The concept of personality hardiness is tested for its contribution to perceptions of the nursing work environment. Hardiness has been traditionally linked to positive health outcomes and stress resistance, but the traits which lead to disease-resistance logically have other effects on the individual. Results of this exploratory study indicate that hardiness is negatively linked to perceptions of work pressure and role ambiguity. Positive relationships were found between hardiness and job clarity, organizational involvement, and peer cohesion. Suggestions for additional study are enumerated.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AllredK. D.SmithT. W. (1989) The hardy personality: cognitive and physiological responses to evaluative threat. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 56, 257–266.
2.
AntonovskyA. (1979) Health, stress & coping. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
3.
AverillJ. R. (1973) Personal control over adverse stimuli and its relationship to stress. Psychological Bulletin, 80, 286–303.
4.
BennettD. H.HolmesD. S. (1975) Influence of denial (situation redefinition) and projection on anxiety associated with threat to self-esteem. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 32, 915–921.
5.
BoscheckR. (1996) Health care reform and the restructuring of the pharmaceutical industry. Long Range Planning, 29, 629–642.
6.
BrandA.JohnsonJ.JohnsonS. (1986) Life stress and diabetic control in children and adolescents with insulin-dependent diabetes. Journal of Pediatric Psychology, 11, 481–495.
7.
CarverC. S. (1989) How should multifaceted personality constructs be tested? Issues illustrated by self-monitoring, attributional style, and hardiness. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 56, 577–585.
8.
CarverC. S.ScheierM. F. (1982) Control theory: a useful conceptual framework for personality—social, clinical, and health psychology. Psychological Bulletin, 92, 111–135.
9.
ContradaR. J. (1989) Type A behavior, personality hardiness, and cardiovascular response to stress. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 57, 895–903.
10.
CsikzentmihalyiM. (1975) Beyond boredom and anxiety. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
11.
EvansR. (1997) Going for the gold: the redistributive agenda behind market based health care reform. Journal of Health Politics and Law, 22, 427–465.
12.
FoxR. C.AikenL. A.MessikomerC. M. (1990) The culture of caring: AIDS and the nursing profession. The Milbank Quarterly, 68, 226–256.
13.
FunkS. C.HoustonB. K. (1987) A critical analysis of the hardiness scale's validity and utility. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 53, 572–578.
14.
GanellenR. J.BlaneyP. H. (1984) Hardiness and social support as moderators of the effects of life stress. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 47, 156–163.
15.
GentryW. D.KobasaS. C. (1984) Social and psychological resources mediating stress–illness relationships in humans. In GentryW. D. (Ed), Handbook of behavioral medicine. New York: Guilford. Pp. 87–117.
16.
HogeS. (1996) The professional responsibilities of psychiatrists in evolving healthcare systems. Bulletin of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law, 24, 393–406.
17.
HolahanC. J.MoosR. H. (1985) Life stress and health: personality, coping, and family support in stress resistance. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 49, 739–747.
18.
HoustonB. K.HolmesD. (1974) Effect of avoidant thinking and reappraisal for coping with threat involving temporal uncertainty. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 30, 382–388.
19.
HullJ. G.Van TreurenR. R.PropsomP. (1988) Attributional style and the components of hardiness. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 14, 505–513.
20.
HullJ. G.Van TreurenR. R.VirnelliS. (1987) Hardiness and health: a critique and alternative approach. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 53, 518–530.
21.
KatzD.KahnR. L. (1978) The social psychology of organizations. (2nd ed.) New York: Wiley.
22.
KeaneA.DucetteJ.AdlerD. (1985) Stress in ICU and non-ICU nurses. Nursing Research, 34, 231–236.
23.
KimW.MauborgneR. (1993) Procedural justice, attitudes, and subsidiary top management compliance with multinationals' corporate strategic decisions. Academy of Management Journal, 36, 502–526.
24.
KobasaS. C. (1979) Stressful life events, personality, and health: an inquiry into hardiness. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 37, 1–11.
25.
KobasaS. C. (1982a) Commitment and coping in stress-resistance among lawyers. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 42, 707–717.
26.
KobasaS. C. (1982b) The hardy personality: toward a social psychology of stress and health. In SandersG.SulsJ. (Eds.), Social psychology of health and illness. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum. Pp. 3–32.
27.
KobasaS. C.MaddiS. R.CouringtonS. (1981) Personality and constitution as mediators in the stress–illness relationship. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 22, 368–378.
28.
KobasaS. C.MaddiS. R.KahnS. (1982) Hardiness and health: a prospective study. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 42, 168–177.
29.
