FAMILY STRESS, HEALTH AND JOB PERFORMANCE OF

MARRIED WORKING WOMEN IN DEKINA EDUCATION

ZONE OF KOGI STATE

BY

ACHEMU, ISAAC OKPANACHI (REV. FR)

PG/M.Ed/11/ 58790

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATIONS,

FACULTY OF EDUCATION,
UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA,
NSUKKA

OCTOBER, 2015
TITLE PAGE

FAMILY STRESS, HEALTH AND JOB PERFORMANCE OF

MARRIED WORKING WOMEN IN DEKINA EDUCATION
ZONE OF KOGI STATE

BY

ACHEMU, ISAAC OKPANACHI (REV. FR)

PG/M.Ed/11/ 58790

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATIONS,

FACULTY OF EDUCATION,
UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA,
NSUKKA

SUPERVISOR: DR. ANN OKOLO

MAY, 2015

i
ii

APPROVAL PAGE
THIS PROJET WORK HAS BEEN APPROVED FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF
EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATIONS, UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA, NSUKKA

BY

_________________ _____________________ Dr. Ann

Okolo Prof. Chris. J. A Onwuka Supervisor
Head of Department

________________ ____________________ Dr. T. O

Oforka Prof. G. C. Unachukwu Internal Examiner
External Examiner

____________________ Prof. Uju Umo Dean Faculty of Education

iii

CERTIFICATION PAGE
ACHEMU, ISAAC O, a Postgraduate student in the Department of Educational

Foundations with Registration Number PG/M.ED/11/58790 has Satisfactory Completed the

Requirements for Course and Research Work for the Degree of Master of Education in Sociology

of Education.

The Work embodied in this thesis report is original and has not been submitted in parts or
in full for any other Diploma or Degree of this or any other University.

____________________ ___________________
Dr. Ann Okolo Achemu, Isaac Okpanachi (Supervisor)
(Student)

iv

DEDICATION

This work is dedicated to God Almighty for his grace and mercy which is sufficient for me

throughout the period of this work.

 v

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

There are many people without whose support this work would not have been
completed. First of all, the researcher is most grateful to her supervisor, Dr. Ann Okolo, whose
invaluable contributions sustained this work to its logical conclusion. The researcher will
forever remain grateful to her.
Also deserving special thanks are Prof. Chris J. A Onwuka, Prof. Uche Eze, Rev. Fr.
Dr. G. C Abiogu, Dr. E. N. Aye-Nwosu, Dr. E. K Oyeoku, Dr. T. O Oforka whose suggestions
and constructive criticisms sharpened the focus of this work.
 Equally, the researcher owes special thanks to his friends and well wishers, Most Rev.
Dr. Anthony Ademu Adaji (MSP), Bishop of Idah dioceses, Late Bishop Obot Silas, Mgnr.
John Iyere, Very Rev. Fr. John Abuh, Very Rev. Fr. Fidelis Egbunu, Very Rev. Fr. Jeremiah
Musa, Very Rev. Fr Emmanuel Alih, Sr. Calistus Okweji, Rev. Fr. Gabriel Agada, Rev. Fr.
Fidelis Offor, Very Rev. Fr. Samuel Osman, Fr Jerome Ojile, Fr. Solomon Etonu, Fr.Cornelius
Acholo, Fr. Mathew Attah, Fr Emmanuel Edibo, Fr. Boniface Opaluwa, Fr. Johnbosco and Fr.
Augustine for their financial and moral support throughout the period of this programme.
Finally, the researcher is indebted to married working women in the area of the study
who filled the questionnaire, family members, his colleges Nkiru, Isaac and many lovely
individuals whose words and kind gestures sustained him all through the period of this work.

vi

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Title Page 1
Approval Page 2
Certification Page 3
Dedication 4
Acknowledgements 5
Table of Contents 6
List of Tables 9
Abstract 10
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION

Background of the Study 1

Statement of the Problem 11
Purpose of the Study 12
Significance of the Study 13
Scope of the Study 15
Research Questions 16

CHAPTER TWO: REVIEW OF LITERATURE

Conceptual Framework
Concept of Family 18
Concept of Married Working Women 20
Concept of Stress 22
Concept of Stress Reduction 30
Concept of Job performance 32
Theoretical Framework
ABC-X Family Stress Model by Hill (1958) 33
Stress Response Theory by Selye (1976) 37
Review of Empirical Studies
Studies on Stress and Job Performances of Married Working Women 40

Studies on stress Reduction Strategies 41

vi
i
Studies on Consequences of Stress on the Health of Working Women 43

Summary of Literature Review 45

CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH METHOD

Design of the Study 47
Area of the Study 47
Population of the Study 48
Sample and Sampling Technique 48
Instrument for Data Collection 48
Validation of the Instrument 49
Reliability of the Instrument 49
Method of Data Collection 50
Method of Data Analysis 50

CHAPTER FOUR: RESULTS

Types of stress married working women suffer 51

Causes of stress/stressors of married working women 52
Consequences of stress on the health of married working women 54
Consequences of stress on the job performance of married working women 55
Stress reduction strategies to help women cope with stressful conditions 57
CHAPTER FIVE: DISCUSSION OF RESULTS
Discussion of Results 60
Conclusion 64
Implications of the Study 66
Recommendations 67
Limitations of the Study 68
Suggestions for Further Studies 68
Summary of the Study 69
References 72

viii
APPENDICES
Appendix A: Family Stress on Health and Job Performance of Married Working
Women Questionnaire (FSHJPWWQ) 78

Appendix B: Analysis 85

Appendix C: Reliability Co-efficient 90

 ix

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1: Mean scores and standard deviation of married working women on types
of stress married working women suffer 51

Table 2: Mean scores and standard deviation of married working women on the
causes of stress/stressors of married working women 52

Table 3: Mean scores and standard deviation of married working women on the consequences
of stress on the health of married working women 54
Table 4: Mean scores and standard deviation of married working women on the consequences
of stress on the job performance of married working women 55

Table 5: Mean scores and standard deviation of married working women on the stress
reduction strategies to help women cope with stressful conditions 57

ABSTRACT

The study was designed to examine family stress, health and job performance of married working
women in Dekina Education Zone of Kogi state. The study adopted descriptive survey. The
population of the study comprised of 201 married working women. This consists of 201 female
secondary school teachers in the 16 public secondary schools in Dekina Education Zone. A
structured questionnaire titled “Family Stress, Health and Job Performance of Working Married
Woman Questionnaire (FSHJPWMWQ)” was developed by the researcher which guided the study.
70 items were trail-tested on a sample of 20 married working women in Ida Education Zone of
Kogi State. The data obtained were computed using Crobach Alpha method.
This gave an overall score of 0.92. The five research questions were analyzed using mean and
Standard Deviation. An overview of the overall results showed that types of stress that married
working women suffer include; financial stress such as shortage of or limited income, emotional
stress, home pressure, workplace and health stress. Family stressors are caused by a number of
factors such as; working long hours in the office, having a heavy workload at home, taking office
work home and others. Equally, consequences of stress on the health of married working women
include; emotional distress, socially withdrawn, burnout, depression and others. Consequences of
stress on the job performance of married working women include; poor concentration in the office,
difficulty in solving office problems, socially withdrawn in the workplace and others. Stress
reduction strategies to help women cope with stressful situations includes; setting limits
appropriately, working ahead of time to minimize threatening situation, saying no to requests that
would create excessive stress and others. Based on the findings of the study, the researcher among
others recommends that Government should through ministry of education in synergy with public
health workers and counselors, organize training for both the general public and stressors on types
of stress; causes, consequences and stress reduction strategies to help stressors cope with stressful
situations or conditions. Equally, counselors should be involved and empowered with both physical
and psychological strategies such as biofeedback, including thoughts and actions to deal with
married working women stressful situations to improve their health condition and enhance their
job performance. Based on the findings of the study, limitations of the study were identified and
suggestions for further studies were made.
 1

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Background of the Study

Family system is as old as human life on the earth. Family according to Panasenko

(2013) refers to a group of persons, united by ties of marriage, blood, adoption, consisting

of single households, interacting and intercommunicating with each other in their

respective social roles in creating a common culture. Family is composed of two adults of

different sex (husband and wife or father and mother) and one or more children. Jacobs and

Gerson (2004) saw family institution as a social group characterized by common residence,

economic co-operation and reproduction. It includes adults of both sexes, at least two of

whom maintain a socially approved sexual relationship and one or more children, owned

or adopted by the adults. In the context of this study, family comprises of a husband and

wife or wives tied together by marriage. They live together either as biological or social

aspects for the purpose of raising children, caring or training them to fit into the society

and replace them tomorrow.

Family has the biological aspect and the social aspect. Its biological aspect is due to

the blood link and hereditary characteristics, and the social aspect stems from the family

having its own pattern of behaviour that regulates relationship existing between its

members, such relations are the ones which the society concerned has approved as right

(Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC), 2006). NERDC

further stressed that family is made up of two types; nuclear and extended family.
 2

1
The nuclear family consists of two adults and their offsprings. Boss (2002) defined

nuclear family as a family consisting of two parents and their children, but not including

aunts, uncles, grandparents and others. In this study, nuclear family comprises of parents

with their children. It is a social unit that consists of a mother, a father, and their children.

On the other hand, extended family comprises of parents, children, and relatives. It is a

family as a unit embracing parents and children together with grandparents, aunts, uncles,

cousins, and sometimes more distant relatives (Panasenko, 2013).

One of the primary functions of the family involves providing a framework for the

production and reproduction of persons biologically or socially. As a social institution,

family is present in all cultures and therefore is universal. It is usually the bedrock of

society, and also the most important social institution. It is the legitimate institution through

which every society replaces its dying members. By this singular function, it ensures that

the society does not go into extinction. Family institution is charged with the main

responsibility of reproducing and training the future generation of society members in order

to give society continuity (Brown and Iyengar, 2008).

In the family, men and women perform different functions. According to DeFrain

and Asay (2007), functions of a man in the family include; being a leader, provider,

protector and a teacher. A man provides means of supporting the family financially. He

also contributes to the emotional, spiritual, mental and physical wellbeing of his family as

well as protects his family against any threat. For Hawley and DeHann (2006), men who

are active and responsible as fathers, provide numerous functions to their wives and

children. They create greater opportunities for their children to learn positive social life that

are beneficial to their own psychological and emotional wellbeing as they grow. Hawley
 3

and DeHann (2006) stressed that women’s role in the family development are

characterized by a traditional gender division of labour which has by and large provided

women with types of work that accorded them low economic value. Gender is a social

construct that distinguished the role of male and female. Gender is not sex, but refers to the

different roles men and women played in the society and the relative power they command

(Ainley, Hillman and Hidi, 2002). According to the authors, whereas sex refers to the

biological aspects of women and men (chromosomes, hormones), “gender” refers to those

that are shaped by social forces or to the meaning that a society gives to biological

differences. As stated by Gyllensten (2005), in many societies, women exclusively

undertake the activities of infant care, shopping, farming and cooking whether single,

married or working married.

Married working women are men partners in marriage in the paid labour force.

O'Farrell (2009) sees married working women as married women who involve themselves

in labour in order to earn wages. According to Obi (2003), women constitute more than

one-third percent of the world's labor force, and majority of them are married women. For

the purpose of this study, married working women, refers to men partners in marriage who

engage in various occupations in order to earn wages to support their families.

As countries become industrialized, more women obtain jobs in different areas.

According to O’Farrell (2009), married working women are making steady progress in

entering nontraditional fields such as engineering and construction work, professions such

as medicine and law, and elected and appointed political positions. Married working

women hold paid jobs of greater diversity than before. According to United Nations

Children's Fund (UNICEF) (1999), married working women have entered the new

hightechnology industries. UNICEF further cited example that presently, 31 percent of all
 4

computer programmers, and 28 percent of all computer systems analysts and scientists

worldwide were women and majority of them are married women. Married working

women engage in various workplaces in paid labour and they perform various functions

such as typesetting of documents, file arrangement, sending memos across, photocopy and

others together with their responsibilities in the house such as, activities of infant care,

nursing, water and wood fetching among others. In the bid to create an equilibrium or a

balance between the two responsibilities in the workplace and home in order to maintain

their marriage so that it will not disintegrate, tension and conflict may arise which can

induce stress in the life of the women.

Stress is unavoidable in human existence. According to Alzono (2000) stress is

referred to as a bodily state rather than an event in the environment otherwise known as

stressor or stress trigger. Stress is what one feels when one has to handle more than a

problem. Stress according to Oboegbulem (2007), refers to a feeling which occurs when an

individual’s working or living condition make demands beyond the individuals capacity to

handle physically or emotionally. Stress is a mental, emotional, or physical strain caused

by anxiety or overwork. Blonna (2005) describes stress as a state of discomfort, tension or

emotional pain which arises when an individual is faced with situation which presents a

demand that is important for the individual to meet but for which his/her capacities and

resources are inadequate; and cognitively, stress interferes with thinking, concentration and

memory. In this context, stress refers to the state of mind in handling emotional pains in a

giving home and office as they arise irrespective of gender.

