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Murat Yıldırım,1,2 Ümit Dilekçi,3 Francesco Marcatto,4 Juan Gómez-Salgado5,6 1Department of Psychology, Faculty of Science and Letters, Agri Ibrahim Cecen University, Agri, Turkey; 2Department of Social and Educational Sciences, Lebanese American University, Beirut, Lebanon; 3Department of Child Development, Batman University, Batman, Turkey; 4Department of Life Sciences, University of Trieste, Trieste, Italy; 5Department of Sociology, Social Work and Public Health, Faculty of Labour Sciences, University of Huelva, Huelva, Spain; 6Safety and Health Postgraduate Program,Universidad Espíritu Santo, Guayaquil, EcuadorCorrespondence: Murat Yıldırım, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Science and Letters, Agri Ibrahim Cecen University, Fırat Mahallesi Yeni Üniversite Caddesi, No: 2 AE/1 04100 Merkez, Ağrı, Turkey, Email muratyildirim@agri.edu.tr; muratyildirimphd@gmail.com Juan Gómez-Salgado, Department of Sociology, Social Work and Public Health, Faculty of Labour Sciences, University of Huelva, Avenida Tres de marzo, s/n, Huelva, 21007, Spain, Tel +34 959219700, Email salgado@uhu.es; jgsalgad@gmail.comIntroduction: Measuring and understanding perceived occupational stress is crucial for understanding workers’ experiences of stress in the workplace and its potential implications on mental health outcomes and job performance. However, there is a scarcity of brief measures containing relevant items focused solely on occupational stress, suitable for integration with risk assessment tools for work-related stress. This study aimed to validate the Perceived Occupational Stress (POS) scale in Turkish and examined its measurement invariance across Turkish and Italian samples.Methods: The participants included 350 Turkish teachers (55.7% male) and 160 Italian workers (60.6% female).Results: The results showed a single-factor structure explaining 69.61% of the total variance for the POS. The internal consistency was found to be high in both samples. The results also indicated that the factor structure of the POS was equivalent across the two groups, supporting measurement invariance.Conclusion: Overall, the POS demonstrated solid measurement properties, including validated factor structure, internal reliability, and measurement invariance.Keywords: perceived occupational stress, work-related stress, measurement invariance, cross-cultural comparisons, Turkish transcultural translation, validity and reliability

Background The intricate interplay between work-related stress and its physiological impact has drawn extensive research attention. Dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate (DHEA-S) emerges as a potential biomarker reflecting stress-related endocrine changes. Aims This cross-sectional study aimed to examine the association between job demands and DHEA-S levels among healthcare workers. The study also explored potential correlations between DHEA-S levels and psychophysical symptoms commonly linked to work-related stress. Methods A sample of 488 healthcare workers from a local health authority participated. Job demands were measured using the Demands scale of the Health and Safety Management Standards Indicator Tool. DHEA-S levels and symptom prevalence were assessed through serum analysis and questionnaires, respectively. Results Workers exposed to high job demands exhibited significantly lower DHEA-S levels compared to those with low job demands. Psychophysical symptoms, including sleep disorders, depression, and headache, were more prevalent in the high-demands group. DHEA-S levels showed significant negative correlations with the prevalence of all considered symptoms. Conclusions The study shows the inverse relationship between job demands and DHEA-S levels among healthcare workers, indicating that high job demands correlate with reduced DHEA-S secretion and increased symptom prevalence. The findings suggest DHEA-S as a potential biomarker for assessing the physiological consequences of work-related stress. Proactive interventions in managing job demands are crucial for promoting employee well-being and productivity in demanding work environments. By recognizing DHEA-S as a stress biomarker, organizations can effectively address stress-related health risks and implement targeted interventions for enhancing employees' overall health and work performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Nursing is pivotal to healthcare delivery but is often associated with high levels of organizational stress. In this cross-sectional study, we aimed to investigate the associations between exposure to organizational stressors, measured using the Health and Safety Executive Management Standards Indicator Tool, and psychosomatic complaints among nurses in a medium-sized city hospital in northeastern Italy., Methods: A total of 215 nurses participated in the study, completing self-report questionnaires assessing organizational stressors and the prevalence of psychosomatic complaints experienced over the preceding six months., Results: Significant associations were observed between various organizational stressors and psychosomatic complaints among nurses. Specifically, the Relationships factor emerged as a significant predictor of palpitations, irritability, anxiety, physical and mental tiredness, and headache. Additionally, Demands and Managers' support were identified as significant predictors of specific psychosomatic complaints., Conclusion: This study highlights the critical role of addressing organizational stressors, particularly those related to interpersonal relationships, in promoting nurse well-being and optimizing patient care delivery. Despite its strengths, including the use of a well-established measurement tool and a comprehensive assessment of psychosomatic complaints, limitations such as the cross-sectional design and self-report measures warrant consideration. By prioritizing supportive work environments and implementing targeted interventions, healthcare organizations can cultivate a culture of well-being among nurses, ultimately enhancing the quality and safety of healthcare delivery., Competing Interests: Conflict of Interest: The authors declare no conflicts of interest., (© 2024 the Author(s), licensee AIMS Press.)

