Deficiencies of the T and natural killer cell system in major depressive disorder: T regulatory cell defects are associated with inflammatory monocyte activation.

BACKGROUND: In a previous study, we found an up-regulated inflammatory monocyte gene expression profile in major depressive disorder (MDD) patients aged ⩾ 28 years and a down-regulated inflammatory gene expression profile in MDD patients aged<28 years. In the same sample of patients, we aimed to investigate immune dysregulation in the lymphocyte arm of the immune system, particularly in the context of the described monocyte (de-)activation states. METHODS: From deep frozen leukocytes, circulating percentages of monocytes, lymphocytes, B, T, and natural killer (NK) cells, and various functional subsets of T and T helper (Th) cells (Th1, Th2, Th17, and natural T regulatory cells) were measured in N=50 MDD patients and N=58 age- and gender-matched healthy controls (HC). In addition, serum levels of interleukin (IL)-6, sCD25, IL-7, IL-3, SCF, IGF-BP2, and EGF were evaluated. RESULTS: MDD patients were in general characterized by an impaired maturation of Th2 cells, Th17 cells, and NK cells and by decreased serum levels of IL-7 and sCD25. MDD patients aged ⩾ 28 years additionally exhibited decreased percentages of CD4(+)CD25(high)FoxP3(+) T regulatory cells, next to signs of the above described partial T cell defects. Natural T regulatory cells were inversely associated with the pro-inflammatory state of the monocytes (r=-.311; p=.034) that characterized this patient subgroup. CONCLUSIONS: Deficiencies of the NK and T (regulatory) cell system and inflammatory monocyte immune activation co-occur as partly interrelated phenomena within the same MDD patients.

Clinical characteristics of inflammation-associated depression: Monocyte gene expression is age-related in major depressive disorder.

Increased inflammatory activation might only be present in a subgroup of depressed individuals in which immune processes are especially relevant to disease development. We aimed to analyze demographic, depression, and trauma characteristics of major depressive disorder (MDD) patients with regard to inflammatory monocyte gene expression. Fifty-six naturalistically treated MDD patients (32 ± 12 years) and 57 healthy controls (HC; 31 ± 11 years) were analyzed by the Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology (IDS) and by the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ). We determined the expression of 38 inflammatory and immune activation genes including the glucocorticoid receptor (GR)α and GRß genes in purified CD14(+) monocytes using quantitative-polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR). Monocyte gene expression was age-dependent, particularly in MDD patients. Increased monocyte gene expression and decreased GRα/ß ratio were only present in MDD patients aged ⩾ 28 years. Post hoc analyses of monocyte immune activation in patients <28 years showed two subgroups: a subgroup with a severe course of depression (recurrent type, onset <15 years) - additionally characterized by panic/arousal symptoms and childhood trauma - that had a monocyte gene expression similar to HC, and a second subgroup with a milder course of the disorder (73% first episode depression, onset ⩾15 years) - additionally characterized by the absence of panic symptoms - that exhibited a strongly reduced inflammatory monocyte activation compared to HC. In conclusion, monocyte immune activation was not uniformly raised in MDD patients but was increased only in patients of 28 years and older.

The burdens and benefits of managing and engaging: a diary study approach to person-centred risk assessment of top executives and works council members.

The present diary study investigates the impact of daily effort-reward imbalance (ERI), subjective stress and the cortisol awakening response (CAR) as an objective measure on work engagement of top managers and high-level works council members (N = 45) on three consecutive working days. In the scope of psychosocial risk assessment, we argue that focusing on ERI as a generalized work characteristic might be more suitable for work re-design of higher leadership positions because of their highly dynamic and unpredictable psychosocial work characteristics, while at the same time having more access to job resources. The analyses reveal that both baseline and daily ERI, as well as subjective stress, influence work engagement. Our results suggest that interventions to reduce daily levels of ERI may improve the work environment of top managers and works councils by promoting work engagement and related positive health outcomes in the scope of person-centred risk assessment.

Emotional exhaustion and overcommitment to work are differentially associated with hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis responses to a low-dose ACTH1-24 (Synacthen) and dexamethasone-CRH test in healthy school teachers.