There are different types of stress. Goldberger and Breznitz (2003) categorize stress

into three different types: acute stress, episodic stress, and chronic stress. According to

Goldberger and Breznitz, acute stress comes from demands and pressures of the recent past
 5

and anticipated demands and pressures of the near future. It is the most common type of

stress as it is typically caused by daily demands and pressures. It is the type of stress that

comes quickly and often unexpectedly; but does not last too long. The researchers identify

the common symptoms of acute stress as emotional distress, anger or irritability, anxiety

and depression. Acute stress that is suffered too often is called episodic stress (Goldberger

and Breznitz, 2003).This type of stress is usually seen in people who make self-inflicted,

unrealistic or unreasonable demands which get all clamoured up and bring too much stress

in their attempt to accomplish the goals. Equally, Goldberger and Breznitz defined chronic

stress as the type of stress that tends to occur on a regular basis. According to the researcher,

this type of stress may leave the victim feeling drained, and can lead to burnout if it is not

effectively managed. This is because, when the stress response is chronically triggered and

the body is not brought back to a relaxed state before the next wave of stress hits, the body

can stay triggered indefinitely (Willis, 2005). This can lead to the host of health issues that

are generally associated with stress, including cardiovascular disease, gastrointestinal

issues, anxiety and depression.

The circumstances that cause stress are called stressors. Stressors vary in severity

and duration and are caused by various factors. For example, the responsibility of caring

for a sick parent may be an ongoing source of major stress, whereas getting stuck in a traffic

jam may cause mild, short-term stress. Some events, such as the death of a loved one, are

stressful for everyone. But in other situations, individuals may respond differently to the

same event. What is a stressor for one person may not be stressful for another. For example,

a student who is unprepared for a sociology test and anticipates a bad grade may feel stress,

whereas a classmate who studies in advance may feel confident of a good grade. For an

event or situation to be a stressor for a particular individual, the person must appraise the
 6

situation as threatening and lack the coping resources to deal with it effectively (Stephen

& Sandra, 2009). Stress is part of everyday life that one faces including working married

men and women both at their offices and families.

Family stress had to do with day to day events in the family and how an individual

reacts to them. Family stressors are regarded as problems requiring solution or situations

in which the family must adapt in order to maintain the functioning of the family system

(Smith, 2012). Stress in the family can come from within, in which case it could be as a

result of illness, or individual members wanting to satisfy personal needs than that of other

members. Teasdale (2006) posited that family stress often arises among Nigerian women

as they try to balance the multiple competing demands of their spouses, children, elderly

parents, among others. In this present study, family stress refers to a state of distress,

pressure or emotional pain which arises when an individual is faced with family demands.

Family stressors are caused by a number of factors. Pearson and Moomaw (2005)

outlines the family stressors as, death of a loved one in the family, divorce or separation

from a partner, pregnancy, changes in health of a family member or close friend, trouble

with in-laws, children leaving home, childcare, remarriage of a family member, caring for

other dependents, such as elderly relatives, family reunion and relationship breakdown.

These may have impact on health and job performances of working married women.

The impact of family stress can be positive or negative. Impact, according to

Womble (2003) is a strong effect, the powerful or dramatic effect that something or

somebody has. Impact is the action of one object hitting another or the force with which

one object hits another. Thus, positively used, family stress can be a motivator for an

improved quality of life. Family stress can be negative, when it becomes destructive as a

result of how an individual negatively perceived it and reacted to it (Blonna, 2005).

 7

Similarly, Williams, Stacey and Carl (2005) were of the view that family stress takes its

toll on women’s physical and mental health. According to Felsten and Wilcox (2002),

family stress pervades the life of married working women, and may impact adversely their

mental and physical health, and their ability to perform office work effectively.

Family stress seems to have impact on health and job performance of married

working women. According to Gelow, Brown, Dowling and Torres (2009), Married

working women who experience a high level of family stress for a long time, and who cope

poorly with this stress may become irritable, socially withdrawn, and emotionally unstable.

Dyson and Renk (2006) further stressed that they may also have difficulties in

concentrating and solving problems both office and home problems. This stress situation

may also lead to sickness such as, high blood pressure (HBP), stroke or psychological

problems, like depression and anxiety. As stated by Dyson and Renk (2006), married

working women under intense and prolonged family stress may start to suffer from extreme

anxiety, depression, or other severe emotional problems. Family stress can cause severe

health problems and, in extreme case, can cause death. Members of the family who survive

the catastrophes sometimes develop an anxiety disorder called posttraumatic stress disorder

(Blonna, 2005). Anxiety disorders caused by family stress may include generalized anxiety

disorder, phobias, panic disorder, and obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Conflicting demands of home can affect the work performance of married working

women. As such, stressors at home can affect married working women ability to perform

effectively at work and vice versa. For example, working long hours, or away from home,

taking work home and having higher responsibility can all have a negative effect on a

married working women work performance. In the same way, work performances of a

married working woman can negatively be affected by a combination of factors such as

 8

childcare, financial or relationship problems, work place activities or unsatisfactory

conditions in her work place which is in other words known as workplace stress.

Workplace stress results from the interaction of the worker and the conditions of

work. According to Beehr and Newman (2008), workplace stress is the response people

may have when presented with work demands and pressures that are not matched to their

knowledge and abilities and which challenge their ability to cope. It involves stress that

results from various interactions of workers and the environment of the work they perform

their duties. Combining housework, childcare, shopping and cooking with an outside job

and trying to do everything on time are the causes or sources of working married women

being stressed up at workplace (Demerouti, Bakker, Nachreiner and Schaufeli, 2001). In

the family, most of home duties fall on shoulders of women and these women also engaged

in paid employment. Consequently, the demands to balance work and family duties can

progressively lead to poor health and decrease in their home and work performance. The

situation calls for stress reduction strategies to enable women to cope with the two

responsibilities saddled on their shoulder.

Stress reduction has to do with means of dealing with stress. It is a measure used to

deal with challenging moments. According to Hussain, Kumar and Husain (2008) stress

reduction refers to physical and psychological strategies designed to enable people to cope

with stress and anxiety. Stress reduction involves controlling and reducing the tension that

occurs in stressful situations by making emotional and physical changes. The degree of

stress and the desire to make the change will determine the level of improvement (Lazarus,

2006). Stress reduction strategies have been shown to have a positive effect on reducing

stress (Henry & Evans, 2008). In this present study, stress management refers to physical

and psychological strategies such as thoughts and actions designed to deal with married
 9

working women stressful situations in order to improve their health condition and enhance

their job performance.

Stress reduction strategies are grouped into two broad types such as problem and

emotion focused strategies. The goal of both strategies is to control one’s stress level. In

problem focused strategy, the stressor takes some actions such as time management and

working ahead of time to modify, avoid, or minimize the threatening situation whereas in

emotion-focused coping, he/she employs some strategies such as rethinking the situation

in a positive way, relaxation, wishful thinking, social support and aerobic exercise such as

running, walking, biking, and skiing to directly moderate or eliminate unpleasant situations

(Stephen & Sandra, 2009). According to the researchers, emotion focused strategy is most

useful as a short-term strategy. It can help to reduce one’s arousal level before engaging in

problem-solving and taking action.

Many people have a characteristic way of coping with stress based on their

personality. People who cope well with stress tend to believe they can personally influence

what happens to them (Eweniyi, 2009). Eweniyi further stressed that people who cope well

with stress usually make more positive statements about themselves, resist frustration,

remain optimistic, and persevere even under extremely adverse circumstances. People can

learn to manage stress and live happier and healthier lives. According to Kaplan, Liu and

Kaplan (2005), some tips to help keep stress at bay include; keeping a positive attitude,

accepting that there are events that one cannot control, being assertive instead of

aggressive, asserting your feelings, opinions, or beliefs instead of becoming angry.

According to Guterman and Lee (2005), one’s body can fight stress better when he/she is

fit, eat healthy, learn to manage time more effectively, set limits appropriately, learn to say
 10

no to requests that would create excessive stress, make time for hobbies, interests and

relaxation and by having enough rest and sleep.

From the foregoing, it is evident that family stress is common globally among

married working women. It is equally present in Nigeria, Kogi state inclusive in Dekina

Education zone in particular where there are many married working women both in urban

and rural areas. The prevalence of family stress among these working married women in

the state may be attributed to the general level of poverty in the country and their quest to

support their families. These married women not only engaged in paid employment but are

also engaged in farming and other agricultural activities for financial and nutritional

assistance. Effort to combine the family responsibilities and the workplace, induce stress

in their life. This stressful condition presently, pervades and impact adversely on their

mental and physical health, and their ability to perform office and home work effectively.

Thus, the need for stress reduction strategies arises in order to deal with married working

women stressful situations. These direct the attention of the researcher to investigate family

stress, health and job performance of married working women in Dekina

Education Zone of Kogi state.

Statement of the Problem

Stress cannot be avoided. It is ubiquitous, parts and parcel of life. It is a mental,

emotional, or physical strain caused by anxiety or overwork. In Dekina Education Zone,

married women engage in paid employment in the workplace and they perform various

functions such as typesetting of documents, file arrangement, sending memos across,

photocopy and others. Also, at home they are saddled with so many responsibilities which

include; child bearing, shopping, cooking training and caring for the children, husbands

and other extended family. Also, some of the married working women engage in farming
 11

and other agricultural activities like poultry, fishery and plantation. They engage in these

activities for financial, nutritional, educational and social support for the family members.

In order to balance these activities so as to avoid conflict with spouse and to be effective

and efficient in the workplace, stress is bound to occur in the lives of these women which

may affect their mental and physical wellbeing and even their job performance. Married

working women under such intense and prolonged family stress may suffer from extreme

anxiety, depression or other severe emotional problems. Hence, the need for stress

reduction strategies to reduce the negative effect of family stress on the lives of these

married working women in Dekina Education Zone of Kogi state. Based on this gap, the

problem of this study put in question is: What is the impact of family stress on health and

job performance of married working women in Dekina

Education Zone of Kogi state?

Purpose of the study

The purpose of this study was to examine family stress, health and job performance

of married working women in Dekina Education Zone of Kogi state.

Specifically, the study:

i. identify types of stress married working women suffer ii. ascertain the

causes of stress/stressors in the lives of married working women iii. find out the

consequences of stress on the health of married working women iv. find out the

consequences of stress on the job performance of married working women

v. determine the stress reduction strategies to help women cope with stressful situations

or conditions

Significance of the Study

 12

The significance of this study is of both theoretical and practice benefit.

Theoretically, the findings of the study are considered significant because, there is need for

empirical information for explaining the concept of stress, its types, causes and its

management strategies for a better understanding of the phenomenon. In particular, it is

expected that the findings will help to explain the functionality of the theoretical

postulations of the ABC stress theory on married working women. According to the theory,

the postmodern approaches avoid pathologizing clients, take a dim view of the diagnosis,

avoid searching for underlying causes of problems, and place a high value on discovering

clients’ strength and resources. Rather than endless talking about problems, the focus of

the theory is on creating solutions in the present and the future. The understanding of this

theory in Nigeria settings specifically, in Dekina Education Zone of Kogi state helped to

ascertain the causes of stress/stressors, its consequences and strategies to help women cope

with stressful situations or conditions.

Practically, the findings of this study is of immense benefits to couples, counsellors,

sociologists, students and further researchers on the knowledge of family stress and stress

reduction strategies and help for better bridging the gap between theory and practice.

The findings of this study will be used to assist couples gain better understanding of

themselves and the prevailing circumstances around them. Couples can learn that success

or failure of a marriage depends mainly upon the strength and flexibility of the relationship

between the husband and wife and not in the presence or absence of their source of pressure.

This will be achieved through organizing marriage counselling sections for the couples.

The findings of this study will enable intending couples and the public to realize that

marriage is something more than erotic partnership that is a matter of home making,

parenthood and economic cooperation. It would enable them know that when the erotic
 13

element has through ageing, senility, disease and other causes entirely disappeared, the

family life must still go on. It would enable couples to be more aware of different source

of stress to which families are susceptible and thus, learn coping and preventive

strategies.

Counselors will benefit from this study immensely since the study sought to

ascertain the causes and consequences of stress in the lives of married working women.

The findings and recommendations of this study will provide them with measures for stress

reduction strategies to help women cope with stressful situations.

Sociologists will find this work useful. This is because, a review of family stress,

health and job performance of married working will equip the sociologists with necessary

information needed in providing worthwhile stress reduction strategies to help women cope

with stressful situations. This will be done by reviewing types, causes and consequences of

stress on the health and job performance of married working women to enable them in

providing useful stress reduction strategies.

