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Item Thriving in clinical veterinary practice : a strengths-based, qualitative investigation of thriving in clinical veterinarians in Aotearoa New Zealand : a thesis presented for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Veterinary Science at Massey University, Manawatū, New Zealand(Massey University, 2025-11-21) Cantley, Charlotte Emily LouiseVeterinarians play an important role in society, contributing to animal health, public health, and environmental sustainability. However, there is growing international concern about the well-being and workforce stability of veterinarians, particularly those working in clinical practice. Much of the existing research has focused on the negative impact of veterinary work on well-being, emphasising that veterinarians experience high levels of psychological distress and burnout. However, there is a lack of understanding of what enables veterinarians not only to cope in clinical practice but also to thrive and enjoy fulfilling careers. This research employed a qualitative approach, grounded in positive psychology, to explore the factors that help veterinarians thrive in clinical practice. Using in-depth, semi-structured interviews, this research investigated the lived experiences of clinical veterinarians in Aotearoa New Zealand, to identify the factors that contribute to a fulfilling and sustainable career. Participants across the three studies represented veterinarians from a wide range of clinical practice types, including companion animal, production animal, equine, and mixed practice. They included late-career veterinarians (n = 19), new and recent graduates (n = 22), and mid-late career veterinarians who were not practice owners or senior managers (n = 29). Reflexive thematic analysis was utilised to identify key themes from the data. Three final key concepts emerged as critical to thriving in veterinary clinical practice: positive leadership, a psychologically safe clinic culture, and a strong sense of purpose and meaning in work, referred to as the “3Ps” of thriving. For early-career veterinarians, positive mentorship in a psychologically safe environment was crucial for developing confidence, self-efficacy, and a professional identity suitable for general practice. Mid- and late-career veterinarians who experienced positive leadership and a healthy, safe workplace culture reported an evolving sense of purpose that included providing care to patients and expanded to encompass mentoring and supporting others in the profession, as well as philanthropic work and community commitment. These veterinarians expressed high levels of engagement and were often motivated by fostering thriving in others. The attitudes and behaviours of clinic managers were noted as particularly important. Thus, a thriving veterinary career can be considered an odyssey — a long, transformative journey shaped by challenges, growth, and continuous learning. It reflects an evolving sense of purpose, making the role of a clinical veterinarian far more than just a job. Based on these findings, a practical framework of evidence-based recommendations was designed to foster thriving throughout a veterinarian’s career. These recommendations target three levels of influence: the individual, the clinic, and the broader veterinary profession, and may help address the ongoing issues of recruitment and retention in veterinary practice. This research provides valuable insights into the benefits of pursuing a clinical career, contributing to the growing body of literature on positive well-being in the veterinary field. It highlights the importance of leadership and psychological safety — topics that have received relatively little attention in veterinary contexts — and shows how they enable veterinarians to find purpose and meaning in their work. Importantly, the research highlights that fostering thriving is a collective responsibility, shared between veterinary businesses, individual veterinarians, and the profession as a whole.Item Due diligence and psychosocial risk : examining the construction of compliance : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Management at Massey University, Auckland, New Zealand(Massey University, 2024-07-20) Deacon, Louise JoyNew Zealand’s Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 introduced two significant changes to the country’s work health and safety regulatory landscape: (1) it placed a duty upon officers to ensure that the business of which they are an officer complies with its duties under the Act; (2) it broadened the definition of health to include mental health. The latter inclusion confirmed the scope of the Act to apply to psychosocial risks at work. Despite the officers’ duties being lauded as a profound change to New Zealand’s regulatory landscape, there has been little research investigating how officers respond to these legal duties. Further, internationally, there are significant gaps in knowledge regarding the role senior company managers play in psychosocial risk management, particularly relating to the intersect of legal responsibilities and psychosocial risks. This research adopted a Foucauldian analytical approach to examine how ideas about compliance and psychosocial risks are constructed and organised. Specifically, the research questions led to an investigation of the ways in which officers conceptualised and carried out their due diligence duties as they applied to the protection of workers’ mental health and the implications thereof. Semistructured interviews were conducted with 24 officers of large companies operating in New Zealand. The findings indicate that officers tended to discursively construct risk in ways which frequently obfuscated causes of harm arising from work while also problematising the possibility of eliminating or minimising risks to workers. Further, through a process of “risk translation,” psychosocial risks were often transformed into risks which were individualised, psychologised and managerialised. This translative effect functioned to displace psychosocial risks with risks which were more recognisable and amenable to management and posed less challenge to management prerogative. In this way, a dominant construction of risk came to represent worker mental health as a cause of risk to the organisation and the object of compliance, rather