Evidence for a detrimental impact of chronic work stress on health has accumulated in epidemiological research. Recent studies indicate altered hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis regulation as a possible biological pathway underlying the link between stress and disease. However, the direction of dysregulation remains unclear, with reported HPA hyper- or hyporeactivity. To disentangle potential effects on different functional levels in the HPA axis, we examined responses using two pharmacological stimulation tests in 53 healthy teachers (31 females, 22 males; mean age: 49.3 years; age range: 30-64 years): a low-dose adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH(1-24), Synacthen) test was used to assess adrenal cortex sensitivity and the combined dexamethasone-corticotropin releasing hormone (DEX-CRH) test to examine pituitary and adrenal cortex reactivity. Blood and saliva samples were collected at - 1,+15,+30,+45,+60,+90,+120 min. Emotional exhaustion (EE), the core dimension of burnout, was measured with the Maslach Burnout Inventory. Overcommitment (OC) was assessed according to Siegrist's effort-reward-imbalance model. We found a significant association between EE and higher plasma cortisol profiles after Synacthen (p = 0.045). By contrast, OC was significantly associated with attenuated ACTH (p = 0.045), plasma cortisol (p = 0.005), and salivary cortisol (p = 0.023) concentrations following DEX-CRH. Results support the notion of altered HPA axis regulation in chronically work-stressed teachers, with differential patterns of hyper- and hyporeactivity depending on individual stress condition and the tested functional level of the HPA axis.

The effects of Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response (ASMR) videos versus walking tour videos on ASMR experience, positive affect and state relaxation.

OBJECTIVE: Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response (ASMR), the experience of a pleasant tingling on the neck and scalp, is known to be triggered by a characteristic type of videos (ASMR videos). The present study examines whether this experience is indeed specific to these ASMR videos, or whether it can also be triggered by other types of videos, e.g. walking tour videos. A further goal was to investigate differences between ASMR-responders and ASMR-non-responders regarding their ASMR sensation and to compare ASMR and walking tour videos with regard to the elicitation of positive affect and state relaxation. METHOD: Two online assessments were carried out in two different predominantly student samples, one involving ASMR videos (n = 205) and the other one walking tour videos (n = 96). In both groups, ASMR experience, positive affect and state relaxation were assessed. RESULTS: Compared to the walking tour video group, the ASMR-responders in the ASMR video group reported a pronounced ASMR sensation, higher state relaxation and higher positive affect scores. For ASMR-non-responders, lower scores in ASMR sensation, state relaxation and positive affect were revealed compared to the walking tour group. Without differentiating ASMR responder types, the ASMR group showed higher ASMR scores and lower positive affect scores compared to the walking tour group. CONCLUSIONS: Watching ASMR videos induced significantly more characteristic ASMR sensations compared to walking tour videos. Since ASMR videos typically include a simulated interaction of the video protagonist with the viewer and walking tour videos do not, the simulated interaction with the viewer might be one important factor for triggering ASMR. As the ASMR observer type (responder or non-responder) is crucial for benefitting from ASMR videos, future scientific evaluation of ASMR needs to consider this differention when evaluating effects of ASMR on mental heath associated domains.

Applying risk matrices for assessing the risk of psychosocial hazards at work.

Although wide-ranging amendments in health and safety regulations at the European and national level oblige employers to conduct psychosocial risk assessment, it is still under debate how psychosocial hazards can be properly evaluated. For psychosocial hazards, an epidemiological, risk-oriented understanding similar to physical hazards is still missing, why most existing approaches for hazard evaluation insufficiently conceive psychosocial risk as a combination of the probability of a hazard and the severity of its consequences (harm), as found in traditional risk matrix approaches (RMA). We aim to contribute to a methodological advancement in psychosocial risk assessment by adapting the RMA from physical onto psychosocial hazards. First, we compare and rate already existing procedures of psychosocial risk evaluation regarding their ability to reliably assess and prioritize risk. Second, we construct a theoretical framework that allows the risk matrix for assessing psychosocial risk. This is done by developing different categories of harm based on psychological theories of healthy work design and classifying hazards through statistical procedures. Taking methodological and theoretical considerations into account, we propose a 3 × 3 risk matrix that scales probability and severity for psychosocial risk assessment. Odds ratios between hazards and harm can be used to statistically assess psychosocial risks. This allows for both risk evaluation and prioritizing to further conduct risk-mitigation. Our contribution advances the RMA as a framework that allows for assessing the relation between psychosocial hazards and harm disregarding which theory of work stress is applied or which tool is used for hazard identification. By this, we also contribute to further possible developments in empirical research regarding how to assess the risk of workplace stress. The risk matrix can help to understand how psychosocial hazards can be evaluated and organizations can use the approach as a guidance to establish a suitable method for psychosocial risk evaluation.

A systematic overview on the risk effects of psychosocial work characteristics on musculoskeletal disorders, absenteeism, and workplace accidents.

