Browsing by Subject "stressinhallinta"

Tutkielmassa tarkastellaan lääketieteen opiskelijoiden stressinhallintaan liittyvää toimijuutta. Helsingin yliopiston lääketieteen opiskelijoista puolet ovat ilmaisseet kokevansa stressiä opintojensa aikana, joka on myös kansainvälisesti tunnistettu ongelma. Tutkielman tarkoituksena oli tuoda esiin, kuinka kirjoittajat käyttävät erilaisia toimijuuden modaliteetteja reflektiopäiväkirjoissaan ja minkälaiseksi opiskelijoiden stressinhallintaan liittyvä toimijuus modaliteettien myötä rakentuu heidän kirjoituksissaan. Tutkielman tavoitteena oli saavuttaa syvempi ymmärrys lääketieteen opiskelijoiden stressinhallintaan liittyvästä toimijuudesta. Tutkielman aineistona käytettiin Helsingin yliopiston lääketieteellisessä tiedekunnassa vuonna 2017 järjestetyn stressinhallintakurssin osallistujien reflektiopäiväkirjoja. Tutkielman analyysimenetelmänä toimi sisällönanalyysi ja aineiston jäsentämiseen liittyvänä teoreettisena analyysityövälineenä käytettiin Jyrkämän määrittelemää toimijuuden modaliteettimallia, joka koostuu osaamisen, kykenemisen, haluamisen, täytymisen, voimisen ja tuntemisen ulottuvuuksista. Toimijuuden lähtökohta pohjautui relationistiseen lähestymistapaan, jossa toimijuus nähdään tilannesidonnaisena sekä yksilön ja ympäristön välisessä vuorovaikutuksessa rakentuvana ilmiönä. Stressinhallintaan liittyvä toimijuus modaliteetin kautta tarkasteltuna rakentui lääketieteen opiskelijoiden motivaatiosta ja tavoitteista oppia lisää stressinhallinnasta. Kurssilla lisääntynyt osaaminen viritti toiveita ja motivaatiota hyödyntää opittuja stressinhallinnankeinoja tulevaisuudessa. Osaamisen lisääntymisen kannalta tärkeäksi tekijäksi stressinhallintakurssiin sisältyvien luentojen lisäksi osoittautui oman toiminnan tarkkailu ja haitallisten ajatus- ja toimintamallien tunnistaminen stressipäiväkirjan avulla. Lääketieteen opiskelijoiden stressinhallintaan liittyvää toimijuutta tuki heidän fyysinen kykynsä harjoittaa itselleen mielekkäitä stressinhallinnan keinoja. Opiskelijoiden stressinhallintaan liittyvää toimijuutta vahvisti myös saavutettavissa olevat mahdollisuudet ja valinnat, jotka liittyivät arjen valintoihin ja sosiaalisiin suhteisiin. Opiskelijoiden stressinhallintaan liittyvää toimijuutta heikensi erityisesti väsymys, heidän omat haitalliset ajatus- ja käyttäytymismallit sekä opiskelijan rooliin liittyvät tekijät, kuten esimerkiksi tenttimiseen liittyvät paineet. Tulokset osoittivat, että stressinhallintaan liittyvään oman toiminnan reflektoimiseen on hyödyllistä kannustaa lääketieteen opiskelijoita myös jatkossa. Tutkielman tuloksia voidaan hyödyntää esimerkiksi stressinhallinnan opetuksen kehittämisessä.

The purpose of this master’s thesis is to find out which factors do classroom teachers, who have graduated from the University of Helsinki, perceive as significant factors causing work stress. In addition, it is investigated which background variables (e.g., factors related to teacher, teaching and work environment) are related to work stress. The aim is also to find out which methods class teachers have to support their coping at work. This thesis was carried out as a mixed methods research. The quantitative data was obtained through a questionnaire, which was responded by 59 class teachers who have graduated from the University of Helsinki. The data was statistically analysed using IBM SPSS. The analytical methods used were factor analysis, correlation analysis, t-tests and cross-tabulation. The quantitative results guided the development of the frame for the interview, and based on them, 4 respondents were selected for interview. The qualitative data was obtained through thematic interviews. The data was analysed by means of content analysis. The most significant factors causing work stress in a class teacher’s work are students interfering with classroom interaction, supporting special education students, responsibility for student learning, heavy workload, externally determined factors related to the development of teaching as well as some factors related to the work environment and general nature of the work. Low satisfaction with teacher training, low support from teacher colleagues, working in Greater Helsinki and teaching planning as an ability gained from studies are background variables which are related class teachers’ work stress. Problem-focused coping methods used by class teachers were managing working time, taking one’s own coping into account in planning teaching, precise practices and building good relationships with guardians and filtering media. Emotion-focused coping methods used by class teachers were leisure and healthy lifestyles, strengthening the working atmosphere, occupational well-being factors, distancing oneself and regulating emotions. In addition to this, coping methods focused on both problem and emotion, were the support of colleagues, the support of school administration, foremanship and self-awareness.

