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Biomedical subjects

P Warr

Publications and source records attributed to P Warr.

17 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2004

Activity and psychological well-being in older people.

Affective well-being and life satisfaction between the ages of 50 and 74 were investigated as a function of the frequency with which individuals undertook six types of activity, after control for potential confounding variables. Overall activity level (across all types) was significantly positively associated with both outcome variables. Activities in the Family and Social and in the Church and Charity domains were found to be important in this age-range, but other types of activity were less consistently associated with affective well-being or life satisfaction. Differences were observed in the frequency of some activity types between men and women and between people in employment, unemployment and retirement. However, associations between activity and psychological well-being did not vary between men and women, and differences in correlations with well-being between non-employed and employed individuals were significant only for aggregate indicators.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed2000

Learning strategies, learning anxiety and knowledge acquisition.

In a study of adult technical trainees, it was found that four reported learning strategies were significantly associated with learning gain: Rehearsal, Interpersonal Help-seeking, Emotion Control and Motivation Control. However, all those associations were negative. A prior measure of learning anxiety (but not learning ability or learning motivation) was shown to account for that pattern, and several learning strategies and learning anxiety were found to interact in predicting knowledge change: associations between a strategy and learning were more positive for less anxious individuals. Research into learning strategies needs to examine additional variables (such as anxiety), and to look beyond the school and college settings typically investigated.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1997

Correlates and perceived outcomes of four types of employee development activity.

Participation in 4 different types of development activity was studied in a sample of manufacturing employees (N = 1,798). It was found that similar sets of variables were linked to greater participation in 3 activities: required training courses in work time, work-based development activity in work time, and career planning activity in work time or an individual's own time. Three kinds of reported benefits were studied, and the occurrence of these benefits was found to vary between different types of development activity. Overall job satisfaction and organizational commitment were significantly associated with prior participation in required training courses and work-based development activity. However, voluntary learning in one's own time was completely unrelated to these work attitudes.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

Age and working memory: the role of perceptual speed, the central executive, and the phonological loop.

In a study (N = 61) comparing older (age range = 60-80 years, M = 67) and younger (age range = 20-33 years, M = 25) people, age deficits were observed in working memory, perceptual speed, and central executive functioning but not in phonological loop functioning. Controlling for age differences in central executive performance removed over 50% of the age-related variance in working memory span. However, controlling for perceptual speed removed all of the age-related variance in working memory span. In addition, age differences in central executive functioning were largely eliminated after controlling for age deficits in perceptual speed. These findings suggest that age differences in central executive functioning are primarily attributable to a general slowdown in the rate at which information is activated within the working memory system and that no specific deficits in the central executive occur as a consequence of aging.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

Age and occupational well-being.

Two questions are examined through an investigation of 1,686 people employed in a wide range of jobs. First, is there a U-shaped relationship between age and occupational well-being, such that medium-aged workers report lower well-being than do both younger and older people? That pattern is found, in relationship to both job anxiety-contentment and job depression-enthusiasm. Second, can the observed associations between age and well-being be accounted for by 13 potentially explanatory factors, covering job position, job characteristics, work values, demographic factors, and family life cycle? After introducing these variables into stepwise regression equations, age remains significantly predictive of job well-being. Possible additional explanations of this positive association include other characteristics, an increasingly retrospective focus, and nonoccupational experiences.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1987

Mental health of unemployed men in different parts of England and Wales.

In a study of mental health among unemployed men two contrasting hypotheses about the importance of the local unemployment rate were examined--namely, that very high local unemployment might be associated with either impoverishment or resilience of the community, which would affect health in opposite ways. The mental health of 954 unemployed men registered at 41 unemployment benefit offices in England and Wales was assessed by the general health questionnaire, men in areas of particularly high unemployment being compared with men in areas of moderate and relatively low unemployment. Scores for ill health were significantly lower in areas of particularly high unemployment, even when personal factors known to affect mental health during unemployment were controlled for. These results support the hypothesis that communities with high rates of unemployment develop resilience that is beneficial for the mental health of the unemployed.

England↗
PubMed1987

Adapting to the unemployed role: a longitudinal investigation.

A sample of unemployed British men was interviewed for a third time after an average of 25 months continuous unemployment. As predicted, it was found that mental health, indexed in terms of affective well-being, had improved slightly since the previous interview. Adaptation of this kind was greater for men who had previously reported lower commitment to having a job and greater contact outside their immediate family, and also for those at the extremes of the age range. Measured availability of money and quality of social relationships were not related to adaptation. Changes in aspiration, autonomy and competence were considered likely to underpin the improvement in well-being. The need to study these additional components of mental health was emphasized, in order to determine when improvements in reported well-being should be considered 'healthy' or 'unhealthy'.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1985

Factors influencing the psychological impact of prolonged unemployment and of re-employment.

