Mobbing in Schools and Hospitals in Uruguay: Prevalence and Relation to Loss of Status.
In the present study in secondary schools and hospitals in Uruguay ( N = 187), we examined the relationship between feeling the victim of mobbing and a perceived loss of status. Nearly all forms of mobbing were more prevalent among hospital employees than among school employees. Among hospital employees, 40.4%, and among school employees, 23.9% reported being the victim of mobbing at least once a week. Being the victim of mobbing was, in both hospitals and schools, more prevalent among older employees, and in hospitals, among employees who were more highly educated and who had been employed for a longer time. Men and women did not differ in reporting that one was a victim of mobbing, but m…
The psychometric structure of the Spanish language version of the Iowa-Netherlands Comparison Orientation Measure in Spain and Chile
Abstract The present study investigated the structure of the Spanish version of the Iowa-Netherlands Comparison Orientation Measure (INCOM-E), an 11-item measure that assesses individual differences in social comparison orientation (SCO), i.e., the extent to which people compare themselves with others. Data came from samples from Spain (n = 1,133) and Chile (n = 2,757). Confirmatory Factor Analyses and Mokken Scale Analyses supported in both samples not the assumed two-factor structure, but a single factor structure, consisting of eight items. The resulting eight-item version of the INCOM-E was reliable in both samples, according the Gutmann’s lambda–2 (.82 in Spain and .83 in Chile), and c…
Social comparison, coping and depression in people with spinal cord injury
The present study among 70 people with spinal cord injury examined the prevalence and correlates of identification (seeing others as a potential future) and contrast (seeing others in competitive terms) in social comparison as related to coping and depression. The most prevalent social comparison strategy was downward contrast (a positive response to seeing others who were worse-off), followed by upward identification (a positive response to perceiving better-off others as a potential future), downward identification (a negative response to perceiving worse-off others as a potential future), and upward contrast (a negative response to seeing others who were better-off). Those with less seve…
Envy in the Workplace: A Systematic Review of the Past Five Years
In recent years, interest in studying envy at work has grown. Based on a previous review on envy and jealousy at work, the objective of this paper is to review and systematize the knowledge about this topic provided by empirical research in the past five years. After the search in scientific databases, establishing exclusion and inclusion criteria and literature coding, 32 papers were selected. The results show researchers’ growing interest in studying benign envy and its consequences and exploring new variables to explain envy in the workplace. Social comparison theory and cognitive appraisal theory are the two main theoretical frameworks used in the studies reviewed. The role of the leade…
Engaging in upward and downward comparisons as a determinant of relative deprivation at work
A longitudinal study was conducted among 93 nurses to determine the role of comparing one's performance with that of one's colleagues in the increase versus decrease of perceived relative deprivation at work over a period of one year. Relative deprivation at T2 had increased particularly among those high in social comparison orientation (Gibbons & Buunk, 1999) who at T1 (1) more frequently engaged in upward comparisons; (2) more frequently derived positive as well as negative feelings from such comparisons; and (3) more frequently derived negative feelings from downward comparison. Moreover, engaging in downward comparison also led to an increase in perceived relative deprivation at T2.…
Competición intrasexual en el trabajo: diferencias sexuales en celos y envidia en el trabajo
ResumenDesde una perspectiva evolucionista, este articulo aborda las diferencias sexuales en las caracteristicas del rival que provocan celos y envidia en el trabajo, y como se relacionan con la competicion intrasexual. La muestra estuvo compuesta por 114 trabajadores de diferentes sectores profesionales. Los rivales provocaron mas celos y envidia en las mujeres que en los hombres cuando eran fisicamente atractivos. En ambos sexos, las habilidades sociales y el poder social y dominancia fueron las caracteristicas del rival que provocaron mas celos y envidia. En las mujeres, los celos provocados por el atractivo fisico del rival se relacionaron con la competicion intrasexual, mientras que en…
Jealousy at work: The role of rivals’ characteristics
The present study examined rival characteristics that may evoke jealousy in the workplace, differences between men and women in this regard, and the relationship between jealousy responses and intrasexual competitiveness and social comparison orientation. Participants were 426 male and female employees. By means of a questionnaire, participants were presented with a jealousy-evoking scenario after which jealousy responses to 24 rival characteristics were assessed. Findings showed that a rival's social communal attributes evoked highest levels of jealousy, and that, compared to men, women reported more jealousy in response to a rival's physical attractiveness. Overall, as individuals had hig…
Attractive rivals may undermine the expectation of career advancement and enhance jealousy
This experiment with 119 adult females examined the effect of a rival’s attractiveness on jealousy and career advancement expectations in a simulated work setting where individuals had to compete for a job promotion. We hypothesized that an attractive rival would evoke relatively more jealousy and lower career advancement expectations, especially in individuals high in Intrasexual Competitiveness (ISC). In addition, we examined the moderating effects of characteristics attributed to the rival in terms of popularity, professionalism, and unfriendliness. The results showed that, overall, an attractive rival induced more jealousy and lower career advancement expectations than an unattractive r…
Does Theorizing on Reciprocal Altruism Apply to the Relationships of Individuals with a Spinal Cord Injury?