The present article provides a systematic overview on the relationship between psychosocial work characteristics and musculoskeletal disorders, absenteeism, and workplace accidents. The study identified and reviewed the findings of 24 systematic reviews or meta-analysis and 6 longitudinal studies. Publications were systematically searched in several databases from 1966 to January 2021. To summarize the level of evidence, a best evidence synthesis was performed, and the quality of included studies was rated. High job demands, high job strain, high effort/reward-imbalance and low social support showed a strong evidence to increase the risk for musculoskeletal disorders. In addition to job demands and job strain, low perceived fairness proved to be a risk factor of absenteeism with strong evidence. Due to the small number of studies, no reliable evidence assessment for workplace accidents was possible. The summarized findings can improve risk assessment methods, by providing a systematic estimation of the potential risk severity of psychosocial work characteristics and assist practitioners in further developing the psychosocial risk assessment.

Healthy working school teachers with high effort-reward-imbalance and overcommitment show increased pro-inflammatory immune activity and a dampened innate immune defence.

To test whether chronic work stress is accompanied by altered immune functioning, changes in lymphocyte subsets and in lymphocyte production of cytokines were examined in reaction to acute psychosocial stress. Work stress was measured according to Siegrist's effort-reward-imbalance (ERI) model. ERI reflects stress due to a lack of reciprocity between costs and gains at work. Overcommitment (OC) is conceptualized as a dysfunctional coping pattern mainly characterized by the inability to withdraw from work obligations. Fifty-five healthy teachers (34 women, 21 men, mean age 50.0 ± 8.47 years) were exposed to a standardized laboratory stressor (Trier Social Stress Test). Lymphocyte subset counts and lymphocyte production of tumor-necrosis-factor (TNF)-α, interferon (IFN)-γ, interleukin (IL)-2, -4, -6 and -10 were measured before and after challenge. High levels of ERI and OC were associated with lower natural killer (NK) cell (CD16+/56+) numbers whereas high levels of OC were related to a lower increase in T-helper cells (CD4+) after stress. Furthermore, subjects with higher ERI showed an overall increased pro-inflammatory activity, with higher TNF-α production at both time points and elevated pre-stress IL-6 production. IL-10 production decreased with higher ERI after stress. The ratios of TNF-α/IL-10 and IL-6/IL-10 were significantly increased in subjects high on ERI. Finally, OC was associated with higher IL-2 production post-stress. The present findings suggest a dampened innate immune defence, reflected in lower NK cell numbers together with an increased pro-inflammatory activity in teachers high on ERI and OC. Such pathways could partly be responsible for the increased vulnerability for stress-related diseases in individuals suffering from chronic work stress.

Mindfulness Training for Improving Attention Regulation in University Students: Is It Effective? and Do Yoga and Homework Matter?

The present study examined the effects of mindfulness training on attention regulation in university students and whether the potential benefits of implementation are influenced by the yoga component of mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) and/or by MBI homework practice. In a non-randomized trial with pre- and post-assessments, n = 180 university students were allocated to either mindfulness training (experimental groups), awareness activities (active control group), or no training (passive control group). Mindfulness was taught through two MBIs, one including yoga and the other excluding yoga. Attention regulation was operationalized via behavioral indicators, namely sustained attention, cognitive flexibility, cognitive inhibition, and data-driven information processing. With the exception of speed in a cognitive flexibility task, the results indicated no systematic or differential advantage arising from mindfulness training, with or without yoga, regarding the aspects of attention regulation. There was no consistent influence of homework quantity or quality. The implications for mindfulness training in academic contexts are discussed.

Chronic work stress and exhaustion is associated with higher allostastic load in female school teachers.

Epidemiological studies have shown that chronic work stress or unfavourable psychosocial work conditions are prospectively associated with different adverse health outcomes. The aim of the present cross-sectional study was to investigate the relationship between work-related chronic stress as well as exhaustion and a cumulative measure of physiological wear-and-tear called allostastic load (AL). AL could be a possible biological pathway for how chronic work stress and exhaustion lead to health impairments in the long run. As the teaching profession has been proposed to be a potentially high stressful occupation, chronic work stress (effort-reward-imbalance) and exhaustion were assessed in 104 female school teachers. AL was first analyzed according to McEwen's classical model comprised of ten parameters including cortisol, epinephrine and norepinephrine, dehydroepiandrosterone-sulphate (DHEA-S), waist/hip-ratio (WHR), glycosylated haemoglobin (HbA1c), high-density lipoprotein (HDL), total cholesterol/HDL-ratio, and systolic and diastolic blood pressure. Additionally it was extended to include tumor-necrosis-factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), C-reactive protein (CRP), fibrinogen, D-dimer, percent-body-fat, triglycerides, and glucose levels. A substantial proportion of our sample was highly exhausted whereas relatively few teachers showed high effort-reward-imbalance. AL scores were significantly higher in women high on effort-reward-imbalance or suffering from exhaustion. Although all teachers had been in a good health status, chronic work stress as well as exhaustion appears to be associated with changes in a multi-system summary indicator of physiological risk.