than a consequence of psychosocial risk exposure. The resultant compliance responses may therefore be considered symbolic in that they represented attention to legal ideals while marginalising the management of risks arising from work. Thus, the potential of work health and safety legislation to regulate psychosocial harm arising from work was largely curtailed, highlighting the limits of self-regulation in a legal context characterised by uncertainty and ambiguity.Item The impact of cumulative trauma and self-regulation on posttraumatic stress symptoms, depression, and suicidal ideation in a sample of New Zealand firefighters : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Clinical Psychology at Massey University, Wellington, New Zealand(Massey University, 2023) Bertram, JeannetteThis thesis presents a research study that aimed to explore the levels of psychological distress in a sample of New Zealand (NZ) firefighters. While there is a growing body of literature that recognizes the importance of first responders’ psychological distress, there is still a paucity of research, especially on firefighters and in particular firefighters in NZ. A thorough search of literature did not reveal any quantitative research on NZ firefighters and factors contributing to and alleviating psychological distress. This study aimed to build on previous international findings and examine the presence of posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS), depression, and suicidal ideation (SI) in a sample of NZ firefighters, as well as investigate the impact of potentially traumatic events (PTEs) and self-regulation on this presence. First, a scoping review was undertaken of the existing evidence of the precursors to SI in firefighters. A questionnaire was developed incorporating these factors. Then, data was collected from 220 NZ firefighters through an online survey. As predicted, PTSS, depression, and SI were found to be significantly higher in NZ firefighters than in the general population. While career firefighters were found to be exposed to significantly higher cumulative trauma exposure than volunteer firefighters, no significant differences were found in the levels of psychological distress between the two groups. PTSS and depression showed a significantly positive relationship with SI. Multiple significant positive correlations were found between psychological distress and demographic and occupational characteristics. Lastly, better self-regulation skills were found to be associated with less psychological distress and moderated the relationship between cumulative trauma exposure and psychological distress.Item Investigating decision-regret and distress among psychologists impacted by client suicide : a thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirement for the degree of Doctor of Clinical Psychology at Massey University, Auckland, New Zealand(Massey University, 2022) Marshall-Edwards, ShoniBackground: Mental health professionals are tasked with making critical decisions about their client’s care. It is thus unsurprising that client suicide has been described as a distressing experience among professionals. Significant emotional, cognitive, and professional impacts have been reported which include psychological distress, shock, self-blame, guilt, and absenteeism. Due to the variability of impacts reported across the literature, a novel theoretical approach to understanding the impact of client suicide on psychologists was implemented using two decision-regret theories. Methods: A quantitative cross-sectional survey design was used to measure the impact of client suicide on psychologists. By using structural equation modelling, the following factors were investigated: regret, distress, self-blame, supervisory support, and beliefs about suicide preventability. Additionally, two regret theories were tested which included the following variables as predictors on regret: decision-regret, decision justification, decision-process quality, and intention-behaviour consistency. Control models were tested to control for carefully selected confounding variables, and a supplementary qualitative analysis was included investigating the factors related to coping following client suicide. A sample of 248 psychologists from New Zealand, Australia, Canada, United Kingdom, and the United States of America was included in this study. Results: The results identified statistically significant relationships between the following predictor variables on regret: decision-justification, decision-process quality, and beliefs about suicide preventability. Additionally, a significant moderate positive relationship was evidenced between regret (as the predictor) and distress. The qualitative analysis indicated that high-quality supervisory support and understanding the predictive limitations in assessing suicide risk were important factors in coping with client suicide. Additionally, factors identified that were related to poor coping included judgement, counter-factual thinking and blame, and confidentiality limitations preventing seeking support from loved ones. Conclusions: The present study demonstrates support for two factors which appear to influence regret levels: decision-justification and decision-process quality. Additionally, this study also evidenced regret as a significant moderate predictor of distress, highlighting the role that regret may play in influencing a range of affective states among psychologists following client suicide. The findings of the present study highlight the need for the development of robust support structures that acknowledge the impact of client suicide.Item Risk factors, work-related stressors and social support for ambulance personnel in New Zealand : an exploration of organisational and operational stressors and the importance of perceived social support : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the degree of Doctor of Clinical Psychology at Massey University, Wellington, New Zealand(Massey University, 2021) Reti, TaylaAmbulance personnel have one of the most stressful jobs across a wide range of occupations, and frequently experience operational and organisational stressors and are exposed to an increased level of traumatic events. As a result of these work-related stressors, ambulance personnel can experience psychological distress, specifically, posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) and