Students will benefit from this study immensely; the findings and

recommendations of this study will provide them with peaceful and stimulating learning

environment. This is because, a parent with a relax mind will be in a better condition to

assists his or her child academic activities. Students of such parents are likely to be provided

with variety of teaching and learning activities that will help them to develop their

potentials into what there are best fitted to become and thus, adjust and live effectively in

the society.

Further researchers who may desire to carryout studies relating to the problems

under study will equally benefit from this study because; it will provide them direction on
 14

the guidelines for their study and indeed serve as an additional reference material for further

studies.

Scope of the Study

The scope of this study is delimited to Dekina Education Zone of Kogi state,

Nigeria involving married working women in secondary schools in the Education Zone.

The content scope of the study will address the types of family stressors, causes of

stress/stressors, consequences of stress/stressor on job performance, health, and stress

reduction strategies among married working women in Dekina Education Zone of Kogi

state.

Research Questions

The following are the guiding research questions for this study;

i. What types of stress do married working women suffer?

ii. What are the causes of stress/stressors of married working women? iii.

What are the consequences of stress on the health of married working women?

iv. What are the consequences of stress on the job performance of married working

women?

v. What are the stress reduction strategies to help women cope with stressful

situations or conditions?
 15

CHAPTER TWO

REVIEW OF LITERATURE

This chapter reviewed related literature under the following subheadings: conceptual

framework, theoretical framework, review of empirical studies and summary of literature review.

Conceptual Framework

 Concept of Family

 Concept of Married Working Women

 Concept of Stress

 Concept of Stress Reduction

 Concept of Job Performance

Theoretical Framework

 ABC-X Family Stress Model by Hill (1958)

 Stress Response Theory by Selye (1976)

 16

Review of Empirical Studies

Summary of Literature Review

17

Conceptual Framework

Concept of Family

Family is composed of two adults of different sex (as husband and wife or father

and mother) and one or more children; there are single parent families. Jacobs and Gerson

(2004) defined family as a social institution characterized by common residence, economic

co-operation and reproduction. It includes adults of both sexes, at least two of whom

maintain a socially approved sexual relationship and one or more children, owned or

adopted by the adults. Panasenko (2013) saw family as group of persons, united by ties of

marriage, blood, adoption, consisting of single households, interacting and

intercommunicating with each other in their respective social roles of husband and wife,

mother and father, brother and sister; creating a common culture. It comprises of a husband

and wife or wives ties together by marriage, and lives together for the purpose of raising

children, caring and training them to fit into the society and replace them tomorrow.

As a social institution, family has two aspects: the biological and social aspect. Its

biological aspect in due to the blood link and hereditary characteristics, and the social
 17

aspect steams from the family having its own pattern of behaviour that regulates

relationship existing between its members, such relations are the ones which the society

concerned has approved as right (Nigerian Educational Research and Development

Council NERDC, 2006).

Family is made up of two types; nuclear and extended family. The nuclear family

consists of two adults and their offsprings. Boss (2002) defined nuclear family as a family

consisting of two parents and their children, but not including aunts, uncles, grandparents

and others. It comprises of parents with their children. It is a social unit that consists of a

mother, a father, and their children. On the other hand, extended family comprises of

parents, children, and relatives. It is a family as a unit embracing parents and children

together with grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and sometimes more distant relatives

(Panasenko, 2013).

One of the primary functions of the family involves providing a framework for the

production and reproduction of persons, biologically or socially. The family is present in

all cultures and therefore universal. It is usually the bedrock of society, the most primary

and perhaps, the most important among social institutions. It is the legitimate institution

through which every society replaces its dying members. By this singular function, it

ensures that the society does not go into extinction. The family institution is charged with

the main responsibility of reproducing and training the future generation of society

members in order to give society continuity (Brown and Iyengar, 2008).

In the family, men and women perform different functions. According to DeFrain

and Asay (2007), functions of a man in the family include; being a leader, provider,

protector and a teacher. A man provides means of supporting the family financially. He
 18

also contributes to the emotional, spiritual, mental and physical wellbeing of his family as

well as protects his family against any threat. As stated Hawley and DeHann (2006), men

who are active and responsible as fathers provide numerous functions to their children and

the mother. They create greater opportunities and outcomes for their children as well as

benefiting their own psychological and emotional wellbeing.

Women roles in family development were characterized by a traditional gender

division of labour which has by and large locked women into types of work which accorded

low economic value and prevented their movement towards better remunerated work

traditionally held by men (Carter and McGoldrick, 1999). Women role are viewed as

helpers who assist in housework, childcare, shopping, farming and cooking. According to

Gyllensten (2005), women in many societies exclusively undertake the activities of infant

care, nursing and cooking; both single, married and working married.

Concept of Married Working Women

The word woman is usually reserved for an adult female. Women are sometimes

used to identify female human, regardless of age, as in phrases such as "women's rights".

According to Egunyomi, Fadeyi, Folaranmi and Adelone (2001), women are female adults

within the age of child bearing and above, up to grand and great grandmothers. Woman can

be used generally, to mean any female human, or specifically, to mean an adult female

human.

Women, apart from being mothers and taking charge of the domestic sector,

contributes immensely to the sustenance of the economy through their involvement in the

production and distribution of goods and services, and participation in local and long

distance trade. Women’s efforts in family development from time immemorial cannot be

over emphasized. According to Nwosu (2008), women have been agents of development
 19

both in the pre-colonial and the colonial periods. Women according to Nwosu have

contributed immensely towards the development of their societies. In describing women

and their role in the society, Chizea and Njoku (2008) noted that women are our mother,

sisters, aunts, wives, daughters, friends and confidants, who are the building block upon

which the foundations of happy homes and families are built.

Married working women are men partners in marriage in the paid labour force.

O'Farrell (2009) described working married women as married women who involve

themselves in labour in order to earn wages. According to Obi (2003), women constitute

more than one-third percent of the world's labor force, and majority of them are married

women. Married working women are men partners in marriage who engaged in various

occupations in order to earn wages to support their families.

As countries become industrialized, more women obtain jobs in different areas.

According to O’Farrell (2009), married working women are making steady progress in

entering nontraditional fields such as engineering and construction work, professions such

as medicine and law, and elected and appointed political positions. Married working

women hold paid jobs of greater diversity than before. According to United Nations

Children's Fund UNICEF (1999), married working women have entered the new

hightechnology industries. UNICEF further cited example that presently, 31 percent of all

computer programmers, and 28 percent of all computer systems analysts and scientists

worldwide were women and majority of them are married women. Married working

women engage in various workplaces in paid labour with their responsibilities in the house

such as, activities of infant care, nursing, water and wood fetching among others. In the bid

to create an equilibrium or a balance between the two responsibilities in the workplace and
 20

home in order to maintain their marriage so that it will not disintegrate, tension and conflict

may arise which can induce stress in the life of the women.

Concept of Stress

Stress is a condition caused by the imbalance between demands of a situation and

the person’s ability to cope with it. Feldman (2011) defined stress as a person’s response

to events that are threatening or challenging. It is a process in which environmental events

or forces threaten an organism existence and wellbeing. Melgosa (2004) defined stress as

a condition of being subject to external forces or pressures that can either be

positive/pleasant or negative/unpleasant. From Melgosa definition, one can deduce that the

condition that causes stress can either be pleasant or unpleasant. For Cooper (2000), stress

is a condition that results when a person’s environment transactions lead an individual to

perceive a discrepancy whether real or not between the demands of a situation and the

resources of the person’s biological, psychological and social systems.

Stress is unavoidable in human existence. Oboegbulem (2007) defined stress as a

feeling which occur when an individual’s working or living condition make demands

beyond the individual’s capacity to handle either physically or emotionally. Stress is a

mental, emotional, or physical strain caused by anxiety or overwork. Blonna (2005)

described stress as a state of discomfort, tension or emotional pain which arises when an

individual is faced with situation which presents a demand that is important for the

individual to meet but for which his/her capacities and resources are inadequate; and

cognitively, stress interferes with thinking, concentration and memory. It is what one feels

when one has to handle more than a problem. Stress is part of everyday life. According to
 21

Alzono (2000), stress is a bodily state rather than an event in the environment otherwise

known as stressor or stress trigger.

The condition that causes stress can either be pleasant or unpleasant. These

conditions are attributed to occupational, socio-economic and political challenges of life

which includes everything both inside and outside the body that challenges an individual

to adapt. They can either be physical such as heat, cold, and noise or emotional such as

fear, anxiety and depression (Willis, 2005). According to Willis, stress manifests itself in

four distinct changes: body signs and physical health, emotions and feelings, behaviour and

thoughts. Furthermore, the researcher stated that emotional stress leads to lack of

enthusiasm, feeling of losing control as well as experience of an unexplainable grief. It

results in loss of productivity and creativity, fuels negativity and cynicism with quickness

to get angry, lack of sleep, blame and detachment from others.

Stress comes with different symptoms. Lippel (1999) enumerates the classical

symptoms of stress as less physical energy, emotional tiredness, lowered physical

immunity, reduced efficiency at work and reduced business optimism. According to the

American Academy of Family Physicians (2014), signs of stress include feeling depressed,

edgy, guilty, tired, having headaches, stomach aches, trouble sleeping.

Stress is linked to a wide range of illnesses which affect the physical, behavioural

and emotional states of affected subjects (Kobasa, 2001). It has been rated as a silent killer

among other illnesses such as: HIV/AIDS, heart disease, cancer and diabetes (American

Academy of Family Physicians, 2014). According to the American Academy of Family

Physicians, mental illnesses associated to stress include schizophrenia, claustrophobia,

agoraphobia and depression. Furthermore, they maintained that a person suffering from

these conditions are likely to be hospitalized.

 22

The circumstances that cause stress are called stressors. Stressors vary in severity

and duration and are caused by various factors. For example, the responsibility of caring

for a sick parent may be an ongoing source of major stress, whereas getting stuck in a traffic

jam may cause mild, short-term stress. Some events, such as the death of a loved one, are

stressful for everyone. But in other situations, individuals may respond differently to the

same event. What is a stressor for one person may not be stressful for another. For example,

a student who is unprepared for a sociology test and anticipates a bad grade may feel stress,

whereas a classmate who studies in advance may feel confident of a good grade. For an

event or situation to be a stressor for a particular individual, the person must appraise the

situation as threatening and lack the coping resources to deal with it effectively (Stephen

and Sandra, 2009).

Stress is categorized into different types. Goldberger and Breznitz (2003) categorize

stress into three different types: acute stress, episodic stress, and chronic stress. According

to Goldberger and Breznitz, acute stress comes from demands and pressures of the recent

past and anticipated demands and pressures of the near future. It is the most common type

of stress as it is typically caused by daily demands and pressures. It is the type of stress that

comes quickly and often unexpectedly; but does not last too long. The researchers identify

the common symptoms of acute stress as emotional distress, anger or irritability, anxiety

and depression. Acute stress that is suffered too often is called episodic stress (Goldberger

and Breznitz, 2003).This type of stress is usually seen in people who make self-inflicted,

unrealistic or unreasonable demands which get all clamoured up and bring too much stress

in their attempt to accomplish the goals.

Equally, Goldberger and Breznitz defined chronic stress as the type of stress that

tends to occur on a regular basis. According to the researcher, this type of stress may leave
 23

the victim feeling drained, and can lead to burnout if it is not effectively managed. This is

because, when the stress response is chronically triggered and the body is not brought back

to a relaxed state before the next wave of stress hits, the body can stay triggered indefinitely

(Willis, 2005). This can lead to the host of health issues that are generally associated with

stress, including cardiovascular disease, gastrointestinal issues, anxiety and depression.

Prolonged chronic stress results into a psychological consequence called burnout

(Kristensen, 2006). Burnout occurs when the body’s defensive coping is exhausted leading

to reduced productivity and energy, leaving the victim feeling increasingly hopeless,

powerless, cynical and resentful. According to Kristensen, burnout can eventually threaten

ones job, relationship with others and may lead to death. Leiter (2001) described the

consequences of burnout as high emotional exhaustion, high depersonalization, low

personal accomplishment, compromised quality of work, impaired judgment, narrowed

attention, negative experience and unpleasant emotional development.

Family stress is a state of distress, pressure or emotional pain which arises when an

individual is faced with family demands. Mwololo (2009) defined family stress as mental,

emotional, or physical strain caused by anxiety or overwork that arises as a result of family

demands. Family stress had to do with daily events in the family and how an individual act

in responses to them. Smith (2012) viewed family stress as problems requiring solution or

situations in which the family must adapt in order to maintain the functioning of the family

system.