Overcommitment but not effort-reward imbalance relates to stress-induced coagulation changes in teachers.

BACKGROUND: Stress-related hypercoagulability might link job stress with atherosclerosis. PURPOSE: This paper aims to study whether overcommitment, effort-reward imbalance, and the overcommitment by effort-reward imbalance interaction relate to an exaggerated procoagulant stress response. METHODS: We assessed job stress in 52 healthy teachers (49 +/- 8 years, 63% women) at study entry and, after a mean follow-up of 21 +/- 4 months, when they underwent an acute psychosocial stressor and had coagulation measures determined in plasma. In order to increase the reliability of job stress measures, entry and follow-up scores of overcommitment and of effort-reward imbalance were added up to total scores. RESULTS: During recovery from stress, elevated overcommitment correlated with D-dimer increase and with smaller fibrinogen decrease. In contrast, overcommitment was not associated with coagulation changes from pre-stress to immediately post-stress. Effort-reward imbalance and the interaction between overcommitment and effort-reward imbalance did not correlate with stress-induced changes in coagulation measures. CONCLUSIONS: Overcommitment predicted acute stress-induced hypercoagulability, particularly during the recovery period.

Improving emotion regulation and mood in teacher trainees: Effectiveness of two mindfulness trainings.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVE: The present research investigated potential effects of mindfulness training on emotion regulation and mood of future schoolteachers in a nonrandomized pre-post design, and whether these are influenced by the yoga component of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) and/or by homework practice. METHOD: N = 169 university students received either mindfulness training (experimental groups), awareness activities (active control group), or no training (passive control group), in the context of university seminars. Allocation to groups was bound by the seminar chosen by participants, and in that sense was self-selected. Mindfulness was trained in two adapted MBSR courses, one of which including yoga, and the other excluding yoga. RESULTS: Specific benefits of both mindfulness training groups were observed for emotion regulation in terms of an increase in cognitive reappraisal and a reduction in symptom-focused rumination as well as depressive mood. No benefits of mindfulness training were observed for reductions in expressive suppression, self-focused rumination, anxious, and negative mood or an increase in distraction and positive mood respectively. Mindfulness training with and without yoga was mostly equally effective. Outcomes were largely not moderated by practice quantity or quality, but reductions in depressive mood were mediated by gains in reappraisal and distraction. CONCLUSIONS: Mindfulness training can be implemented in the context of university seminars to foster advantageous emotion regulation strategies and lower depressive mood in future schoolteachers. Discontinuing yoga within mindfulness interventions does not seem to reduce training benefits.

HPA axis responses to psychological challenge linking stress and disease: What do we know on sources of intra- and interindividual variability?

Stress is an ubiquitous phenomenon with significant impact on human physiology when it lasts too long, when it is too intense, or when it hits vulnerable individuals. Examining the mechanisms linking stress exposure with health and disease is an important endeavor in psychoneuroendocrine research. Empirical evidence so far revealed large intra- as well as inter-individual variability in hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis responses to acute psychosocial stress, showing that the HPA axis is a highly adaptive system. Thus, the characterization of intra- und inter-individual patterns of HPA axis reactivity is of high scientific interest and forms the basis on which mechanistic links between stress response (dys)regulation and health impairments can be examined. To date, basic knowledge has been, and still is, accumulated on demographic, biological (including genetic and epigenetic) factors, lifestyle behavioral variables, consumption of substances and medication, psychological and personality factors, as well as on methodological aspects. Besides this, there is also very recent progress in respect to the development of laboratory stress paradigms that can be applied in virtual reality or inside an MRI-scanner. In sum, the present review updates our current knowledge on moderating and intervening factors as sources of intra- und inter-individual variability in human cortisol stress responses and offers recommendations for future research designs.

Effort-reward-imbalance and overcommitment are associated with hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis responses to acute psychosocial stress in healthy working schoolteachers.