depression. A frequently researched coping strategy used to protect against psychological distress is social support. Thus, this research provides an exploration of work-related stressors, psychological distress and the impact social support can have on psychological distress for New Zealand ambulance personnel. A total of 183 ambulance personnel participated in the current research by completing an online survey. The final sample consisted of 125 ambulance personnel. Results showed that direct traumatic exposure, organisational stressors, male gender, and perceived support significantly associated with psychological distress. Operational stress did not relate to psychological distress, and organisational stress was more strongly related to depression. Perceived social support predicted both depression and PTSS, whereas received support did not predict either type of psychological distress. Perceived support was mildly associated with received support, depression and all three sources of support (spouse/family, colleagues and supervisors). Received support was not associated with either type of psychological distress, although did show a relationship with spouse/family support and supervisor support. Spouse/family support was perceived as the strongest source of support, followed by colleague support and lastly supervisor support. Social support did not impact the relationship between direct traumatic exposure and PTSS. Implications of these results are discussed. This research contributes to the literature focused on work-related stressors, and perceived support, highlighting the important impact both organisational stressors and perceived support can have on ambulance personnel. It is hoped that conclusions drawn from this research will have beneficial implications for ambulance personnel, their families and the organisations in which they work in.Item The role of leisure engagement and satisfaction in the relationship between job stress and subjective well-being in New Zealand workers : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Psychology at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand(Massey University, 2019) Sinclair, RebeccaThe job demands-resources (JD-R) model argues that job stress is the result of an imbalance between demands and resources, and can negatively impact subjective well-being (SWB). Engagement in leisure activity provides a context for building resources through meeting key psychological needs, and fulfilment of these needs is reflected in satisfaction with leisure. Therefore, the ability to cope with and recover from job stress is believed to be affected by engaging in enjoyable and need-fulfilling leisure activity. The present study investigates the relationship between three measures of leisure engagement (variety, frequency, quantity), leisure satisfaction and SWB; and whether the relationship between job stress and SWB is mediated by leisure engagement and leisure satisfaction. Workers (n = 187) currently employed in New Zealand (NZ) were recruited through Facebook to complete an online survey. Results revealed that leisure variety and leisure frequency were positively related to SWB, but leisure quantity was not. Leisure satisfaction was positively associated with SWB, and job stress was negatively associated with SWB. The relationship between job stress and SWB was partially mediated by leisure frequency and satisfaction. Overall, the findings suggested that frequent engagement in satisfying leisure activities may be beneficial to counteract job stress and benefit employee SWB. The findings and limitations are discussed, as well as the implications for NZ organisations and workers.Item The effects of received social support on posttraumatic stress symptoms and social adjustment of New Zealand and Philippine emergency responders : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology at Massey University, Wellington, New Zealand(Massey University, 2019) Guilaran, Johnrev BarelloEmergency response work is associated with a wide range of psychological outcomes. One of the most commonly observed psychological consequences is posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS). In addition, traumatic exposure of these types are also seen to affect social adjustment, which may take the form of changes in satisfaction with social relationships and performance of social and occupational roles. In these highly stressful conditions, social support, behaviours and social interactions that provide actual assistance and embed people in loving and caring social networks (Hobfoll & Stokes, 1988), has been shown to be associated with favourable consequences. This research was conducted to test the effects of social support on PTSS and social adjustment in emergency responders – those who are mandated to protect and preserve life, property, and the environment (Prati & Pietrantoni, 2010) in the aftermath of emergencies and disasters. This thesis specifically focusses on received social support, which is the situational-environmental facet of social support. The first two manuscripts are meta-analyses on the associations of social support on psychological outcomes, to chart the topography of research in the area. Manuscript One is a systematic review and meta-analysis on the associations of social support on various psychological outcomes in emergency responders working in disasters. Manuscript Two is a meta-analysis on the influence of social support on posttraumatic stress symptoms in emergency responders, in general. In both meta-analyses, differential effects of social support were found, but there was a domination of studies on perceived social support and a scarcity of literature on received social support. Manuscripts Three through Five, which cover the results, then focussed on the association of received social support in 223 emergency responders from New Zealand (n = 195) and the Philippines (n = 28). Manuscript Three tested the main and moderating effects of received social support on PTSS while Manuscript Four tested its effect on social adjustment. For both studies, the effects of the different sources (i.e., family, peers, supervisor) and forms (i.e., emotional, tangible, informational) of received social support were also tested. Furthermore, to understand the protective assistance process between received