Mindfulness has become a popular method for practicing the mind. Research literature provides strong evidence of its welfare effects and it is increasingly being used in stress management. In this thesis mindfulness is considered as a resource for teachers to respond to stress. Work-related stress among teachers is a growing problem for education. The thesis explains how teachers can take advantage of mindfulness in their profession. The thesis has been carried out in accordance with the literature review method, therefore the aim has been to increase the theoretical understanding of the mindfulness concept and its possibilities in managing the stress of teachers. First, the concept of mindfulness is examined aiming to make its features visible. Secondly, stress and mindfulness’s usefulness to reduce stress are considered. Third, a review is made of the effect of the method on the teacher's work-related stress. Mindfulness is seen as an influential way of addressing stress factors and changing the cognitive assessment of stressful situations. This method helps to ease the psychological plight and emotional experience of stress. Practicing mindfulness was associated with reduced stress. With mindfulness, teachers can expand their resources to face the everyday stress-factors in the classroom.

Objectives. Previous studies have shown that some personality characteristics are associated with better coping than others. Knowledge concerning temperament characteristics and coping methods among primary school teachers is so far limited. The aim of this study was to examine the association between primary school teachers' temperament characteristics and coping methods. The hypotheses were that, 1) high harm avoidance is associated with the use of the emotion focused coping, 2) low harm avoidance is associated with problem focused coping, 3) high reward dependence is associated with seeking for social support, 4) persistence is associated with problem focused coping, and 5) high novelty seeking is associated with problem focused coping. Methods. The participants were 55 primary school teachers in the metropolitan area. Temperament was measured using Cloninger's Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI). The temperament characteristics were harm avoidance, novelty seeking, reward dependence and persistence. Coping was measured using The COPE Inventory. The questions were combined into 15 coping strategies. The data were analysed using Pearson correlation and linear regression. Socio-economic background was controlled in the first model and the other temperament characteristics in the second model. Results and conclusions. Different temperament characteristics have differential associations with the used coping strategies. High harm avoidance was associated with the use of the emotion-focused coping methods and with the problem-focused coping methods. High novelty seeking was associated with the decreased use of avoidant coping and increased use of the emotion-focused coping methods. High reward dependence was associated with seeking of both instrumental and emotional social support and emotion-focused coping methods. Persistence was associated with decreased use of the problem-focused coping methods. The results of this study should be confirmed and repeated with the use of larger and more representative sample of classroom teachers. Also the future research should study if coping methods work as mediating factors between teachers' personality traits and well-being at work and associations of Cloninger's personality theory's character traits and different personality profiles to coping methods.

In Helsinki Medical school, half of the students experience lot of stress during their studies. Earlier inter-national research shows that university students wellbeing can be improved with practicing mindfulness skills, but in Finland there are fewer studies in this topic. Research on mindfulness trainings effects on different study programs, age-groups and genders are also missing. The aim of this study was to find out, if practicing mindfulness is linked to better wellbeing in university students in Helsinki Medical school. Other aim was to find out and there some effect concerning study program, gender, age, the amount of mindfulness training or earlier mindfulness background. The study was randomized controlled trial research with intervention- (N=52) and control group (N=35). Intervention group practiced mindfulness skills on different methods and control group had sup-port as usual from the university. The measures were gathered with online questionnaire in the in the baseline and at the end of the study (5-8weeks). T-test was used to analyze changes between baseline and finish measurements. Repeated ANOVA was used to measure intervention effect. The overall wellbeing in the intervention group did not change during the intervention. Whereas in control groups wellbeing decreased statistically significantly in almost every variable. It is possible, that mindfulness training helps to prevent increase of stress levels. There was seen decrease in subjective wellbeing in both groups, but in the intervention group the decrease was significantly less (p= 0.03, η2 =.053). The intervention effect size (η2) was small. In intervention group there was a significant differ-ence between medical and dentistry students and psychology and logopedics student’s subjective wellbe-ing (p=0.037, η2=.084). There was a moderate intervention effect (η2). Medical and dentistry students experienced more effect from the intervention. Due to small amount of the study subjects, results are di-rectional. The results support the earlier findings where mindfulness has effect on wellbeing. Methods based on mindfulness training should be studied more to find out cost effective and preventive ways to support medical student’s wellbeing. More research is also needed to find out the best methods for different genders, age groups and students from different study programs.