Role Stress and Job Outcomes in Public Accounting: Have the Gender Experiences Converged?

Using data collected from professionals in a large U.S. national public accounting firm, we explored gender differences in perceived levels of role stress and job outcomes as well as the effects of a healthy lifestyle as a coping mechanism for role stress, burnout and related job outcomes. Our large sample size (1,681) and equal participation by women (49.7%) and men (50.3%) allowed us to analyze the causal relationships of these variables using a previously tested multi-disciplinary research model (Jones, Norman, & Wier, 2010). We found that women and men perceive similar levels of role stress as defined by role ambiguity and role overload, and that women perceive less role conflict. Men and women perceive similar levels of job satisfaction and job performance. Contrary to earlier studies, women do not report higher levels of turnover intentions. Results show that efforts of the public accounting firms over the past decade may be somewhat successful in reducing the levels of role stress and turnover intentions among women. Another plausible explanation could be that an expansionist theory of gender, work and family (Barnett & Hyde, 2001) may now be responsible for improved well-being of females to the point where the genders have converged in their experience of role stress and job outcomes in public accounting.

Beta-Endorphin Modulates the Effect of Stress on Novelty-Suppressed Feeding

Although stress is implicated in the pathophysiology of mood and anxiety disorders, not all individuals who suffer stressful life events develop psychopathology. Differential susceptibility to stress may be influenced by genetically mediated differences in hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis activity and moderation of the stress response by the opioid peptide beta-endorphin (beta-E). The present study investigated genetic contributions to coping behavior by examining anxious behavior of transgenic mice with varying capacities to synthesize beta-E [B6.129S2-Pomc(tm1Low)/J; regulated by insertion of a premature stop codon into one or both copies of the proopiomelanocortin (POMC) gene], both under normal conditions and following 3 min of forced swim (FS). Ten minutes after this stress exposure or a control manipulation, acutely food-deprived female and male transgenic mice were subjected to a novelty-suppressed feeding (NSF) test, during which their interaction with an almond slice located in the center of an open field box was measured. There was an interaction between genotype and stress for latency to approach the almond and whether or not the almond was approached, such that mice with low or absent beta-E displayed a stronger aversion to novelty-feeding after stress exposure than did mice with normal levels. These data provide evidence for a moderating effect of beta-E on the behavioral response to stress. Genotypic differences in anxious behavior emerged when mice were stressed prior to behavioral assessment, suggesting that beta-E plays a role in coping behavior. These findings indicate that genetic variability in sensitivity of the beta-E system to stress may contribute, at least in part, to heritable differences in stress reactivity as well as vulnerability to stress-related psychopathology.

Attachment and Coping With Two Kinds of Relationship Stressors

This study evaluated the relationship between recalled parental treatment, attachment style, and coping with parental and romantic stressors. A group of 66 undergraduate students completed the Parental Bonding Instrument (PBI) (Parker, Tupling, & Brown, 1979), a measure of attachment style (Simpson, 1990), general questions regarding the intensity and frequency of parental and romantic stressors, and their typical ways of coping with each type (Vitaliano, Russo, Carr, Maiuro, & Becker, 1985). Data analysis showed that attachment scores were significantly correlated with coping with both kinds of stress. The most significant correlations were found between attachment and coping with romantic stressors. Overall, high or low use of a specific approach to coping was consistent in the face of parental and romantic stressors. Further, exploratory analysis revealed that the habitual intensity of the experienced stressors could act as a moderator of coping techniques.