Six hundred and twenty-nine unemployed men were re-interviewed 9 months after initial measurement of their psychological health and commitment to the labour market. For those men remaining continuously unemployed between interviews, no further decrement was observed in mean General Health Questionnaire scores after 3 months without a job, but a significant deterioration was recorded for the sub-sample initially unemployed for less than 3 months. Small but significant declines were observed after 3 months on a single-item measure of reported health and on an 8-item index of commitment to the labour market. For those regaining paid work, all measures of health showed large improvements, and employment commitment was unchanged. Multiple regression analyses were used to examine factors associated with magnitude of changes during continuous unemployment, yielding a systematic pattern of significant relationships. For example, higher employment commitment at initial interview was significantly associated with a greater subsequent decline in psychological health, but not in physical health; reporting a chronic health impairment at initial interview was significantly associated with a greater subsequent decrement in physical health, but not in psychological health.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1985

Social support, social pressures and psychological distress during unemployment.

A sample of 1150 unemployed 17 year-olds, containing blacks and whites, males and females, was obtained from 11 urban regions in England. Social support was measured in respect of five different forms of help from others. Measures were also obtained of psychological distress, perceived pressure from others to obtain a job, employment commitment, contact with other young people, and contact with other unemployed young people. Two forms of social support (having someone to turn to for help with money, and having someone to suggest interesting things to do) were significantly associated with measures of distress, as were perceived pressure to obtain a job and employment commitment, but not contact with other unemployed young people. The association between distress and having someone to turn to for help with money was greater for those perceiving pressure from others to obtain a job than those not perceiving pressure. Also, the association between distress and having someone to turn to when feeling low was greater for those with a high employment commitment than for those with a low one. Other associations between support and distress were found to be affected by sex and ethnic differences in the sample. The results are discussed in the light of a stress-buffering model of social support; and the need to disaggregate social support into its component parts is emphasized.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1985

The experience of unemployment among black and white urban teenagers.

The psychological health and labour market commitment of 1150 unemployed 17-year-olds in 11 urban areas of England were examined. Distress levels were significantly higher than among comparable employed samples, and symptoms had usually commenced after the onset of unemployment. Unemployed black respondents (of Afro-Caribbean descent) were found to exhibit significantly lower levels of distress and depression than whites. However, no differences were recorded between black and white respondents in respect of anxiety, financial strain and concern over being unemployed. Commitment to the labour market was significantly greater among white males than black males, perhaps because the latter have responded realistically to their disadvantaged labour market position. However, ethnic differences in commitment were generally absent in the case of females. Length of time out of work was unrelated to affective well-being and employment commitment in both ethnic groups, but job search attitudes were significantly less positive among respondents who had been unemployed for longer periods.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1984

Social class and psychological ill-health during unemployment.

This study explores psychological health and the experience of being unemployed for between 6 and 11 months in two social class groups: unskilled and semi-skilled workers v. white-collar, managerial and professional workers. The respondents were British married men aged between 25 and 39. Information was obtained through interviews about financial and other problems, perceived threats associated with unemployment, anxiety, depression, general psychological distress and ratings of general health. It was expected that the working-class sample would exhibit poorer psychological health than the middle-class, but this was not confirmed. Medium-term unemployment appeared to have a homogenizing effect, with similarly poor health in both social class samples, although working-class respondents reported significantly greater financial problems and difficulties in filling the time.

Adult↗
PubMed1984

Unemployment and cognitive difficulties.

Reported cognitive difficulties in a sample of unemployed men are described. Problems of slowing down and concentration were the most common. Longer duration since job loss was found to be associated with greater cognitive difficulties, and middle-aged unemployed men were particularly likely to report problems.

Arousal↗
PubMed1982

Experiences of strain and pleasure among British adults.

Random samples of 1964 men and 1113 women were drawn from the British adult population in order to ascertain the prevalence of unpleasant emotional strain and feelings of pleasure yesterday. Reports of the duration and onset of strain yesterday were also obtained, together with respondents' attributions of causes and stated coping responses. Thirteen percent of men and 18% of women reported experiencing unpleasant emotional strain for at least half of yesterday; corresponding figures for feelings of pleasure for at least half of yesterday were 69 and 68%. Relationships with employment status, age sex, and socio-economic status are described.

Adult↗
PubMed1978

A study of psychological well-being.

The concept of psychological well-being is introduced, and scales to measure three of its different facets are described and applied to 1655 British respondents. Results from measures of positive and negative affect are compared with North American findings, and hypotheses are broadly confirmed. Two clusters of specific anxiety items are identified, to do with financial and family anxiety and with health anxiety. The third measure (ratings of present life in general) yields a major cluster of happiness items, but suggests additional dimensions for more detailed investigation. Interrelationships between the several measures and with employment position, motivation to work, job characteristics and age are examined. The study of everyday life as 'normal psychology' is advocated.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed1976

Drivers use of seat belts as a function of attitude and anxiety.

It is shown that drivers' reported and actual use of seat belts are predictable from their opinions about the comfort and effectiveness of belts. These relationships are, however, moderated by anxiety about possible accidents, in that low-anxiety drivers exhibit a stronger association between attitude and behaviour than do high-anxiety drivers.

Accidents, Traffic↗