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Papers by Jessica Lang

Integrating findings from the general stress literature into occupational stress research the pre... more Integrating findings from the general stress literature into occupational stress research the present dissertation aimed at developing comprehensive job stress models that include additionally valuable antecedents and moderators on the link between workplace stress and psychological health problems. Therefore, this work made use of McEwen’s (1998) Allostatic Load Model to analyze the influence of chronic as well as acute stressors on the employees’ (i.e., Reservists) long-term psychological health outcomes (Study 1). Additionally, within the same theoretical framework, Study 2 analyzed the effectiveness of individual characteristics in moderating the negative stressor impact on psychological health, considering the controllability of the stressors. Finally, using Siegrist’s (1996) Effort Reward Imbalance Model, Study 3 analyzed the potential of individual characteristics as well as organizational resources to alter the work stress impact. The study sample consisted of 654 U.S. Reser...

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 2020

The aim of this multi-study report is to present a questionnaire that enables researchers and pra... more The aim of this multi-study report is to present a questionnaire that enables researchers and practitioners to assess and evaluate psychosocial risks related to well-being. In Study 1, we conducted a cross-sectional online-survey in 15 German companies from 2016 to 2017 to verify factor- and criterion-related validity. Data consisted of 1151 employee self-ratings. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses resulted in an eight-factor structure (CFI = 0.902, RMSEA = 0.058, and SRMR = 0.070). All scales held to excellent internal consistency values (α = 0.65–0.90) and were related significantly to well-being (r = 0.17–0.35, p < 0.001). A second, longitudinal study in 2018 showed satisfying convergent and discriminant validity (N = 293) to scales from KFZA and COPSOQ. Test-retest reliability (N = 73; α = 0.65–0.88, p < 0.05) was also good. The instrument provides incremental validity above existing instruments since it explains additional variance in well-being.

BioMed Research International, 2020

Stress, 2018

The allostatic load index (ALI) assesses the physiological adaption to chronic stress by cumulati... more The allostatic load index (ALI) assesses the physiological adaption to chronic stress by cumulative changes in the circulation, respiration, inflammation, metabolic and anthropometric systems. The ALI thus can function as a risk marker for secondary prevention in occupational medicine. The aim of this study was to investigate the feasibility of creating a predictive marker by using data from an executive checkup program of an international company and to examine its relationship to work-related surrogate health parameters. Datasets from 307 examinations of 151 executives (19 males and 132 females) were available. Each participant attended at least one checkup examination between 2003 and 2015. The mean age was 43.6 (SD ±6.6, 31-64y). We developed four different ALIs with different biomarkers of the cardio-vascular, immune, metabolic and anthropometric systems. As a primary mediator, the thyroid-stimulating hormone was used as a proxy. For each ALI, the associations with the work ability index (WAI) and categories of sick leave days (SLD) were examined. Zero inflation was considered for SLD. One ALI showed a significant negative association with the WAI (B ¼ À0.680, SE =0.266, p ¼ .049). The results of a second ALI had a similar trend (B= À0.355, SE =0.201, p ¼ .081). After adjustment for zero inflation two other ALIs showed a positive association with SLD. This study provides the first hints that biomarkers form a secondary prevention program are useful in calculating a meaningful ALI. Thus, the concept of allostatic load could be used in workplace healthpromotion. Lay Summary This study provides the first hints that biomarkers from a secondary prevention program are useful for calculating a meaningful ALI. To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first which examines ALI in relation to its predictive value and preventive potential. The results revealed, that the concept of allostatic load could be beneficial in workplace health-promotion.

BMJ Open, 2019

ObjectivesThe knowledge of past asbestos exposure may lead to chronic psychological strain. In ad... more ObjectivesThe knowledge of past asbestos exposure may lead to chronic psychological strain. In addition, the information about an increased cancer risk can place a psychological burden on individuals triggering mental health symptoms of depression or anxiety. This applies in particular to individuals with non-malignant asbestos-related disease (ARD) such as lung fibrosis and pleural thickening with or without lung function impairment. ARDs with or without lung function impairment may develop even years after exposure cessation. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to test for our cohort whether non-malignant ARD and lung function impairment have differential effects on mental health and psychological strain.DesignCross-sectional study.Participants and settingOverall, 612 male participants (mean age=66.2 years, SD=9.5) attending a surveillance programme for ARDs received routine examinations including lung function testing (24% refused to fill in the psychological questionnair...

Stress (Amsterdam, Netherlands), Jul 8, 2017

Prolonged work stress, as indicated by the effort-reward imbalance (ERI) model, jeopardizes healt... more Prolonged work stress, as indicated by the effort-reward imbalance (ERI) model, jeopardizes health. Cortisol represents a candidate mechanism connecting stress to ill health. However, previous findings appear inconclusive, and recommendations were made to assess work stress at multiple time points and also to investigate ERI (sub-)components. This study therefore examines the effects of two single time points, as well as the mean and change scores between time points of ERI and its components on hair cortisol concentration (HCC), a long-term cortisol measurement. Participants were 66 male factory workers (age: 40.68 ± 6.74 years; HCC: 9.00 ± 7.11 pg/mg), who were followed up after a stress management intervention (2006-2008). In 2008 (T1) and 2015 (T2) participants completed a 23-item ERI questionnaire, assessing effort, the three reward components (esteem, job security, job promotion) and over-commitment. In 2015 participants also provided a three-centimetre hair segment close to t...

