Occupational stress and strains in rehabilitation service provision : some moderating affects of a sense of coherence : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Psychology at Massey University

Abstract

The sense of coherence was investigated as a potential moderator between psychological climate (PC) stressors and job satisfaction, intent to quit the organisation/profession and psychological well-being. Respondents were a heterogeneous group of rehabilitation providers (n=89) drawn from a list provided by the New Zealand Rehabilitation Society, and from a list of individuals who had completed a post graduate diploma in rehabilitation at Massey university. The relationships between demographic variables and other variables were examined using Pearson r's correlations and t-tests. Significant demographic variables that were entered as control variables in a series of hierarchical multiple regressions. Hierarchical multiple regressions were also performed to analyse potential moderating effects. The results of the study, found that the PC variables role ambiguity, management awareness, job variety and challenge, and leader trust and support significantly predicted job satisfaction. Role ambiguity was also found to be significant predictor of positive affect and general happiness. The SOC subscales of meaningfulness, comprehensibility and manageability were found to be significant predictors of job satisfaction. Meaningfulness was also found to be a significant predictor of intent to quit the profession and organisation, and manageability and meaningfulness significantly predicted positive affect and negative affect. The interaction analyses found that meaningfulness moderated the effects of role ambiguity on job satisfaction, and manageability moderated the effects of role ambiguity on general happiness. Meaningfulness was found to be the pivotal aspect of the SOC construct. The research limitations and implications were discussed along with recommendations for future research.