Family stressors are caused by a number of factors. According to Chapman (2007),

the typical causes of family stress include bullying or harassment, feeling powerless and

uninvolved in determining one’s own responsibilities, continuous unreasonable

 24

performance demands, lack of effective communication and conflict resolution, lack of job

security, long working hours, excessive time away from home and family, office politics

and conflict among staff, a feeling that one’s reward is not commensurate with ones

responsibilities, working hours, responsibilities and pressures disrupting life-balance (diet,

exercise, sleep and rest, family time). Similarly, Willis (2005) outlines lifestyle change

events which contribute to family stress as death of a spouse, family member or loved

ones, divorce, personal injury or illness, marriage, pregnancy, sex difficulties, financial

commitments (loan, mortgage), trouble with in-laws, trouble with boss, change in work

conditions, change in schools and minor violations of the law.

Stress in the family may come from within, in which case it could be as a result of

illness, or individual members wanting to satisfy personal needs than that of other members

(Smith, 2012). In the same line of thought, Pearson and Moomaw (2005) outlines the causes

of family stress as death of a loved one in the family, divorce or separation from a partner,

pregnancy, changes in health of a family member or close friend, trouble with in-laws,

children leaving home, childcare, remarriage of a family member, caring for other

dependents, such as elderly relatives, family reunion and relationship breakdown.

From the foregoing, it is evident that financial commitments, lack of job security,

long working hours, excessive time away from home and family, office politics, conflict

among staff and a feeling that one’s reward is not commensurate with ones responsibilities

as major causes of family stress. As stated by McClelland (2000), the experience of poverty

is one of the factors that can put severe strains on spousal relationships, bring about feelings

of depression and increasing family dysfunction. As stated by Willis (2005), if the pressure

of family stress is not well handled, the victims may suppress it for some time. This is a

dangerous condition which Chapman (2007) stated that may lead to serious health problems
 25

on the subjects. This informs Mwololo (2009) assertion that family stress may cause such

symptoms as raised blood pressure or depression.

Family stress may result into administered job performance, rapid deterioration of

relationships with family, friends, co-workers and strangers, increased arguments, isolation

from social activities, absenteeism, conflicts with co-workers, domestic and work place

violence, over-reactions to little provocations or nuisances of life (Garfield, 2005). The

wider costs of stress include low tolerance of frustration, regressive behaviour, lowering of

aggression threshold and morbid aggression, alcohol and drug abuse and diseases related

to stress (Willis, 2005).

Family stress may cause problems in the relationship between the individual

members of a family. As stated by Aldwin (2000), people who are stressed up as a result

of family issues and demands may likely give up over certain family problems and lack

control over children behavior, warmth, support, inconsistency and display aggression or

hostility. These according to Aldwin may have impact on health and job performances on

the victims.

The impact of family stress can be positive or negative. Positively used, family stress

can be a motivator for an improved quality of life. Family stress can be negative, when it

becomes destructive as a result of how an individual negatively perceived it and reacted to

it (Blonna, 2005). Similarly, Williams, Stacey and Carl (2005) were of the view that family

stress takes its toll on women’s physical and mental health. According to Felsten and

Wilcox (2002), family stress pervades the life of working married women, and may impact

adversely their mental and physical health, and their ability to perform office work

effectively.
 26

Family stress seems to have impact on health and job performance of married

working women. According to Gelow, Brown, Dowling and Torres (2009), married

working women who experience a high level of family stress for a long time, and who cope

poorly with this stress may become irritable, socially withdrawn, and emotionally unstable.

Dyson and Renk (2006) further stressed that they may also have difficulties in

concentrating and solving problems both office and home problems. This stress situation

may also lead to sickness such as, high blood pressure (HBP), stroke or psychological

problems, like depression and anxiety. As stated by Dyson and Renk (2006), working

married women under intense and prolonged family stress may start to suffer from extreme

anxiety, depression, or other severe emotional problems. Family stress can cause severe

health problems and, in extreme case, can cause death. Members of the family who survive

the catastrophes sometimes develop an anxiety disorder called posttraumatic stress disorder

(Blonna, 2005). Anxiety disorders caused by family stress may include generalized anxiety

disorder, phobias, panic disorder, and obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Family stress often arises among Nigerian women as they try to balance the multiple

competing demands of their spouses, children, elderly parents, among others (Teasdale,

2006). Conflicting demands of home can affect the work performance of working married

women. As such, stressors at home can affect working married women ability to perform

effectively at work and those at work and vice versa. For example, working long hours, or

away from home, taking work home and having higher responsibility can all have a

negative effect on a working married women work performance. In the same way, work

performances of a working married woman can negatively be affected by a combination of

factors such as childcare, financial or relationship problems, work place activities or

 27

unsatisfactory conditions in her work place which is in other words known as workplace

stress.

Combining housework, childcare, shopping and cooking with an outside job and

trying to do everything on time are the causes or sources of married working women being

stressed up at workplace (Demerouti, Bakker, Nachreiner and Schaufeli, 2001). This is

because, in the family, most of home duties fall on shoulders of women and these women

also engaged in paid employment. Consequently, the demands to balance work and family

duties can progressively lead to poor health and decrease in their home and work

performance.

Concept of Stress Reduction

Stress reduction involves controlling and reducing the tension that occurs in stressful

situations by making emotional and physical changes. It is a measure taken to cope with

trying periods so that a state of physical and psychological equilibrium is reestablished and

maintained. Ogoegbulam and Onwurah (2011) see stress reduction as problem-solving

efforts made by an individual faced with demands that are highly relevant to his/her

welfare, but tasking the individual’s adaptive resources. Stress reduction is the act of

controlling stressful situations. It has to do with means of dealing with stress. According to

Hussain, Kumar and Husain (2008), stress reduction refers to physical and psychological

strategies designed to enable people to cope with stress and anxiety. It is a physical and

psychological strategies such as thoughts and actions designed to deal with stressful

situations. Stress reduction strategies have been shown to have a positive effect on reducing
 28

stress (Blonna, 2005). Though, the degree of stress and the desire to make the change will

determine the level of improvement (Lazarus, 2006).

Stress reduction strategies are grouped into two broad types such as problem and

emotion focused strategies. The goal of both strategies is to control one’s stress level. In

problem focused strategy, the stressor takes some actions such as time management and

working ahead of time to modify, avoid, or minimize the threatening situation whereas in

emotion-focused coping, he/she employ some strategies such as rethinking the situation in

a positive way, relaxation, wishful thinking, social support and aerobic exercise such as

running, walking, biking, and skiing to directly moderate or eliminate unpleasant situations

(Stephen and Sandra, 2009). According to the researchers, emotion focused strategy is

most useful as a short-term strategy. It can help to reduce one’s arousal level before

engaging in problem-solving and taking action.

Many people have a characteristic way of coping with stress based on their

personality. People who cope well with stress tend to believe they can personally influence

what happens to them (Eweniyi, 2009). Eweniyi further stressed that people who cope well

with stress usually make more positive statements about themselves, resist frustration,

remain optimistic, and persevere even under extremely adverse circumstances.

People can learn to reduce stress and live happier and healthier lives. According to

Kaplan, Liu and Kaplan (2005), some tips to help keep stress at bay include; keeping a

positive attitude, accepting that there are events that one cannot control, being assertive

instead of aggressive, asserting your feelings, opinions, or beliefs instead of becoming

angry. According to Guterman and Lee (2005), one’s body can fight stress better when

he/she is fit, eat healthy, learn to manage time more effectively, set limits appropriately,
 29

learn to say no to requests that would create excessive stress, make time for hobbies,

interests and relaxation and by having enough rest and sleep.

Many scholars have documented stress reduction strategies as a means of controlling

stressful situations. According to Cooper and Dewe (2004), checking in with the doctor,

regular exercise routine, working on time management skills, spending more time with

family and friends, developing a leisure activity, eating a balanced diet and setting realistic

expectations for a business organization will ease the stress burden. This will help stressors

to reduce stressful situations live better-off. For Kane (1997), stressors can control stressful

situations by staying away from potentially stressful situations, controlling stress

responses, using drugs such as mild tranquilizers, physical exercises which stimulate the

fight or flight behaviour, burns off stress hormones and helps stay in good physical health,

progressive and meditative relaxation.

Concept of Job Performance

Job performance is the way employees perform their work. Erez and Judge (2001)

defined job performance as work related activities expected of an employee and how well

those activities were executed. According to Erez and Judge, an employee's performance

is determined during job performance reviews, with an employer taking into account

factors such as leadership skills, time management, organizational skills and productivity

to analyze each employee on an individual basis. Job performance reviews are often done

yearly and can determine raise eligibility, whether an employee is right for promotion or

even if an employee should be fired (Kacmar, Harris, Collins & Judge, 2009).

Job performance assesses whether a person performs a job well. Cote and Miners

(2006) viewed job performance as how employees execute their job duties and

responsibilities. Job performance is a critical factor in determining organizational success.

 30

As explained by Cote and Miners, many companies asses their employee's performance on

an annual or quarterly basis in order to define certain areas that need improvement.

Job performance is an important criterion for organizational outcomes and success.

Rotundo and Sackett (2002) described job performance as an employee-level variable, or

something a single employee does or contributes towards organizational success. As

explained by Farh and Seo (2012), many business personnel directors assess the job

performance of each employee on an annual or quarterly basis in order to help them identify

suggested areas for improvement. This is done to achieve organizational goals or success.

Theoretical Framework

The theoretical framework of this study focused on ABC-X family stress model and

stress response theory that relates to the study.

ABC-X Family Stress Model

This model was developed by Hill in 1958. The ABC-X Family Stress Model helps

to explain why some families sink or fall into crisis when faced with stressful situations

while other families swim or cope. This model consists of three variables, A, B, and C,

which interacts to bring about a product, X. The framework for the ABC-X model is as

follows, “A (the event) interacting with B (the family’s crisis-meeting resources)

interacting with C (the definition the family makes of the event) produces X (the crisis)”.

A Factor (Stressor Events). Hill described stressor event as an occurrence,

positive or negative, that either changes or has the potentials to change the family system.

Hill maintained that any change in the family system can cause stress, including change in

the family’s values, roles, functions, and boundaries. Equally, he noted that any stressful

situation is related to the type of stressor event.

 31

B Factor (Resources). Hill expressed ‘B Factor’ as the family’s resources or

assets that help the family prevent or buffer an event from causing crisis. Hill equally

project ‘B’ as a factor that assists the family in problem solving to enhance the family’s

coping strategies. Hill highlights three potential sources for family resources as: the

individual members, the collective family, and the community. Individual resources

include intelligence, education and acquired skills, personality characteristics, physical and

psychological health, self-esteem, and allocation of time.

Collective family resources include sharing of interests, values, affection, and

support. Hill maintained that one important aspect of collective family resource is family

cohesion, which is the interconnectedness of family members through the sharing of

interests, values, affection, and support. To Hill, cohesion increases family resiliency,

helping the family to overcome stress. Hill upholds that non-cohesive families are more

reactive to stress, frequently blaming and showing hostility to one another. Another

prominent collective family resource according to Hill is adaptability, also known as

flexibility. Adaptability to him is the family’s ability to remain stable or change when

needed to cope with stressful demands. Hill stated that families that refuse to change (rigid

families) are left with an increased risk of experiencing stress, dysfunction, and eventual

crisis. The third significant collective family resource according to Hill is effective

communication. This means the family’s ability to exchange both content and emotions

between one another in a manner which the other person understands.

Community resources also are effective in helping families deal with stress. Hill

defined these resources as those resources available from outside the family unit, such as

religious institutions, government agencies, and social support. Hill maintained that of all

the community resources, social support is viewed as a primary buffer for preventing family
 32

breakdown due to stress. Hill defined social support as interpersonal communication with

others outside the family system. To Hill, social support provides families with three forms

of support: emotional (the family learns they are cared for), esteem (the family increases

their self-worth and value), and network (the family feels they belong).

C Factor (Meanings). Hill described this factor as the meanings a family

ascribes to an event. According to him, these meanings are also known as family’s

perception, appraisal, or assessment of a stressor event, interpretations and views that the

family has collectively formed while interacting with one another. He upholds that it is

pivotal in determining whether family response to the stressor event is adaptive or

maladaptive. Hill maintained that the meaning a family assigns to an event is influenced

by three key factors: the family’s value system, previous definitions used, and previous

experiences in handling crises. For Hill, some situations become sources of stress only

because they are perceived by the family to be stressful. The theorists maintained that

families who are capable of defining an event positively and are optimistic are more likely

to cope and adapt to stressful situations.