and perceived social support, Manuscript Five tested the mediating effects of social support effectiveness and negative consequences on the relationship between received and perceived social support. The results of these studies highlight three key points. First, received social support is consistently shown to have main effects on PTSS and social adjustment. Second, reverse buffering effects were observed only in received supervisor support on PTSS. Third, support effectiveness and negative consequences do not mediate the link between received and perceived support in emergency responders. These findings suggest the limits of the effectiveness of social support on psychological outcomes, but at the same time, also suggest the potential of this naturally-occurring intervention element to enhance positive outcomes.Item Stress and psychological wellbeing in local humanitarian workers in Colombia working for a local non-governmental organization : a thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Psychology at Massey University, Albany, New Zealand(Massey University, 2008) Abad, JaimeThis study examined the differences in stress and psychological wellbeing in 75 local humanitarian personnel (70 females and 5 males, median age = 30.7) from "Fundacion CC", local non-governmental organisation from Medellin, Colombia, who worked either in the field, with the communities they help, or in an administrative facility, doing managerial and planning types of work. Participants answered the Stress Profile questionnaire in order to assess the impact of background variables such as place of work and age, and variables theoretically associated to the processes of stress such as social support, cognitive hardiness and coping styles, on their current levels of stress and psychological wellbeing. Despite increasing worldwide evidence showing the significant impacts of humanitarian work in the field on stress and mental health of humanitarian staff, all participants consistently showed low levels of stress and high levels of psychological wellbeing regardless of place of work and any other differences among them. Additionally, this study showed that variables theorized in the literature as relevant to stress were instead more significant to assess psychological wellbeing in the sample of participants. Results and implications were discussed within the guidelines of transactional models of stress.Item Stressor-manifestations in a sample of primary school principals : a longitudinal study : a thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Education(Massey University, 1991) Holland, Jack GThis thesis results from a longitudinal field study of stressfulness in nineteen New Zealand primary school principals. The study was located in a suburban area during the 1930s. After establishing a broad base of field work from the full sample, the researcher concentrated on a core of six principals, returning to the full sample in the later field work. The approach is in part retrospective as some members of the sample retired during the extended period of the study. To focus the field study, the researcher formulated six broad research questions to gather data. The study found the incidence of manifested stressors to be widespread. This thesis describes mainly 'on-job' stressors, including hassles, and identifies the stressor-manifestations sequence, including burn, burnout and pathological outcomes. Some principals displayed renewal in changed environments. The researcher linked field data with current published research findings to make an awareness model combining the stressor-manifestations sequence with aspects of stress management.Item Posttraumatic stress and posttraumatic growth in New Zealand Surf Lifesavers : an analysis of age, gender, social support, & self-efficacy : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Psychology at Massey University, New Zealand(Massey University, 2017) Rooke, AimeeIntroduction. New Zealand surf lifeguards are exposed to a range of potentially traumatic events including search and rescue, trauma and medical care, and body retrievals. Although extensive training is required and peer support programmes are in place, little is known about the impact this work may have as there is a lack of published literature focusing on surf lifeguards. Method: A cross-sectional online survey was available to all current, paid and volunteer lifeguards, 17 years and older. Information was gathered on personal and surf lifesaving trauma exposure, posttraumatic stress symptoms, posttraumatic growth (PTG), perceived social support and perceived self-efficacy. Statistical analyses were performed to explore hypothesized relationships between these constructs and demographic variables. Results: A total of 181 lifeguards 17 years and older (M = 26.96, SD = 12.45), were included in the final analysis. Males reported significantly higher trauma exposure, yet females presented with higher posttraumatic stress symptoms. 7.8% of adolescents and 1.8% of adults scored above 40 on the PTSD measure suggesting probable PTSD. Adolescent participants reported both higher posttraumatic stress and PTG. Total trauma exposure, including surf lifesaving events, failed to show a significant relationship with trauma outcomes. However, personal traumatic events alone did show a small but significant relationship with both posttraumatic stress and PTG. The expected relationships between social support and self-efficacy with posttraumatic stress were not verified. Social support and self-efficacy did show a small but significant positive relationship with PTG. No moderation effect was found for either social support or self-efficacy. Exploratory analysis did show that age moderated the relationship between trauma exposure and both posttraumatic stress and PTG. Discussion. Results suggest that being younger may facilitate PTG but it may also make some vulnerable to posttraumatic stress symptoms under high trauma conditions. Traumatic events within Surf lifesaving were not related to trauma outcomes suggesting that personal trauma may have a stronger impact than lifeguard related trauma. The lack of evidence supporting the impact of social support and self-efficacy may be due to limitations in the measures used. Results and limitations are discussed with a focus on how this unique population could benefit from future research.