KobasaS. C.MaddiS. R.PuccettiM. C. (1982) Personality and exercise as buffers in the stress–illness relationship. Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 5, 391–404.
30.
KobasaS. C.MaddiS. R.PuccettiM. C.ZolaM. A. (1985) Effectiveness of hardiness, exercise, and social support as resources against illness. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 29, 525–533.
31.
KobasaS. C.MaddiS. R.ZolaM. A. (1985) Type A and hardiness. Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 6, 41–51.
32.
KobasaS. C.PuccettiM. C. (1983) Personality and social resources in stress resistance. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 45, 839–850.
33.
LazarusR. S. (1966) Psychological stress and the coping process. New York: McGraw-Hill.
34.
LazarusR. S.FolkmanD. (1989) Psychoactive drugs, alcohol, and stress and coping process in older adults. American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse, 15, 101–113.
35.
MaddiS. R.HooverM.KobasaS. C. (1981) Alienation and exploratory behavior. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 42, 884–890.
36.
MaddiS. R.PropstB.FeldingerI. (1965) Three expressions of the need for variety. Journal of Personality, 33, 82–98.
37.
MoosR. H. (1996) Work Environment Scale: manual. Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists Press.
38.
NowackK. (1986) Type A, hardiness, and psychological distress. Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 9, 537–548.
39.
OkunM. A.ZautraA. J.RobinsonS. E. (1988) Hardiness and health among women with rheumatoid arthritis. Personality and Individual Differences, 9, 101–107.
40.
OsipowS.SpokaneA. (1987) Manual of the Occupational Stress Inventory: Research Edition. Odessa, FL: Psychological Assessment Resources.
41.
OswaltS.MossholderK.HarrisS. (1994) Vision salience and strategic management: implications for psychological attachment to organization and job. Strategic Management Journal, 15, 477–489.
42.
OuelletteS. C. (1993) Inquiries into hardiness. In GoldbergerL.BreznitzS. (Eds.), Handbook of stress: theoretical and clinical aspects. (2nd ed.) New York: Free Press. Pp. 77–100.
43.
PaganaK. D. (1990) The relationship of hardiness and social support to student appraisal of stress in an initial clinical nursing situation. Journal of Nursing Education, 29, 255–261.
44.
PharesJ. (1976) Locus of control in personality. Morristown, NJ: General Learning Press.
45.
ReardonJ. (1996) The presence of hospital systems in rural areas. Journal of Economic Issues, 30, 859–876.
46.
RhodewaltF.AgustsdottirS. (1984) On the relationship of hardiness to the Type A behavior pattern. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 47, 81–88.
47.
RhodewaltF.ZoneJ. B. (1989) Appraisal of life change, depression, and illness in hardy and nonhardy women. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 56, 81–88.
48.
RichV. L.RichA. R. (1985) Personality hardiness and burnout in female staff nurses. Paper presented at the annual convention of the American Psychological Association, Los Angeles, CA.
49.
ScheierM. F.CarverC. S. (1987) Dispositional optimism and physical well-being: the influence of generalized outcome expectancies on health. Journal of Personality, 55, 170–210.
50.
ScheierM. F.WeintraubJ.CarverC. S. (1986) Coping with stress divergent strategies of optimists and pessimists. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 48, 1257–1264.
51.
SchlosserM. B.SheeleyL. A. (1985) The hardy personality: females coping with stress. Presented at the annual convention of the American Psychological Association, Los Angeles, CA.
52.
SchmiedL. A.LawlerK. A. (1986) Hardiness, Type A behavior, and the stress–illness relationship in working women. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51, 1218–1233.
53.
SeligmanM. E. P. (1975) Helplessness. San Francisco, CA: Freeman.
54.
ShepperdJ.KashaniJ. (1991) The relationship of hardiness, gender, and stress to health outcomes in adolescents. Journal of Personality, 59, 747–768.
55.
ShoreK. (1995) Managed care: the subjugation of a profession. Psychotherapy in Private Practice, 14, 67–75.
56.
TopfM. (1989) Sensitivity to noise, personality hardiness, and noise-induced stress in critical care nurses. Environment and Behavior, 21, 717–733.
57.
TurnipseedD. L. (1994) An analysis of the influence of work environment variables and moderators of the burnout syndrome. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 24, 782–800.
58.
WatsonD.PennebakerJ. W. (1989) Health complaints, stress, and distress: exploring the central role of negative affectivity. Psychological Review, 96, 234–254.
59.
WiebeD. J. (1991) Hardiness and stress moderation: a test of proposed mechanisms. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 60, 89–99.