In this study, we examined HPA axis responses to acute psychosocial stress in relation to effort-reward-imbalance (ERI) and overcommitment (OC) to test whether chronic stress at work is accompanied by altered HPA axis stress responses in teachers. According to Siegrist's work stress model, ERI reflects stress due to a lack of reciprocity between personal costs and gains at work, whereas OC is conceptualized as a personality trait mainly characterized by the inability to withdraw from work obligations. Fifty-three medication-free, non-smoking, healthy teachers (33 women, 20 men, 29-63 years, mean age 49.9+/-8.58 years) were confronted with the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST), a widely used standardized stress protocol to induce acute psychosocial stress in the laboratory. ACTH (five samples), total plasma (six samples) and free salivary cortisol (eight samples) were repeatedly measured before and after challenge. In the total group, ERI and OC were only marginally associated with HPA axis responses to acute stress. However, in the subgroup of responders (N=30) high levels of OC were significantly associated with lower ACTH (p=0.03) as well as plasma (p=0.02) and salivary cortisol (p<0.001) responses and results remained significant controlling for depressive symptoms. When additionally controlling for acute perceived stressfulness of the TSST, significant associations between OC and HPA axis responses emerged in responders as well as the total study sample. In respect to ERI, higher stress levels were solely related to significantly stronger plasma cortisol increases after TSST exposure, but this effect became non-significant controlling for depressive symptomatology. In sum, our findings support the notion of HPA axis hyporeactivity in highly overcommitted schoolteachers.

Circulating fibrinogen but not D-dimer level is associated with vital exhaustion in school teachers.

Meta-analyses have established elevated fibrinogen and D-dimer levels in the circulation as biological risk factors for the development and progression of coronary artery disease (CAD). Here, we investigated whether vital exhaustion (VE), a known psychosocial risk factor for CAD, is associated with fibrinogen and D-dimer levels in a sample of apparently healthy school teachers. The teaching profession has been proposed as a potentially high stressful occupation due to enhanced psychosocial stress at the workplace. Plasma fibrinogen and D-dimer levels were measured in 150 middle-aged male and female teachers derived from the first year of the Trier-Teacher-Stress-Study. Log-transformed levels were analyzed using linear regression. Results yielded a significant association between VE and fibrinogen (p = 0.02) but not D-dimer controlling for relevant covariates. Further investigation of possible interaction effects resulted in a significant association between fibrinogen and the interaction term "VE x gender" (p = 0.05). In a secondary analysis, we reran linear regression models for males and females separately. Gender-specific results revealed that the association between fibrinogen and VE remained significant in males but not females. In sum, the present data support the notion that fibrinogen levels are positively related to VE. Elevated fibrinogen might be one biological pathway by which chronic work stress may impact on teachers' cardiovascular health in the long run.

Cortisol dysregulation in school teachers in relation to burnout, vital exhaustion, and effort-reward-imbalance.

We analyzed whether burnout and vital exhaustion or job-related chronic stress is associated with hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis dysregulation in school teachers (N=135; 25-63 years; mean age 46.1+/-9.20 years). Participants collected seven saliva samples (0, 30, 45, and 60 min after awakening, 11a.m., 3 p.m., 8 p.m.) on 2 working days, 1 leisure day, and after pre-medication with 0.25mg dexamethasone (very low-dose dexamethasone suppression test) to assess basal cortisol day profiles and HPA axis negative feedback sensitivity. No associations were found between basal cortisol activity and burnout (Maslach burnout inventory, teacher burnout scale), vital exhaustion (Appels vital exhaustion questionnaire), or any component of Siegrist's effort-reward-imbalance model. However, after dexamethasone higher burnout and vital exhaustion and lower reward were significantly related to stronger cortisol suppression, pointing to altered HPA axis negative feedback sensitivity. Though, all teachers were working and in a good health status, burnout/exhaustion as well as facets of the ERI model appear to be associated with subtle dysregulation, manifested as heightened HPA axis negative feedback although not in basal cortisol day profiles.

Association between burnout and circulating levels of pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines in schoolteachers.