X Factor (Outcomes). Hill maintained that outcomes to stress occur on a continuum, from

maladaptation on the negative end to bonadaptation on the positive end, depending on the

interaction of the event, the family’s resources, and the meaning the family ascribes to the

circumstances. Hill defined maladaptation as a continued imbalance between the

accumulated stressors and the family’s capability of meeting those demands. Hill

maintained that the family “falls apart,” physical, psychological, and spiritual health

deteriorates, and family members lose their sense of wellbeing when a stressor event

weakens family’s resources. In this situation, the family members can no longer perform

their roles and the family enters into a state of crisis. In contrast, Hill defined bonadaptation
 33

as a minimal discrepancy between the demands the family faces and the capability to meet

those demands. The theorists maintained that a bonadaptive family maintains and

strengthens its family integrity, and its members have a sense of wellbeing.

The ABC-X Family Stress Model is related to this study as it helps to explain how

a change in the family system can cause stress, including change in the family’s values,

roles, functions, and boundaries. Equally, it highlights that any stressful situation is related

to the type of stressor event. The ABC-X Family Stress Model has some elements of stress

management strategies as it relates that one important aspect of collective family resource

is family cohesion, which is the interconnectedness of family members through the sharing

of interests, values, affection, and support. It relates that cohesion increases family

resiliency, helping the family to overcome stress. Thus, this study examined the stress

management strategies to help women cope with stressful situations.

Stress Response Theory

This theory was propounded by Selye in 1976. Selye proposed this theory as the

basis for the stress-response pattern. The elements include adrenal cortex hypertrophy,

thymicolymphatic for example (the thymus, the lymph nodes, and the spleen) atrophy, and

gastrointestinal ulcers. These three, he reasoned, were closely interdependent; they seemed

to accompany most illnesses and were provoked no matter what the stimulus or illness.

Selye evoked the response in his laboratory using rats with agents such as formalin,

enzymes, hormones, heat, and cold. Selye observed diverse health problems as infections,

cancer, and heart disease. Selye noted that the syndrome probably represented an

expression of generalized “call to arms” of the body’s defensive forces in reaction to

excessive demands or provocative stimuli. Selye called this nonspecific response element
 34

which is capable of damaging any kind of stress. Selye used the term stressor to designate

the stimulus that provoked the stress response. To derive a conceptualization of stress,

Selye desired to delineate what it was not. Selye concluded that stress is not:

 simply nervous tension; it can occur in organisms without nervous systems or in

anesthetized or unconscious patients.

 an emergency discharge of hormones from the adrenal medulla; although

catecholamines are a part of the stress reaction, they are not the only hormones

activated, and they play no role in generalized inflammatory diseases or local stress

reactions.

 everything that causes a secretion of the adrenal cortex (for example., corticoids);

adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) can stimulate the release of corticoids

without producing a stress response.

 always the nonspecific result of damage; normal activities, such as tennis or a

passionate kiss, can produce a stress response without conspicuous damage.

 the same as a deviation from homeostasis. Reactions to loud noises, blinking of the

eye, or contracting a muscle may cause deviations from the resting state without

evidence of a generalized stress reaction.

 anything that causes an alarm reaction: It is the stressor that is the stimulus and not

the stress itself.

 identical with the alarm reaction: These reactions are characterized by certain

endorgan changes caused by stress and, hence, cannot be stress.

 35

 a nonspecific reaction: The pattern of the stress response is specific, although its

cause and effects may vary.

 necessarily bad: The stress of success, challenge, and creativity is positive, whereas

that of failure, anxiety, and infection can be negative.

 to be avoided: Stress cannot be avoided. It is ubiquitous; it is an essential

ingredient of life.

Selye therefore viewed stress as the common denominator of all adaptive reactions in the

body. Selye proposed that such adaptive reactions were measurable and occurs at both the

system and the local level. The entire stress process at the system level, including the threat

and the individual’s reaction to it, Selye called the general adaptation syndrome (GAS).

Selye labeled this process general because it was produced only by agents which have a

general effect upon large portions of the body and adaptive because it stimulated defense

and thereby, helped in the acquisition and maintenance of a state of inurnment,” and

syndrome “because its individual manifestations are coordinated and, even partly,

dependent upon one another. This response to stimuli, he noted, includes (a) the direct

effect of the stress on the organism, (b) internal responses that stimulated tissue defense to

destroy the damaging threat, and (c) internal responses that caused tissue surrender by

inhibiting unnecessary or excessive defense. Selye noted that resistance and adaptation

depends on a proper balance of these three factors that occur during the general adaptation

syndrome.

Stress response theory is related to this study in the following; the theory is focused

on the direct consequence of stress on the organism, internal responses that stimulated

tissue defense to destroy the damaging threat, and internal responses that caused tissue

surrender by inhibiting excessive defense. As such, stress response theory is applicable to

 36

this study because the present study is designed to ascertain the causes and consequences

of stress on the health and job performance of married working women.

Review of Empirical Studies

This section reviews studies carried out in areas related to the present study. It also

examined its relevance to the present study.

Studies on Stress and Job Performances of Married Working Women

Krishna, Vranda, Ahmed, Nirmala and Siddaramu (2010) carried out a study on

Work-Life Balance among Married Women Employees in Hawaii. The researchers adopted

descriptive survey design for the study. Three research questions guided the study.

Structured questionnaire titled “Work-Life Balance Married Women Employees

Questionnaire” (WLBMWEQ) was used for data collection. The population of the study

consisted of 862 women employees in Hawaii. The researchers used a sample size of 90

married working women of age between 20 and 50 years, randomly selected from each

setting; industrial setting, school setting and hospital setting. The data collected were

analyzed using mean and standard deviation.

The findings of the study showed that: there is need to formulate guidelines for the

management of work-family conflicts at organizational level as it is related to job

satisfaction and performance of the employees. This study is relevant to the on-going

research study in the sense that, it focused on the work-life balance among married women

employees. The present study will examine the impact of family stress on health and job

performance of married working women. Both studies are related in the sense that, both

studies center on job performance of married working women.

Sultana (2012) conducted a study on stress and work family conflict among married

women in their families in Malaysia. The researcher adopted a descriptive survey design.
 37

Two research questions guided the study. The population of the study comprised of 1286

married women in two universities and two residential areas in Malaysia. The researcher

used a sample size of 140 married women (working 70 and 70 non-working women). A

structured questionnaire titled “Stress and Work Family Conflict among Married Women”

(SWFCMW) was used for data collection. The data collected were analyzed using simple

percentage.

The findings showed that working women’s stress is higher than non-working

women. Majority of working women are in stressed because of their incapability to make

personal relation, limited social visit and not having enough time for their children and

family. This study is related to the on-going research study in terms of emphasis on factors

and influence of stress that might contribute to work family conflict, which the present

study ought to find out in Nigeria specifically, in Dekina Education Zone of Kogi

State.

Studies on stress reduction strategies

Nduka-Ozo (2012) conducted a study on stress management among married adult

learners in the work and study programme of Ebonyi State University, Abakaliki Nigeria.

the purpose was to find out the extent to which family expectations, societal expectations,

crowded classrooms, short period of study and lack of committed teachers cause stress for

adult learners in the work and study programme. The researcher adopted descriptive survey

design for the study. Five research questions guided the study. The population of the study

consisted of all the adult learners in the work and study programme in the Faculty of

Education numbering 630, while the sample size used was 140. The instrument for data

collection was a researcher constructed instrument titled “Adult Learners’ Stressors

 38

Assessment Scale (ALSAS) “Data collected were analyzed using mean and standard

deviation.

The findings of the study showed that adult learners in Ebonyi State University in

the Work and Study programme were stressed up by family expectations, societal

expectations, and limited duration under which they have to cover the whole work meant

for their programme. Equally, it was revealed that counseling should be adopted as a

strategy for stress management to assist married adult learners in the work and study

programme cope with stressful situations. This study is related to the present study, which

ascertained the stress management strategies to help women cope with stressful situations.

Smith (2012) conducted a study on coping mechanisms and level of occupational

stress among agriculture teachers and other teaching populations in Utah, United States.

The purpose of the study was to determine the coping mechanisms utilized to manage

occupational stress by agricultural and non-agricultural educators in Utah, United States.

The researcher adopted a descriptive survey design for the study. The study was guided by

eight research questions. The population of the study comprised of 230 educators (Utah

agricultural educators (N = 115) and non-agricultural educators from the same school

demographic (N = 115). The researcher used the entire population of 230 educators as the

sample size. A structured questionnaire titled “Coping Mechanisms Questionnaire (CMQ),

together with Teacher Stress Inventory (TSI), was used for data collection. The data

collected were analyzed using mean and standard deviation.

The findings of the study indicated that agriculture teachers showed a greater level

of occupational stress than non-agriculture teachers, for agriculture teacher group, it was

found that certain demographic characteristics led to a higher frequency of use for certain

coping mechanisms, length of teaching career, age, type of teaching certification, and hours
 39

spent on teaching and teaching related tasks all correlated to preference for specific coping

mechanisms.

This study is relevant to the on-going research study because, it investigated the

coping mechanisms utilized to manage occupational stress though in a foreign

environment. However, the present study is designed to determine the consequences of

stress on the job performance of married working women and stress management

strategies to help women cope with stressful situations. Both studies are related in the

sense that, both studies center on job/occupational stress and coping mechanisms/tress

management strategies.

Studies on consequences of stress on the health of working women

Gwang, Won, Chung, Lucy and Mi ja (2005) conducted a study on the relationship

of work and family stress to the health of women in Korea. The researchers adopted cross-

sectional study. A total population of 331 working married women in 14 manufacturing

companies in Korea was used. The entire population of 331 working married women in the

14 manufacturing companies in Korea was used as the sample size for the study. The

researchers obtained data from the respondent through a questionnaire that included items

on work stress, family stress, social support, and general characteristics, while mean and

standard deviation was used in analyzing the collected data.

The findings of the study showed that both work and family stress should be

considered together when addressing the health of working married women in the industrial

sector in Korea. This study relates to the present study for the reason that; the ongoing study

is designed to ascertain the consequences of stress on the health and job performance of

married working women.

 40

Elizabeth (2015) conducted a study on the consequences of family stress and family

Conflict on health performance of employees in Montana. The study examined the

consequences of family stress and family Conflict on health performance of employees.

The study employed a descriptive survey design. It was guided by two research questions.

The sample comprised of 400 female employees randomly selected using simple random

sampling technique. A 24 item questionnaire, with a reliability index of 0.76, was used for

data collection. Mean and Standard Deviation were used to analyze the data.

The findings showed that consequences of family stress and family Conflict on

health performance of employees includes burnout, depression, socially withdrawn, panic

disorder, emotional distress, loss of appetite, headache, tiredness and insomnia. This study

is related to the on-going research study in terms of emphasis on the consequences of family

stress and conflict on health performance of employees. Both studies are related in the sense

that, both studies center on the consequences of family stress on the health performances

of employees.

Summary of Literature Review

The literature reviewed focused on three main sub-headings: conceptual framework,

theoretical framework and review of empirical studies. Under conceptual framework, major

concepts such as family, stress, family stress, women, working married women,

management and stress management were discussed. Family is one of the social institutions

characterized by common residence, economic co-operation and reproduction. Stress

means mental, emotional, or physical strain caused by anxiety or overwork. Family stress

refers to a state of distress, pressure or emotional pain which arises when an individual is

faced with family demands. Woman is reviewed as a word usually reserved for an adult

female. Working married women refers to men partners in marriage in the paid labour
 41

force. Management means any arrangement of human and material resources available for

achievement of objectives. Stress management refers to physical and psychological

strategies designed to enable people to cope with stress and anxiety. General issues such as

types of stress, causes, consequences and stress management strategies were also reviewed.

One theory and one model were reviewed under theoretical framework which includes;

ABC-X family stress model and stress response theory. ABC-X family stress model explain

why some families sink or fall into crisis when faced with stressful situations while other

families swim or cope. It equally explains how a change in the family system can cause

stress, including change in the family’s values, roles, functions, and boundaries. Stress

response theory maintained that stress cannot be avoided. It is ubiquitous; it is an essential

ingredient of life thus, anything that causes an alarm reaction is the stressor meaning; the

stimulus and not the

stress itself.

Under the review of empirical studies, five studies conducted both in Nigeria and

other countries were reviewed. The studies reviewed indicated that some of the causes of

stress include societal expectations and limited duration. Equally, majority of working

women are stressed because of their incapability to make personal relation, limited social

visit and not having enough time for their children and family. Gaps establish in the work

so far disclosed that the empirical studies reviewed addressed the causes of stress on the

health and job performance of working women, but did not address the types of stress,

consequences and stress management strategies to help women cope with stressful

situations. Thus, this is the gap this study filled.

 42

CHAPTER THREE

RESEARCH METHOD

This chapter presents the description of the procedure of the study with regard to the

design of the study, area of the study, population of the study, sample and sampling

technique, instrument for data collection, validation of the instrument, reliability of the

instrument, method of data collection and method of data analysis.

