Mid Sweden University

Work-related stress is considered one of the biggest health and safety challenges among the member states of the European Union. A critical factor is recovery between periods of stress. The primary purpose of this study was to investigate whether a brief behaviorally oriented stress-recovery management intervention delivered in an individual setting could reduce stress symptoms among individuals with high levels of perceived stress. A single-subject experimental design with multiple baselines across three individuals was used. The results indicate, with at least moderate experimental control, a temporal relation between the start of the intervention and beneficial changes from baseline in continuous self-recordings of stress symptoms. The changes were maintained at 1-year and 5-year follow-up assessments. Also, self-reporting inventories measuring perceived stress, worry, anxiety, depression, burnout, type A behavior, unwinding and recuperation from work stress, and insomnia showed overall changes in beneficial directions at post-assessment, as well as the two follow-up assessments. The results indicate that a behaviorally oriented stress-recovery management intervention delivered in an individual setting can reduce stress symptoms in individuals with high levels of perceived stress. However, for firm conclusions to be drawn, further research is needed. 

Current research indicates that stress problems primarily could be conceptualized as deficiencies in recovery and recuperation between stress periods. Accordingly, interventions should put more emphasis on this aspect. A group based intervention program focusing exclusively on recovery behavior in everyday life was evaluated in this quasi-experimental, waiting-list control group study, where the control group was also treated in a second phase. Thirty-two self-referred female subjects, considering themselves in need of treatment for stress related health problems, were available for analyzes. Fifteen of these constituted the first phase treatment group (INT), while the remaining 17 subjects were placed on waiting list (WLC). Adding a few late applicants leaved 20 subjects later treated in the second intervention phase. Significant and clinically meaningful positive effects emerged in the INT—compared to the WLC-group on recovery behaviors, stress—and recovery experiences, as well as on burn-out symptoms, worry, anxiety and depression. Secondary analyzes of all treated subjects indicated that the positive change the primary clinical endpoint was predicted by the increase in frequency of recovery behaviors and by the decrease in the worrylevel. Thus, the present intervention model merits further research with more rigorous experimental design as well as with follow-up assessments.

Continuous and prolonged exposure to stressors or unsuccessfully dealing with such exposure has been suggested as precursors for burnout. Current research indicates that such stress problems could be conceptualized as deficiencies in recovery between periods of stress. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of a behaviorally oriented stress recovery management intervention for people experiencing high levels of stress. A total of 73 individuals with experiences of stress symptoms and high levels of perceived stress (≥ 25 on the Perceived Stress Scale) were randomly allocated to either a 10-week intervention group or a waiting-list control group. Participants were assessed at preintervention, postintervention, and 3-month follow-up. The Perceived Stress Scale, questions about tension, and the Shirom–Melamed Burnout Questionnaire were used as primary outcome measures, and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale was used as a secondary outcome measure. Data were analyzed following the intention-to-treat principle. The analysis demonstrated statistically significant improvements for all measures at posttreatment and at follow-up. The between-groups effect sizes were high at posttreatment and moderate–to-high at follow-up. Intervention focused on stress recovery behavior seems to be an effective way of reducing perceived stress, tension, burnout symptoms, anxiety, and depression in people with stress symptoms and high levels of perceived stress in everyday life. The tested intervention warrants further research. Other stress recovery behavior interventions need to be tested to draw conclusions on the efficacy of stress recovery behavior interventions in general regarding stress and burnout.

Recent research has indicated that recovery from work stress and effort might be crucial for health and well-being. Thus, a valid measurement of recovery becomes important. The main purpose of the present study was to empirically evaluate and seeking support for the hypothesized four-factor model of the Swedish version of Recovery Experience Questionnaire (REQ). The total sample (N = 680) was randomly split into two subsamples. The first subsample was used for finding the best-fitting model using an exploratory factor analysis and the second subsample was used to test the a priori model using confirmatory factor analysis. The results support the proposed four-factor structure of the scale for both males and females. Additionally, apart from high reliability estimates, this instrument proved to have good convergent and discriminant validity for all four factors. Implications for the use of the REQ in conjunction with recovery-focused interventions were discussed, as were limitations such as low response rate.