International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health, 2014

Psychological Science, 2010

Researchers disagree whether the correlation between cognitive test anxiety and test performance ... more Researchers disagree whether the correlation between cognitive test anxiety and test performance is causal or explainable by skill deficits, which lead to both cognitive test anxiety and lower test performance. Most causal theories of test anxiety assume that individual differences in cognitive test anxiety originate from differences in self-perceived competence. Accordingly, in the present research, we sought to temporarily heighten perceptions of competence using a priming intervention. Two studies with secondary- and vocational-school students ( Ns = 219 and 232, respectively) contrasted this intervention with a no-priming control condition. Priming competence diminished the association between cognitive test anxiety and test performance by heightening the performance of cognitively test-anxious students and by lowering the performance of students with low levels of cognitive test anxiety. The findings suggest that cognitively test-anxious persons have greater abilities than they...

Journal of Organizational Behavior, 2012

SummaryMost research on workplace aggression focuses on the antecedents and consequences of aggre... more SummaryMost research on workplace aggression focuses on the antecedents and consequences of aggression for individual workers. The current study examines how shared workplace aggression concerns relate to internal and external organizational outcomes. Drawing on the work stress, social identity, and social contagion literatures, we propose relationships between unit‐level aggression concerns and unit‐level measures of performance and employee attitudes in a public school sample (2989 employees; 163 schools). We also propose that these relationships differ depending on the resource context of the school. Consistent with our expectations, schools in which teachers had strong shared concerns about aggression also had poorer shared job attitudes and poorer student outcomes, as indicated by average standardized test scores at the school. The impact of shared concerns about aggression on school‐level standardized test scores was stronger for resource‐rich schools than for schools with few...

Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 2007

The aims of the present study were twofold: First, in differentiating between specific job charac... more The aims of the present study were twofold: First, in differentiating between specific job characteristics, the authors examined the moderating influence of role clarity on the relationship between job demands and psychological and physical strain. Second, in providing a more comprehensive link between job demands and job performance, the authors examined strain as a mediator of that relationship. Participants were 1,418 Army cadets attending a 35-day assessment center. Survey data were collected on Day 26 of the assessment center and performance ratings were assessed throughout the assessment center period by expert evaluators. Role clarity was found to moderate the job demands-strain relationship. Specifically, cadets experiencing high demands reported less physical and psychological strain when they reported high role clarity. Moreover, psychological strain significantly mediated the demands-performance relationship. Implications are discussed from theoretical and applied perspectives.

Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 2005

The purpose of this study was to extend the demand-control model (R. A. Karasek, 1979) by examini... more The purpose of this study was to extend the demand-control model (R. A. Karasek, 1979) by examining coping as an additional factor. It was hypothesized that perceived job control only buffered the demand-strain relationship when individuals used active coping and exacerbated the relationship when individuals used passive coping. Soldiers (N=638) were surveyed before and during a 6-month peacekeeping deployment to Kosovo. Results partially confirmed the hypotheses. Even after controlling for general psychological health at predeployment, job control moderated the relationship between demands and psychological health during deployment when soldiers used active coping. No significant 3-way interactions were found for religious coping and passive coping. Implications for demand-control modeling and potential applications of the findings to soldier and leader training are discussed.

International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health, 2013

Background To systematically analyse evidence on the incremental effect of work-related psychosoc... more Background To systematically analyse evidence on the incremental effect of work-related psychosocial risk factors on the development of neck and shoulder disorders, as reported in longitudinal studies. Methods A systematic literature search was conducted in three data bases (MEDLINE, EMBASE, and PsychI-NFO) until May 2009. The quality assessment leading to a methodological quality score of the included studies was conducted by two independent reviewers using a standardised checklist. Criteria for the evaluation of evidence were established. Heterogeneity analyses were conducted. Results Altogether 18 prospective longitudinal studies were included in the analysis. Potential psychosocial risk factors were mainly based on the job demand control (support) model by Karasek (1998). Study results were too heterogeneous to deduce pooled risk estimates. But the weight of evidence was strong for an incremental effect of job demands, job control, social support, and job strain, on the development of neck and/or shoulder disorders. Conclusion While we found evidence for an incremental effect of different psychosocial work factors (in addition to the effect of physical job factors), these results have to be interpreted carefully in order to support the notion that psychological factors can have an independent causal influence on the development of musculoskeletal disorders. Nevertheless, our findings are important for the development of preventive strategies, as they stress the need for preventive approaches that tackle both physical and psychosocial factors. Future research is warranted to consolidate and strengthen the results of this review.

Journal of Applied Psychology, 2011

The organizational justice literature has consistently documented substantial correlations betwee... more The organizational justice literature has consistently documented substantial correlations between organizational justice and employee depression. Existing theoretical literature suggests this relationship occurs because perceptions of organizational (in)justice lead to subsequent psychological health problems. Building on recent research on the affective nature of justice perceptions, in the present research we broaden this perspective by arguing there are also theoretical arguments for a reverse effect whereby psychological health problems influence perceptions of organizational justice. To contrast both theoretical perspectives, we test longitudinal lagged effects between organizational justice perceptions (i.e., distributive justice, interactional justice, interpersonal justice, informational justice, and procedural justice) and employee depressive symptoms using structural equation modeling. Analyses of 3 samples from different military contexts (N 1 ϭ 625, N 2 ϭ 134, N 3 ϭ 550) revealed evidence of depressive symptoms leading to subsequent organizational justice perceptions. In contrast, the opposite effects of organizational justice perceptions on depressive symptoms were not significant for any of the justice dimensions. The findings have broad implications for theoretical perspectives on psychological health and organizational justice perceptions.