Design of the Study

This study adopted descriptive survey. According to Nworgu (2006:77), descriptive

survey is a type of study which “aims at collecting data on, and describing in a systematic

manner, the characteristics, features or facts about a given population”. Descriptive survey

research design is appropriate because the present study seeks to collect, describe and

interpret the opinions that are held of female secondary school teachers on family stress,

health and job performance of married working women in Dekina Education Zone of Kogi
 43

state. Thus, the respondents have already been married and are living with their families.

They also engaged in paid employment in different workplaces. In addition, no variable

will be manipulated; they will be studied as they are.

Area of the Study

The study was carried out in Dekina Education Zone of Kogi East. Kogi East

consists of three zones which include; Ida, Ankpa and Dekina. Dekina Education Zone is

made up of two local Government Education Authorities which include; Dekina and

Ochaja. The choice of the area is based on the fact that Dekina Education Zone is the

47
largest Local Government in Nigeria where there are many working married women both

in urban and rural areas. Equally, the roles of these women in family development as

conceived in the area were viewed as helpers who assist in housework, childcare, shopping,

farming and cooking. As such, these women being engaged in paid employment, they also

combine their housework, childcare, shopping and cooking with an outside job and try to

do everything on time as most of home duties fall on their shoulders.

Population of the Study

The population of this study comprised of 201 married working women. This

consists of 201 female secondary school teachers in the 16 public secondary schools in

Dekina Education Zone. Source: (Dekina and Ochaja Education Zonal Office, November

2014).

Sample and Sampling Technique

 44

The entire population of 201 female secondary school teachers in the 16 public

secondary schools in Dekina Education was used. This is because; the numbers are small

and there is no need for sampling.

Instrument for Data Collection

The instrument for data collection was questionnaire titled; Family Stress, Health

and Job Performance of Working Married Woman Questionnaire (FSHJPWMWQ). The

questionnaire consists of two sections. Section A and B. Section A comprised information

regarding the demographic data of the respondents while section B was divided into five

clusters. Cluster A elicited information from the respondents on types of stressors working

married women suffer from, cluster B comprised items on the causes of stress in the lives

of stress married working women, Cluster C comprised items on the consequences of stress

on the health of married working women, Cluster D comprised items on the consequences

of stress on the job performance of married working women, while Cluster E focused on

the stress reduction strategies to help married working women cope with stressful

situations. The instruments (FSHJPWMWQ) was based on a four point rating scale of

Strongly Agree (SA), Agree (A), Disagree (D) and Strongly Disagree (SD) with weight

scores of SA= 4 points, A= 3 points, D= 2 points and SD= 1 point. (See Appendix A, page

58).

Validation of the Instrument

The instrument (FSHJPWMWQ) was subjected to face validation by three experts

in the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. One from Sociology of Education unit, One from

Educational Psychology and One from Measurement and Evaluation; all from Faculty of

Education, University of Nigeria, Nsukka. The experts were requested to examine the items

and assess their relevance, clarity, language comprehensiveness of the items in addressing
 45

the purpose of the study and research questions. The comments, suggestions and criticisms

made independently by the experts helped the researcher to modify and produce the final

instrument which was then subjected to trial testing.

Reliability of the Instrument

To ascertain the reliability of the instrument, the questionnaire was trial-tested on 20

respondents in Ida Education Zone of Kogi state which is outside the area of the study.

To determine the internal consistency of the instrument, Cronbach Alpha was used. Thus,

the coefficient values of 0.94, 0.92, 0.95, 0.94 and 0.89 for clusters A- E respectively were

obtained. The overall reliability coefficient value was 0.92. (See Appendix C, page

90).

Method of Data Collection

Copies of the questionnaire were administered directly to the respondents using three

research assistants. The three research assistants were instructed by the researcher on how

to distribute the instrument so as to ensure safe handling and maximum retrieval of the

filled instrument. The contents of the instrument were discussed to let the research

assistants be familiar with the modalities of administering the instrument in appropriate and

effective ways. The reason for the instruction and using research assistants was ensure that

the actual respondents, (working married women) indeed completed the questionnaire.

Method of Data Analysis

The data collected was answered using mean scores and standard deviation in answering

the five research questions. A criterion of 2.50 was used as benchmark for decision making.

Any item rated 2.50 and above was accepted, while any item rated below 2.50 was not

accepted. (See Appendix B, page 85).

 46

CHAPTER FOUR

RESULTS

This chapter presents the analysis of data collected. The results are presented in line

with the six research questions and three null hypotheses that guided the study.

Research Question 1: What types of stress do married working women suffer?

Table 1: Mean scores and standard deviation of married working women on types of stress
married working women suffer (N= 201)
S/N Items Mean Standard Decision
Deviation
1. Financial stress such as shortage 3.34 0.47 A
of or limited income
2. Emotional stress 3.80 0.40 SA

3. Home/home pressure 3.49 0.50 A

4. Workplace stress 3.45 0.49 A

5. Health stress 3.84 0.46 SA

Cluster Mean 3.66 0.46 SA
Key: SA = Strongly Agree, A = Agree

Table 1 presents the mean scores and standard deviation of married working women

on types of stress married working women suffer. In response to item 1, 3 and 4, the

respondents agree that financial stress such as shortage of or limited income, home/home

pressure and workplace stress are the types of stress that married working women suffer.
 47

In item 2 and 5, the respondents strongly agree that both emotional and health stress are

equally the types of stress that married working women suffer. The overall mean score for

the respondents show a cluster mean of 3.66, which has been rated above the agreed

criterion mean of 2.5. This shows a decision level of strongly agree.

51
This is an indication that the respondents strongly agree that all the items in the table are

the types of stress that married working women suffer.

Research Question 2: What are the causes of stress/stressors of married working women?
Table 2: Mean scores and standard deviation of married working women on the causes of
stress/stressors of married working women (N= 201)
S/N Items Mean Standard Decision
Deviation
6. Working long hours in the office 3.29 0.64 A
7. Having a heavy workload at 3.34 0.48 A
home
8. Taking office work home 3.65 0.47 SA
9. Having limited time to prepare 3.55 0.46 SA
your speech at work place
meeting
10. Facing discrimination or 3.13 0.43 A
harassment at workplace
11. Office politics and conflict 3.09 0.76 A
among staff
12. Chronic illness or injury 3.64 0.48 SA
13. Having much responsibility in the 3.75 0.46 SA
office
14. The responsibility of caring for a 3.65 0.47 SA
sick parent
15. Low self-esteem 3.34 0.51 A
16. Multiple competing demands 3.46 0.47 A
from spouse, children and
elderly parents
17. Death of a loved one or family 3.74 member 0.43 SA

18. Separation from a partner 3.67 0.48 SA

19. Pregnancy 3.55 0.45 SA
20. Traumatic event such as theft at 3.49 workplace 0.46 A
and home
 48

21. Trouble with in-laws 3.67 0.47 SA

22. Childcare 3.45 0.47 A
23. Remarriage of a family member 3.32 0.52 A
24. Caring for other dependents such 3.90 as 0.70 SA
elderly relatives

25. Trying to meet up with family 3.85 0.43 SA

meeting
26. Financial problems 3.44
0.48 A
27. Uncomfortable workplace (lack 3.55 0.47 SA
of job satisfaction)
28. Taking care of a sick family 3.65 0.45 SA
member
29. Sexual molestation at workplace 3.52 0.48 SA
30. Traffic jams 3.04 0.49 A
31. Time pressures 3.64 0.43 SA
32. Car troubles 3.44 0.77 A
Cluster Mean 3.51 0.51 SA

Key: SA = Strongly Agree, A = Agree

Table 2 shows the mean scores and standard deviation of the respondents on the

causes of stress/stressors of married working women. The result shows that the respondents

accepted the fact that all the items listed are the causes of stress/stressors of married

working women. This is because; each of the items has its mean score between 3.04 and

3.90 which is above the agreed criterion mean of 2.5. Equally, the overall mean score for

the respondents show a cluster mean of 3.51. This shows a decision level of strongly agree.

This is an indication that the respondents strongly agree that all the items in the table are

the causes of stress/stressors of married working women.

 49

Research Question 3: What are the consequences of stress on the health of married
working women?

Table 3: Mean scores and standard deviation of married working women on the
consequences of stress on the health of married working women. (N= 201)
S/N Items Mean Standard Decision
Deviation
33. Emotional distress 3.29 0.64 A

34. Socially withdrawn 3.34 0.48 A

35. Burnout 3.65 0.47 SA

36. Depression 3.55 0.46 SA

37. Dizziness 3.13 0.43 A

38. Heart palpitations 3.09 0.76 A

39. Generalized anxiety disorder 3.64 0.48 SA

40. Panic disorder 3.75 0.46 SA

41. Drug abuse 3.65 0.47 SA

42. Alcoholism 3.34 0.51 A

43. Loss of appetite 3.46 0.47 A

44. Tiredness and insomnia 3.74 0.43 SA

45. Headache 3.67 0.48 SA

46. Back pain 3.55 0.45 SA

47. Violent or anti-social behaviour 3.49 0.46 A

48. Jaw pain 3.67 0.47 SA

Cluster Mean 3.50 0.49 SA

Key: SA = Strongly Agree, A = Agree

Table 3 presents the mean scores and standard deviation of the respondents on the

consequences of stress on the health of married working women. The result shows that the
 50

respondents acknowledged that all the items in the table are the consequences of stress on

the health of married working women. The items had mean scores ranging between 3.13-

3.75 which is above the agreed criterion mean of 2.5. Likewise, the overall mean score for

both respondents show a cluster mean of 3.50. This indicates a decision level of strongly

agree. Consequently, the table shows that all the items in the table are the consequences of

stress on the health of married working women.

Research Question 4: What are the consequences of stress on the job performance of

married working women?

Table 4: Mean scores and standard deviation of married working women on the
consequences of stress on the job performance of married working women. (N=
201)
S/N Items Mean Standard Decision
Deviation
49. Poor concentration in the office 3.44 0.49 A
50. 3.54 0.48 SA
Difficulty in solving office
problems
51. Socially withdrawn in the 3.55 0.47 SA
workplace
52. Sudden irritability with 3.54 0.48 SA
colleagues
53. Always unhappy in the 3.40 0.49 A
workplace
54. Poor communication between 3.54 0.43 SA
teams
55. Inadequate feedback on job 3.44 0.47 A
performance
56. Poor memory retention 3.59 0.50 SA
Cluster Mean 3.51 0.46 SA

Key: SA = Strongly Agree, A = Agree

The results presented in table 4 revealed that all the items had their mean scores

above the cut-off point of 2.5. This revealed that all the eight items are the consequences

of stress on the job performance of married working women. Item 53, always unhappy in

the workplace had the lowest mean score of 3.40; followed by item 49 and 55, poor
 51

concentration in the office and inadequate feedback on job performance with mean scores

of 3.44 and 3.44 respectively, indicating agree. The remaining items had mean scores

ranging between 3.54 -3.59. The overall mean score for both respondents show a cluster

mean of 3.51. This indicates a decision level of strongly agree. Consequently, the table

shows that the items are the consequences of stress on the job performance of married

working women. The table also showed that the standard deviation of the items fall within

the range of 0.43 - 0.50. This indicates that the respondents were not divergent from one

another in their responses.

Research Question 5: What are the stress reduction strategies to help women cope with

stressful situations or conditions?

Table 5: Mean scores and standard deviation of married working women on the stress
reduction strategies to help women cope with stressful situations or conditions
(N= 201)
S/N Items Mean Standard Decision
Deviation
57. Setting limits appropriately 3.55 0.70 SA
58. Working ahead of time to minimize 3.34 0.47 A
threatening situation
 52

59. Saying no to requests that would 3.65 0.48 SA

create excessive stress
60. Being assertive instead of 3.45 0.45 A
aggressive
61. Rethinking the situation in a 3.44 0.59 A
positive way
62. Embarking on guided 3.75 0.46 SA
aerobic exercise such as; (a).
Running
3.34 0.48 A
(b).Walking
3.65 0.45 SA
(c). Biking
3.44 0.46 A
(d). Skiing
63. keeping a positive attitude 3.44 0.48 A
64. Relaxation 3.55 0.45 SA
65. Having enough rest and sleep 3.65 0.48 SA
66. Discussing problems with 3.53 family 0.48 SA
members, a close friend, a minister, or
counselor for advice

67. Taking a long bath to refresh the 3.90 body 0.70 SA

68. Listening to music 3.44 0.49 A

69. Watching comedies 3.48 0.49 A
70. Managing time properly 3.39 0.50 A
Cluster Mean 3.52 0.51 SA
Key: SA = Strongly Agree, A = Agree

The results presented in table 5 showed that all the items had their mean scores above

the cut-off point of 2.5. This disclosed that all the fourteen items were stress reduction

strategies to help women cope with stressful situations. Item 58 and 63 (a), working ahead

of time to minimize threatening situation and embarking on guided aerobic exercise such

as running had the lowest mean score of 3.34 and 3.34; followed by item 70 managing time

properly with mean scores of 3.39. The remaining items had mean scores ranging between

3.44 -3.90. The overall mean score for both respondents show a cluster mean of 3.52. This
 53

designates a decision level of strongly agree. Consequently, the table shows that the items

are reduction strategies to help women cope with stressful situations.

