource drain) were associated with worsening rather than improving strains. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. |
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| Keywords: | occupational stress strains resources training |
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