From the perspective of reciprocal altruism, we examined the role of reciprocity in the close relationships of people inflicted with a spinal cord injury (SCI) ( n = 70). We focused on the help receiver rather than on the help giver. Participants perceived more reciprocity in relationships with friends than in relationships with the partner and with family members. In these last relationships, perceptions of indebtedness were more prevalent than perceptions of deprivation. However, most negative feelings were evoked by a lack of reciprocity in partner relationships, followed by family relationships, and next by friendships. Moreover, depression was especially associated with a lack of perc…
Social comparison as a predictor of changes in burnout among nurses
This study addressed the question whether the affect evoked by social comparisons and individual differences in social comparison orientation (SCO) may predict the development of burnout over a period of one year. The participants were 93 nurses (25 males and 68 females) who filled out a questionnaire twice, with an interval of about one year. Comparisons with others performing better than oneself (upward comparisons) were reported to occur more often, to evoke more positive affect, and to invoke less negative affect than comparisons with others performing worse than oneself (downward comparisons). Those who responded at Time 1 (T1) with more positive affect to upward comparison and with le…
Targets and dimensions of social comparison among people with spinal cord injury and other health problems
The present research examined comparison targets and comparison dimensions among two Spanish samples of individuals facing serious illnesses and diseases. In Study 1, 90 older patients (mean age 66.36) with various age-related diseases, particularly cardiovascular diseases and diabetes, indicated that they compared themselves most often with others with the same disease, next with others with another disease and least with people without health problems. They compared themselves more often on their mental state, symptoms and physical activities than on their social activities. Social comparison orientation (SCO) as an individual difference characteristic was associated with more frequent co…
Social comparisons at work as related to a cooperative social climate and to individual differences in social comparison orientation
This study examined the frequency of social comparisons in a work setting, and the feelings that these comparisons evoked. These processes were related to individual differences in social comparison orientation, and to the perception of a cooperative social climate at work. The participants were 216 physicians from various health centers in the Community of Valencia in Spain. In general, upward comparisons occurred more often, and elicited more positive and less negative affect than downward comparisons. Those high in social comparison orientation reported relatively more upward as well as downward comparisons, more positive affect after downward comparisons, and more negative affect after …
Manual therapy for tension-type headache related to quality of work life and work presenteeism:secondary analysis of a randomized controlled trial
OBJECTIVE: The objective of this research is to evaluate the efficacy of manual therapy for tension-type headache (TTH) in restoring workers quality of work life, and how work presenteeism affects this relation.DESIGN: This study is a secondary analysis of a factorial, randomized clinical trial on manual therapy interventions. Altogether, 80 patients (85% women) with TTH and without current symptoms of any other concomitant disease participated.INTERVENTIONS: An experienced therapist delivered the treatment: myofascial inhibitory technique (IT), articulatory technique (AT), combined technique (IT and AT), and control group (no treatment).RESULTS: In general, all treatments as compared to ou…
Un Modelo Causal Sobre los Antecedentes y consecuentes del estrés de Rol en Profesionales de la Salud
En el presente trabajo se somete a contrastación empírica un modelo causal sobre los antecedentes y las consecuencias del estrés de rol en profesionales sanitarios. La muestra utilizada es de 178 profesionales sanitarios (Médicos y personal de enfermería) que desempeñan su rol en hospitales, clínicas y Centros de Atención Primaria. Para examinar el modelo se ha utilizado el paquete estadístico LISRELL VII. Los resultados obtenidos muestran que la estandarización de objetivos tiene un efecto directo y negativo sobre el conflicto de rol y un efecto directo y positivo sobre la claridad de rol y la satisfacción laboral; el conflicto de rol no tiene ningún efecto directo sobre la satisfacción la…
Height predicts jealousy differently for men and women
Because male height is associated with attractiveness, dominance, and reproductive success, taller men may be less jealous. And because female height has a curvilinear relationship with health and reproductive success (with average-height females having the advantages), female height may have a curvilinear relationship with jealousy. In Study 1, male height was found to be negatively correlated with self-reported global jealousy, whereas female height was curvilinearly related to jealousy, with average-height women reporting the lowest levels of jealousy. In Study 2, male height was found to be negatively correlated with jealousy in response to socially influential, physically dominant, and…
The beneficial effects of therapeutic craniofacial massage on quality of life, mental health and menopausal symptoms and body image: A randomized controlled clinical trial.
Abstract Objective The objective of this study was to determine the effect of massage in the craniofacial area in menopausal women after the treatment and one month after its completion, and to measure its influence on quality of life in relation to symptoms of menopause, mental health, and body image perception. Design 50 participants with menopause, aged 45–65 years, participated in a single-blind randomized controlled trial. Participants were randomly assigned to two groups: craniofacial massage group (CMG), who received massage treatment (n = 25), and control group (CG), without treatment (n = 25). Prior to randomization, all participants provided demographic and clinical information. Q…
Gender differences in the jealousy-evoking effect of rival characteristics
This study examines gender differences in the jealousy-evoking nature of rival characteristics in two Spanish-speaking countries (Argentina and Spain). A total of 388 Spanish students and 444 Argentinean students participated in the study. First, the cross-cultural validity of a Dutch scale containing 56 rival characteristics was examined. A factor analysis distinguished four dimensions (i.e., social power and dominance, physical attractiveness, physical dominance, and social-communal attributes). After the analysis, the final scale contained in total 24 items. Results showed that in Argentina and Spain combined, men experienced more jealousy than women when their rival was more physically …
Anxiety and the severity of Tension-Type Headache mediate the relation between headache presenteeism and workers’ productivity
The primary objective of this study was to explore the mechanisms and conditions whereby Tension-Type Headache (TTH) presenteeism relates to health-related loss of productivity as a result of both reduced physical and mental health. To this end, Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was used to conduct a secondary data analysis of a randomized clinical trial involving 78 Tension-type Headache (TTH) patients. The results showed that TTH presenteeism did not directly relate to health-related loss of productivity, either due to physical, or mental health problems. However, through anxiety-state, TTH presenteeism decreased patients' productivity, as consequence of reduced physical and mental healt…