Summary of the major findings

The following constitute the major findings of this study.

1. Married working women strongly agree that types of stress that married working

women suffer includes; financial stress such as shortage of or limited income,

emotional stress, home pressure, workplace and health stress.

2. The respondents strongly agree that the causes of stress/stressors of married working

women include; working long hours in the office, having a heavy workload at home,

taking office work home, having limited time to prepare your speech at work place

meeting, facing discrimination or harassment at workplace, office politics and conflict

among staff, death of a loved one or family member and others.

3. The findings of the study strongly acknowledged that the consequences of stress on

the health of married working women include; emotional distress, socially withdrawn,

burnout, depression, dizziness, panic disorder, drug abuse, loss of appetite, tiredness

and insomnia, headache, back pain, violent or anti-social behaviour and jaw pain.

4. The respondents strongly agree that the items in the table 4 are the consequences of

stress on the job performance of married working women. These items include; poor

concentration in the office, difficulty in solving office problems, socially withdrawn

in the workplace, sudden irritability with colleagues, always unhappy in the

workplace, poor communication between teams, inadequate feedback on job

performance and poor memory retention.

5. Findings of the study showed that the respondents strongly accepted the fact that

setting limits appropriately, working ahead of time to minimize threatening situation,

 54

saying no to requests that would create excessive stress, embarking on guided aerobic

exercise such as running, walking, biking and skiing, keeping a positive attitude,

relaxation, having enough rest and sleep, listening to music and others are stress

reduction strategies to help women cope with stressful situations.

CHAPTER FIVE

DISCUSSION OF RESULTS, CONCLUSION, IMPLICATIONS,

LIMITATIONS, RECOMMENDATIONS, SUGGESTION FOR FURTHER

RESEARCH AND CONCLUSION

This chapter presents discussions of the findings, conclusion, implications,

recommendations, limitations, suggestions for further research and summary.

Discussion of Results

Types of Stress Married Working Women Suffer

The findings of the study showed that types of stress that married working women

suffer includes; financial stress such as shortage of or limited income, emotional stress,

home pressure, workplace and health stress. Though, this finding is not unexpected

considering the view of Teasdale (2006) who stated that family stress often arises among
 55

Nigerian women as they try to balance the multiple competing demands of their spouses,

children, elderly parents, among others. Similarly, the findings of the present study

supported the study conducted by UNICEF (1999) which stated that married working

women engage in various workplaces in paid labour and they perform various functions

such as typesetting of documents, file arrangement, sending memos across, photocopy and

others together with their responsibilities in the house such as, activities of infant care,

nursing, water and wood fetching among others. Consequently, UNICEF further stressed

that in a bid to create equilibrium or a balance between the two responsibilities in the

workplace and home in order to maintain their marriage so that it will not

60
disintegrate, tension and conflict may arise. Obviously, these stressors exist due to

conflicting demands of home and office duties.

Causes of Stress/Stressors of Married Working Women

The results of this research study showed that married working women strongly

agree that all the items in table 2 are the causes of stress/stressors of married working

women. These items include; working long hours in the office, having a heavy workload

at home, taking office work home, having limited time to prepare your speech at work place

meeting, facing discrimination or harassment at workplace, office politics and conflict

among staff, death of a loved one or family member and others. Based on the findings of

the study, it is evident that family stressors are caused by a number of factors. The findings

of the present study supported the study conducted by Pearson and Moomaw (2005) who

outlines the causes of family stressors as, death of a loved one in the family, divorce or

separation from a partner, pregnancy, changes in health of a family member or close friend,
 56

trouble with in-laws, children leaving home, childcare, remarriage of a family member,

caring for other dependents, such as elderly relatives, family reunion and relationship

breakdown.

Consequences of Stress on the Health of Married Working Women

The findings of the study strongly acknowledged that the consequences of stress on the

health of married working women include; emotional distress, socially withdrawn, burnout,

depression, dizziness, panic disorder, drug abuse, loss of appetite, tiredness and insomnia,

headache, back pain, violent or anti-social behaviour and jaw pain. Considering the

findings of the study, it is obvious that family stress can be negative, when it becomes

destructive as a result of how an individual negatively perceived it and reacted to it. The

findings of the present study supported the study conducted by Felsten and Wilcox (2002)

which stated that family stress pervades the life of married working women, and may

impact adversely their mental and physical health, and their ability to perform office work

effectively. Similarly, the findings of the present study supported the study conducted by

Gelow, Brown, Dowling and Torres (2009) which stated that married working women who

experience a high level of family stress for a long time, and who cope poorly with this stress

may become irritable, socially withdrawn, and emotionally unstable. The researcher further

disclosed that this stressful situation may lead to sickness such as, high blood pressure

(HBP), stroke or psychological problems, like depression and anxiety. From these findings,

it is evident that married working women under intense and prolonged family stress may

suffer severe health problems like extreme anxiety, depression, or other severe emotional

problems.

Consequences of Stress on the Job Performance of Married Working Women

 57

The results of this research study showed that consequences of stress on the job

performance of married working women include; poor concentration in the office,

difficulty in solving office problems, socially withdrawn in the workplace, sudden

irritability with colleagues, always unhappy in the workplace, poor communication

between teams, inadequate feedback on job performance and poor memory retention. The

findings of the present study supported the study conducted by Demerouti, Bakker,

Nachreiner and Schaufeli (2001) which stated that combining housework, childcare,

shopping and cooking with an outside job and trying to do everything on time affects the

work performance of married working women. The result revealed that married working

women agree that poor concentration in the office, always unhappy in the workplace and

inadequate feedback on job performance are the consequences of stress on the job

performance of married working women. Equally, the respondents strongly agree that

difficulty in solving office problems, socially withdrawn in the workplace, sudden

irritability with colleagues and poor communication between teams are the consequences

of stress on the job performance of married working women. This is in line with the earlier

assertion Dyson and Renk (2006) that stress is responsible why married working women

have difficulties in concentrating and solving office problems.

Stress Reduction Strategies to Help Women Cope with Stressful Situations or

Conditions
Findings of the study showed that married working women accepted the fact that

stress reduction strategies to help women cope with stressful situations includes; setting

limits appropriately, working ahead of time to minimize threatening situation, saying no to

requests that would create excessive stress, embarking on guided aerobic exercise such as

running, walking, biking and skiing, keeping a positive attitude, relaxation, having enough
 58

rest and sleep, listening to music and others. This results is in line with the findings of

Kaplan, Liu and Kaplan (2005) which stated that some tips to help keep stress at bay

include; keeping a positive attitude, accepting that there are events that one cannot control,

being assertive instead of aggressive, asserting your feelings, opinions, or beliefs instead

of becoming angry. From these findings, it is clear that people manage stress and live

happier and healthier lives. Similarly, from the findings of Guterman and Lee (2005)

research work, one’s body can fight stress better when he/she is fit, eat healthy, learn to

manage time more effectively, set limits appropriately, learn to say no to requests that

would create excessive stress, make time for hobbies, interests and relaxation and by having

enough rest and sleep.

Conclusion

Based on the findings of the study, the following conclusions were drawn;

 Types of stress that married working women suffer include; financial stress such as

shortage of or limited income, emotional stress, home pressure, workplace and health

stress. Obviously, these stressors exist due to conflicting demands of home and office

duties.

 Family stressors are caused by a number of factors such as; working long hours in the

office, having a heavy workload at home, taking office work home, having limited

time to prepare your speech at work place meeting, facing discrimination or

harassment at workplace, office politics and conflict among staff, death of a loved one

or family member and others.

 Consequences of stress on the health of married working women include; emotional

distress, socially withdrawn, burnout, depression, dizziness, panic disorder, drug

abuse, loss of appetite, tiredness and insomnia, headache, back pain, violent or
 59

antisocial behaviour and jaw pain. Considering the findings of the study, it is obvious

that family stress can be negative, when it becomes destructive as a result of how an

individual negatively perceived it and reacted to it. Consequently, married working

women under intense and prolonged family stress may suffer severe health problems

like extreme anxiety, depression, or other severe emotional problems.

 Consequences of stress on the job performance of married working women include;

poor concentration in the office, difficulty in solving office problems, socially

withdrawn in the workplace, sudden irritability with colleagues, always unhappy in

the workplace, poor communication between teams, inadequate feedback on job

performance and poor memory retention. From the findings of the study, it is evident

that stress is responsible why married working women have difficulties in

concentrating and solving office problems.

 Stress reduction strategies to help women cope with stressful situations includes;

setting limits appropriately, working ahead of time to minimize threatening situation,

saying no to requests that would create excessive stress, embarking on guided aerobic

exercise such as running, walking, biking and skiing, keeping a positive attitude,

relaxation, having enough rest and sleep, listening to music and others. From these

findings, it is clear that people manage stress and live happier and healthier lives.

Consequently, one’s body can fight stress better when he/she is fit, eat healthy, learn

to manage time more effectively, set limits appropriately, learn to say no to requests

that would create excessive stress, make time for hobbies, interests and relaxation and

by having enough rest and sleep.

 60

Implications of the Study

An insight into the investigation of family stress, health and job performance of

married working women in Dekina Education Zone of Kogi state has some important

educational implications. The implications of the findings as related to education are hereby

highlighted.

One of the results of this showed that types of stress that married working women

suffer include; financial stress such as shortage of or limited income, emotional stress,

home pressure, workplace and health stress. By implication, these stressors exist due to

conflicting demands of home and office duties.

Another major finding of this study is that family stressors are caused by a number

of factors such as; working long hours in the office, having a heavy workload at home,

taking office work home, having limited time to prepare your speech at work place meeting,

facing discrimination or harassment at workplace, office politics and conflict among staff

and death of a loved one or family member. This implies that stressors vary in severity and

duration and are caused by various factors which in return demand various solutions or

strategies.

Equally, the findings of the study indicated that consequences of stress on the health

of married working women include; emotional distress, socially withdrawn, burnout,

depression, dizziness, panic disorder, drug abuse, loss of appetite, tiredness and insomnia,

headache, back pain, violent or anti-social behaviour and jaw pain. Considering the

findings of the study, it is obvious that family stress can be destructive due to how an

individual negatively perceived it and reacted to it.

 61

Another major finding of this study disclosed that stress negatively impact on the

job performance of married working women by poor making them to lack concentration in

the office, difficulty in solving office problems, socially withdrawn in the workplace,

sudden irritability with colleagues, always unhappy in the workplace, poor communication

between teams, inadequate feedback on job performance and poor memory retention.

Going by this finding, it is evident that stress is responsible why married working women

have difficulties in concentrating and solving office problems. By implication, there is need

for stress reduction strategies so as to reduce the negative impact of stress on the lives of

married working women to maintain the functioning of the family system and office duties.

Another major finding of this study is that one’s body can fight stress better when

he/she is fit, eat healthy, learn to manage time more effectively, set limits appropriately,

learn to say no to requests that would create excessive stress, make time for hobbies,

interests and relaxation and by having enough rest and sleep. By implication, people can

manage stress and live happier and healthier lives.

Recommendations

Based on the findings of the study, the researcher recommends that;

 Government should equip public health workers with physical and psychological

facilities needed to assists stressors minimize threatening situations.

 Government should through ministry of education in synergy with public health

workers and counselors, organize training for both the general public and stressors

on types of stress; causes, consequences and stress reduction strategies to help

stressors cope with stressful situations or conditions.

 Counselors should be involved and empowered with both physical and

 62

psychological strategies such as biofeedback, including thoughts and actions to deal

with married working women stressful situations to improve their health condition

and enhance their job performance

 Social network and biofeedback training should be designed and provided for

stressors as a coping strategy to change aspects of their situation and reduce stress.

 Stressors should be encouraged by both friends and family members to embark on

guided aerobic exercise such as running, walking, biking and skiing since it was

revealed that one’s body can fight stress better when he/she is fit.

 Instrument or machine that measures a particular physiological response, such as heart rate

should be provided to assists stressors manage stress and live happier and healthier

lives.

Limitations of the Study

Married working women in Dekina Education Zone of Kogi State were not at ease

in responding the questionnaire particularly, as it coincided with the period of their

examinations. Equally, the physical condition of the researcher during the course of this

study fluctuated giving rise to unsteady work.