OBJECTIVE: The burnout syndrome has been associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. The physiological mechanisms potentially involved in this link are underexplored. Knowing that a chronic low-grade systemic inflammatory state contributes to atherosclerosis, we investigated circulating cytokine levels in relation to burnout symptoms. METHODS: We studied 167 schoolteachers (median, 48 years; range, 23-63 years; 67% women) who completed the Maslach Burnout Inventory with its three subscales emotional exhaustion (EE), lack of accomplishment (LA), and depersonalization (DP). Levels of the proinflammatory cytokine tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha and of the anti-inflammatory cytokines interleukin (IL)-4 and IL-10 were determined in fasting morning plasma samples. The TNF-alpha/IL-4 ratio and the TNF-alpha/IL-10 ratio were computed as two indices of increased inflammatory activity. Analyses were adjusted for demographic factors, medication, lifestyle factors (including sleep quality), metabolic factors, and symptoms of depression and anxiety. RESULTS: Higher levels of total burnout symptoms aggregating the EE, LA, and DP subscales independently predicted higher TNF-alpha levels (DeltaR(2)=.024, P=.046), lower IL-4 levels (DeltaR(2)=.021, P=.061), and a higher TNF-alpha/IL-4 ratio (DeltaR(2)=.040, P=.008). Higher levels of LA predicted decreased IL-4 levels (DeltaR(2)=.041, P=.008) and a higher TNF-alpha/IL-4 ratio (DeltaR(2)=.041, P=.007). The categorical dimensions of the various burnout scales (e.g., burnout yes vs. no) showed no independent relationship with any cytokine measure. CONCLUSION: Burnout was associated with increased systemic inflammation along a continuum of symptom severity rather than categorically. Given that low-grade systemic inflammation promotes atherosclerosis, our findings may provide one explanation for the increased cardiovascular risk previously observed in burned-out individuals.

Further support for higher salivary cortisol levels in "morning" compared to "evening" persons.

We analyzed free cortisol daytime levels in a "3-days-7-samples-a-day" protocol in relation to morningness in 112 middle-aged male and female adults derived from the first year of data of the Trier Teacher Stress Study using a one-item proxy for the assessment of chronotype. First, log-transformed cortisol levels were analyzed by a repeated-measures approach controlling for relevant covariates. Results yielded an almost significant main effect of morningness (P=.06). Subsequent within-day analyses, additionally controlling for awakening time, resulted in (marginally) significant main effects of morningness at Day 1 (P=.06) and Day 3 (P=.05) and a significant interaction of sample-by-morningness at Day 2 (P=.04). In sum, the present data seem to corroborate the idea of higher daytime cortisol levels in morning relative to evening types in a sample of healthy middle-aged male and female adults.

Psychosocial Hazard Analysis in a Heterogeneous Workforce: Determinants of Work Stress in Blue- and White-Collar Workers of the European Steel Industry.

The European steel industry's workforce is highly heterogeneous and consists of various occupational groups, presumably facing different psychosocial stressors. The few existing studies on the subject mainly focused on physical constraints of blue-collar workers, whereas the supposable psychosocial workload received only little research attention. This is remarkable considering the challenges associated with statutory required risk assessment of psychosocial hazards. Valid measures of hazard analysis must account for various stressors and reliably identify them, also between occupational groups. The present study, based on a sample of blue- and white-collar workers (N = 124) from the European steel industry, aims to provide a first insight into psychosocial stressors and strain at work in this rarely researched industrial sector. Furthermore, two well-known theoretical roadmaps in job analysis are examined regarding their utility for risk assessment in heterogeneous workforces: the German standard version of the Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire (COPSOQ) and the short version of the effort-reward imbalance questionnaire. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses revealed that the COPSOQ was better suited to predict various strain indices in the present sample. Especially stressors relating to socioemotional aspects, such as work-privacy conflict, revealed a reasonable impact, indicating the need for comprehensive solutions at the organizational level instead of solutions focusing on single workplaces. To conclude, a broadly diversified and validated approach in psychosocial risk assessment is needed to adequately assess the variety of psychosocial factors at work and in different occupational groups.

Cognitive Effects of Mindfulness Training: Results of a Pilot Study Based on a Theory Driven Approach.

The present paper reports a pilot study which tested cognitive effects of mindfulness practice in a theory-driven approach. Thirty-four fifth graders received either a mindfulness training which was based on the mindfulness-based stress reduction approach (experimental group), a concentration training (active control group), or no treatment (passive control group). Based on the operational definition of mindfulness by Bishop et al. (2004), effects on sustained attention, cognitive flexibility, cognitive inhibition, and data-driven as opposed to schema-based information processing were predicted. These abilities were assessed in a pre-post design by means of a vigilance test, a reversible figures test, the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test, a Stroop test, a visual search task, and a recognition task of prototypical faces. Results suggest that the mindfulness training specifically improved cognitive inhibition and data-driven information processing.