ss ............. 60
Conclusion ........................................ 62
3 METHODOLOGY ....................................... 66
Research Focus .................................... 66
Variables ......................................... 67
Research Design ................................... 67
Population and Sample Selection ................... 68
Data Collection and Instrumentation ............... 69
Data Analysis ..................................... 69
4 FINDINGS .......................................... 74
Findings Related to the Research Questions and Hypotheses .................. 74
Predicting Perceived Stress Levels ................ 76
5 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION ............................ 78
REFERENCES ................................................. 81
Appendix LIFE EVENTS SURVEY .............................. 86
Stress has long been recognized as a major contributor to the onset of significant physical and mental health problems in individuals (Maes, Vingerhoets, and Heck, 1987, pp. 567 587; Hinkle, 1987, pp. 561 566). Over the past decade, however, stress has also been implicated as an adverse factor in areas of life other than physical and mental health. In the organizational environment, stress has been implicated in the deterioration of individual performance efficiency, which in turn, affects the overall performance of the organization (Gaines and Jerimer, 1983, pp. 44 53). Stress has also been linked to high personnel turnover in organizations (Bowers, 1983, pp. 5 19).
Stress is defined as "a state of tension, strain, or pressure and is a normal reaction resulting from the interaction between an individual and the environment" (Selye, 1974, p. 312). Those actions or conditions which induce stress are referred to as stressors (MacBride, 1984, p. 5). In any individual life, or...