Suggestions for Further Studies

Based on the findings and the limitations of the study, the researcher suggested that

further research can be carried out in the following areas:

1. Assessment of social network and biofeedback training available for stressors in

Dekina Education Zone of Kogi State.

2. Comparative evaluation of the consequences of stress on the health and job

performance of married working men and women in Ida Education Zone of Kogi

State.
 63

3. An evaluation of the sources, consequences and stress reduction strategies for

stressors in Ankpa Education Zone of Kogi State.

Summary of the Study

This research study focused on family stress, health and job performance of married

working women in Dekina Education Zone of Kogi State. Five research questions guided

the study. Descriptive survey research design was used in the study. The population of the

study comprised of 201 married working women in the 16 public secondary schools in

Dekina Education Zone. Instrument titled “Family Stress, Health and Job Performance of

Working Married Woman Questionnaire (FSHJPWMWQ)” was developed by the

researcher to collect data for the study. The five research questions were analyzed using

mean and Standard Deviation.

An overview of the overall results among others showed that types of stress that

married working women suffer include; financial stress such as shortage of or limited

income, emotional stress, home pressure, workplace and health stress. Family stressors are

caused by a number of factors such as; working long hours in the office, having a heavy

workload at home, taking office work home, having limited time to prepare your speech

at work place meeting, facing discrimination or harassment at workplace, office politics

and conflict among staff, death of a loved one or family member and others. Equally,

consequences of stress on the health of married working women include; emotional

distress, socially withdrawn, burnout, depression, dizziness, panic disorder, drug abuse,

loss of appetite, tiredness and insomnia, headache, back pain, violent or antisocial

behaviour and jaw pain. Consequences of stress on the job performance of married working

women include; poor concentration in the office, difficulty in solving office problems,

socially withdrawn in the workplace, sudden irritability with colleagues, always unhappy
 64

in the workplace, poor communication between teams, inadequate feedback on job

performance and poor memory retention. Stress reduction strategies to help women cope

with stressful situations includes; setting limits appropriately, working ahead of time to

minimize threatening situation, saying no to requests that would create excessive stress,

embarking on guided aerobic exercise such as running, walking, biking and skiing, keeping

a positive attitude, relaxation, having enough rest and sleep, listening to music and others.

Based on the findings of the study, the researcher among others recommends that

Government should through ministry of education in synergy with public health workers

and counselors, organize training for both the general public and stressors on types of

stress; causes, consequences and stress reduction strategies to help stressors cope with

stressful situations or conditions. Equally, counselors should be involved and empowered

with both physical and psychological strategies such as biofeedback, including thoughts

and actions to deal with married working women stressful situations to improve their health

condition and enhance their job performance. Also, Government should equip public health

workers with physical and psychological facilities needed to assists stressors minimize

threatening situations.
 65

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APPENDIX A: Family Stress on Health and Job Performance of Married Working

Women Questionnaire (FSHJPWWQ)

Department of Educational Foundations

Faculty of Education
University of Nigeria Nsukka
 71

…………………

Dear Sir/Madam,

REQUEST FOR VALIDATION OF INSTRUMENT

I am a postgraduate student of Sociology of Education in the above named

institution. I am conducting a research on “Family Stress, Health and Job Performance
of Married Working Women in Dekina Education Zone of Kogi State”.

Please, you are requested to vet the topic and items for clarity, relevance and total
coverage for use in the collection of data for the study. Kindly, I request of your
professional skills to put down your comments and suggestions for improving the
quality of the instruments.

Attached are the title, purpose, research questions and questionnaire for the study.

Thanks for your assistance and cooperation.

Yours faithfully,

Achemu, Isaac Okpanachi (Rev. FR)

PG/MED/11/ 58790

Title of the Study: “Family Stress, Health and Job Performance of Married Working
Women in Dekina Education Zone of Kogi State
Purpose of the study
The purpose of this study is to examine family stress, health and job performance of

married working women in Dekina Education Zone of Kogi State

Specifically, the study seeks to:

i. identify types of stress married working women suffer ii. ascertain the

causes of stress/stressors in the lives of married working women iii. find out the

consequences of stress on the health of married working women iv. find out the

consequences of stress on the job performance of married working

 72

women

v. determine the stress reduction strategies to help women cope with stressful

situations or conditions

Research Questions

The following are the guiding research questions for this study;

i. What types of stress do married working women suffer?

ii. What are the causes of stress/stressors of married working women? iii. What are

the consequences of stress on the health of married working women?

iv. What are the consequences of stress on the job performance of married working

women?

v. What are the stress reduction strategies to help women cope with stressful situations

or conditions?

Department of Educational Foundations

Faculty of Education
University of Nigeria Nsukka

…………………

Dear Sir/Madam,

LETTER FOR ADMINISTRATION OF QUESTIONNAIRE

I am a postgraduate student of Sociology of education in the above named institution.

I am conducting a research on “Family Stress, Health and Job Performance of Married
Working Women in Dekina Education Zone of Kogi State”

Kindly, I request for your assistance to fill this questionnaire to enable me carryout
the research work successfully. The information received from you shall be strictly
used for this academic purpose.
 73

Thanks for your understanding and cooperation.

Yours
faithfully,

Achemu, Isaac Okpanachi (Rev. FR)

PG/MED/11/ 58790

Part A

Personal Data

Please, kindly fill your responses to these questions as they apply to you.

Tick ( √ ) where applicable.

1. Name of School…………………………………………………………………
[

Part B Questionnaire

Kindly, read through the following items and tick ( √ ) in the column, the best

answer that corresponds to your experience. Use the key stated below to answer the

questions

SA-Strongly Agree

A - Agree

D - Disagree

SD-Strongly Disagree
 74

Section A
Types Of Stress Married Working Women Suffer

The Following are Types Of Stress Married Working Women SA A D SD

Suffer From
1 Financial stress such as shortage of or limited income
2. Emotional stress
3. Home/home pressure
4 Workplace stress
5 Health stress

Section B
Causes Of Stress/Stressors Of Married Working Women

The Following are the Causes Of Stress In The Lives Of Married SA A D SD

Working Women
6 Working long hours in the office
7 Having a heavy workload at home
8 Taking office work home
9 Having limited time to prepare your speech at work place meeting
10 Facing discrimination or harassment at workplace
11 Office politics and conflict among staff
12 Chronic illness or injury
13 Having much responsibility in the office
14 The responsibility of caring for a sick parent
15 Low self-esteem
16 Multiple competing demands from spouse, children and elderly
parents
17 Death of a loved one or family member
18 Separation from a partner
19. Pregnancy
20. Traumatic event such as theft at workplace and home
21. Trouble with in-laws
22 Childcare
23 Remarriage of a family member
24 Caring for other dependents such as elderly relatives
25 Trying to meet up with family meeting
26 Financial problems
 75

27 Uncomfortable workplace (lack of job satisfaction)

28 Taking care of a sick family member
29 Sexual molestation at workplace
30 Traffic jams
31 Time pressures
32 Car troubles

Section C
The Consequences Of Stress On The Health Of Married Working Women

Consequences Of Stress On the Health Of Married Working SA A D SD

Women Include;
33. Emotional distress
34. Socially withdrawn
35. Burnout
36. Depression
37. Dizziness
38. Heart palpitations
39 Generalized anxiety disorder
40 Panic disorder
41 Drug abuse
42 Alcoholism
43 Loss of appetite
44 Tiredness and insomnia
45 Headache
46 Back pain
47 Violent or anti-social behaviour
48 Jaw pain

Section D
The Consequences Of Stress On The Job Performance Of Married Working Women
 76

The following are the Consequences Of Stress On The Job SA A D SD

Performance Of Married Working Women:
49. Poor concentration in the office
50. Difficulty in solving office problems
51. Socially withdrawn in the workplace
52. Sudden irritability with colleagues
53. Always unhappy in the workplace
54 Poor communication between teams
55 Inadequate feedback on job performance
56 Poor memory retention

Section E
Stress Management Strategies To Help Women Cope With Stressful Situations

Stress Management Strategies To Help Women Cope With SA A D SD

Stressful Situations Include:
57 Setting limits appropriately
58 Working ahead of time to minimize threatening situation
59 Saying no to requests that would create excessive stress
60 Being assertive instead of aggressive
61 Rethinking the situation in a positive way
62 Embarking on guided aerobic exercise such as; (a). Running
(b).Walking
(c). Biking
(d). Skiing
63 keeping a positive attitude
64 Relaxation
65 Having enough rest and sleep
66 Discussing problems with family members, a close friend, a minister,
or counselor for advice
67 Taking a long bath to refresh the body
68 Listening to music
69 Watching comedies
70 Managing time properly

APPENDIX B: ANALYSIS

Research Question 1
N Mean Std. Deviation
 77

Financial stress such as

shortage of or limited income 201 3.3483 .47761

Emotional stress 201 3.2040 .40396

Home/home pressure 201 3.4975 .50124

Workplace stress 201 3.4527 .49900

Health stress 3.8458

201 .36207

Research Question 2
N Mean Std. Deviation

Working long hours in the

office 201 3.2985 .64066

Having a heavy workload at

home 201 .48761
3.3483
Taking office work home 201 .47761
3.6528
Having limited time to
prepare your speech at work
place meeting
201 3.5517 .46761

Facing discrimination or
harassment at workplace 201 3.1300 .43000

Office politics and conflict

among staff 201 3.0995 .76815

Chronic illness or injury 201 3.6483 .48761

Having much responsibility in

the office 201 3.7518 .46761

The responsibility of caring

for a sick parent 201 3.6527
.47761
Low self-esteem 201 3.3400
.51200
Multiple competing demands
from spouse, children and
elderly parents 3.4683
201 .47761

Death of a loved one or family

member 201 3.7463 .43623

Separation from a partner 201 3.6783 .48762

 78

Pregnancy 201 3.5547 .45861

Traumatic event such as

theft at workplace and home 201 3.4983 .46261

Trouble with in-laws

201 3.6727 .47863

Childcare 201 3.4537 .47963

Remarriage of a family
member 201 3.3280 .52100

Caring for other dependents

such as elderly relatives 201 3.9005 .70004

Trying to meet up with family

meeting .43623
201 3.8563

Financial problems 201 3.4484 .48762

Uncomfortable workplace
201 3.5527
(lack of job satisfaction) .47663

Taking care of a sick family

member 201 3.6517 .45766

Sexual molestation at
workplace 201 3.5200 .48100

Traffic jams 201 3.0498 .49751

Time pressures 201 3.6464 .43623

Car troubles 201 3.4467 .47761

Research Question 3
N Mean Std. Deviation

Emotional distress 201 3.5502 .66896

 79

Socially withdrawn 201 3.3584 .47761

Burnout 201 3.5518 .46763

Depression 201 3.3483 .47761

Dizziness 201 3.6617 .48754

Heart palpitations 201 3.0498 .80468

Generalized anxiety disorder 3.9005

201 .70004
Panic disorder
201 3.3483 .49766

Drug abuse 201 3.4577 .47867

Alcoholism 201 3.3372 .46742

Loss of appetite 201

3.6829 .47783
Tiredness and insomnia
201 3.6536 .48766

Headache 201 3.4000 .48670

Back pain 201 3.9005 .70004

Violent or anti-social 3.7463 .43623

behaviour 201
3.3483 .47965
Jaw pain 201

Research Question 4
N Mean Std. Deviation
 80

Poor concentration in the

office 201 3.4478 .49851

Difficulty in solving office

problems 201 3.5496 .49751

Socially withdrawn in the

workplace 201 3.5532 .47917

Sudden irritability with

colleagues 201 3.5498 .38407

Always unhappy in the

workplace 201 3.4030 .49172

Poor communication between

teams 201

3.5488 .43337
Inadequate feedback on job
performance 201
3.4484 .47761
Poor memory retention
201
3.5975 .50124

Research Question 5
N Mean Std. Deviation
 81

Setting limits appropriately 201 3.5537 .70021

Working ahead of time to
minimize threatening situation .47761
201 3.3483
Saying no to requests that
would create excessive stress .48763
201 3.6517
Being assertive instead of
aggressive .45866
201 3.3483

Rethinking the situation in a 201 3.4527 .59077

positive way
Embarking on guided aerobic
exercise such as; (a). Running 201 3.4485 .48764

201 3.7557 .45263

(b).Walking

201 3.3483 .46763

(c). Biking

201 .48765
(d). Skiing 3.6528
keeping a positive attitude 201 .45765
3.4487
Relaxation 201 .48769
3.5577 .48761
Having enough rest and sleep 201
3.6549
Discussing problems with
family members, a close friend,
a minister, or counselor for
201 3.5356 .48006
advice

Taking a long bath to refresh

the body 201 3.9005 .70004

Listening to music 201 3.4478 .49851

Watching comedies 201 3.4828 .49900

Managing time properly 201 3.3980 .49071