This study presents and validates the Italian adaptation of the Dark Tetrad at Work (DTW) scale, an instrument for assessing four socially aversive personality traits (narcissism, Machiavellianism, psychopathy and sadism) in the context of the workplace. A total of 300 Italian-speaking participants (50% female, M age = 32 years ± 9.2) and 253 English-speaking participants (38% female, M age = 39 years ± 12.1) were recruited via an online survey platform. The Italian-speaking sample was used to test the factorial structure, reliability and criterion-related validity of the Italian version of the DTW, whereas the English-speaking sample was used to test cross-language measurement invariance. Results from confirmatory factor analysis showed that the original four-factor model provided the best fit to the data. The Italian DTW scale demonstrated acceptable internal consistency, with reliability coefficients of ω = .77 for narcissism, ω = .80 for Machiavellianism, and ω = .81 for both psychopathy and sadism. Concurrent associations between the DTW scales and negative and positive workplace outcomes supported the criterion validity of the scale. Machiavellianism, psychopathy, and sadism positively correlated with counterproductive work behaviors and workplace bullying, and negatively with organizational citizenship behaviors and affective organizational commitment. In contrast, narcissism exhibited a unique pattern: It correlated positively with positive workplace behaviors and negatively with counterproductive behaviors toward the organization, but it was also found to be a significant predictor of workplace bullying. This finding may reflect multidimensional nature of narcissism, but a note of caution is warranted in interpreting this result, as all measurements relied on self-report instruments, introducing the possibility of socially desirable associations influencing the outcomes. Finally, the comparison with the English sample established configural, full metric and partial scale invariance, allowing for valid cross-language comparisons between Italian and English-speaking populations in the future. Preliminary Italian normative data were provided to offer a benchmark for the interpretation of DTW values. This study provides a reliable and valid instrument tailored to the Italian workforce, enhancing our understanding of dark personality traits within organizational contexts and providing organizations with an effective means to address and manage dark personality traits for a healthier workplace culture., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2024 Marcatto et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

The anticipation of regret is known to be a primary motivator of receiving a vaccination. Aim of this study is to evaluate whether the use of messages that leverage the anticipated emotion of regret can increase the intention to get the flu vaccination. The participants (N = 110) randomly received a leaflet containing a standard prevention message (control condition) or message modified to induce the anticipation of regret over not being vaccinated (experimental condition), along with a questionnaire. The experimental condition's participants reported significantly higher levels of regret and higher intention to vaccinate than the participants in the control condition. Anticipated regret resulted to be a significant mediator of the intention to get vaccinated. Manipulating the salience of regret appears to be a simple and inexpensive way of effectively promoting preventive behaviour. The implications of this result for reducing COVID-19 vaccine hesitation are discussed., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.