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Journal of Applied Psychology Copyright 1987 by the American Psychological Association, Inc.

1987, Vol. 72, No. 4, 538-543 №2l-90IQ/87/$00.75

Understanding, Prediction, and Control as Moderators of the


Relationships Between Perceived Stress, Satisfaction,
and Psychological Weil-Being

Lois E. Tetrick James M. LaRocco


Wayne State University Research Department, Naval School of Health Sciences
Bethesda, Maryland

This study provides a preliminary test of a model proposed by Sutton and Kahn (1986). In the
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model, the ability to understand, predict, and control events in the work environment can reduce
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the potential adverse effects generally associated with certain work conditions. Using a sample of
physicians, dentists, and nurses (N = 206) from a laige naval medical hospital, the present study
examined the moderating effects of understandable, predictable, and controllable work situations
on the relationship between perceived role stress, satisfaction, and psychological well-being. Under-
standing and control were found to have moderating effects on the relationship between perceived
stress and satisfaction. Understanding, prediction, and control were found to have direct relation-
ships with perceived stress, but only control had a significant direct relationship with satisfaction.
None of these variables were found to have significant direct relationships with psychological
well-being.

The general work stress health model (e.g., House, 1981; Katz (e.g., social support reduces the relationship between role con-
& Kahn, 1978) postulates that objective work conditions can flict and depression). The first two lines of research have estab-
lead to perceptions of stress. Perceived stress, in turn, leads to lished a relatively consistent link between perceived role stress,
job-related strains such as dissatisfaction, boredom, and turn- satisfaction, and psychological well-being. However, attempts to
over, and to individual strains such as anxiety, depression, and confirm the moderating effects of such variables as social sup-
physical illness. In addition, the stress health model hypothe- port have met with only limited success (Beehr & Bhagat, 1985;
sizes that internal characteristics (i.e., personal characteristics) Cohen & Wills, 1985). Cohen and Wills (1985) suggested that
and external conditions (i.e., situational characteristics) not this limited success may be attributed, at least in part, to the
only have direct effects, but also have interactive or moderating lack of relevancy to the work environment of some of the mea-
effects. sures of social support. L

Research involving the stress health model has taken three Recently, Sutton and Kahn (1986) proposed three work-rele-
general forms: (a) a demonstration that certain job conditions vant antidotes against the stress-strain effect in organizational
lead to adverse outcomes (e.g., role ambiguity and role conflict life: understanding of events, predictability of events, and con-
lead to job dissatisfaction); (b) the demonstration of the direct trol over events. To the extent that an organizational member
effects on stress and strain of factors external to the workplace can (a) understand how and why events happen, (b) predict the
(e.g., social support lessens role conflict and depression) or in- frequency, timing, and duration of events in the work environ-
ternal to the individual (e.g., Type-A behavior pattern increases ment, and (c) control the outcomes desired by effectively influ-
role conflict and anxiety levels); and (c) the demonstration of encing the events, things, or others in the work environment,
the moderating effects of these internal and external factors less strain will result from the stressors existing in the work en-
vironment.
The purpose of this research was to test the potential moder-
ating and main effects of understanding, prediction, and control.
This article was supported by the Naval Medical Research and Devel-
opment Command, Department of the Navy, under Research Work in the stress-strain relationship. Incorporating Sutton and
Unit MR 00l.RP-018004. The views presented in this article are those Kahn's (1986) proposed antidotes into the general work health
of the authors only and do not necessarily represent the official view, model, this study hypothesized that (a) understanding, (b) pre-
policies, or endorsements of the U.S. Navy or any other government diction, and (c) control moderate the relations between (I) per-
agency. ceived role stress and job satisfaction (Hypotheses la, Ib, and
The authors would like to thank the staff of the Medical Psychology Ic), between (2) perceived role stress and psychological well-
Department, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, for
being (Hypotheses 2a, 2b, and 2c), and between (3) job satisfac-
their help on this project. The assistance of Laurie Davidson, who was
tion and psychological well-being (Hypotheses 3a, 3b, and 3c).
responsible for data collection, and of Andy Baum, who advised on re-
search design, was particularly valuable. These hypothesized moderating effects are reflected in Figure 1
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Lois by the correspondingly labeled arrows.
Tetrick, Department of Psychology, Wayne Slate University, 71 West It also was hypothesized that (a) understanding, (b) predic-
Warren, Detroit, Michigan 48202. tion, and (c) control are directly related to all three of the central

538
UNDERSTANDING, PREDICTION, AND CONTROL 539
Understaading French, Harrison, and Pinneau (1975) to measure role ambiguity and
Prediction
Control four items from House and Rizzo (1972) for role conflict. The response
scale for these items was from t = very little extent to 7 = a greal extent.
6a,b,c Job satisfaction was measured using items from Hackman and Old-
la.b.c/ 3a,b,c ham (1980). These items were scaled on a seven-point scale ranging
from strongly disagree to strongly agree. Two variables were constructed
^_ Psychological from these items: a global measure of job satisfaction and a job-facet
Perceived
Role Stress Well-being satisfaction measure, which was a summation of six scales measuring
satisfaction with security, pay, growth, co-workers, supervisors, and
5a,b,c hours.
Psychological well-being was measured by two scales: anxiety and de-
pression, based on items adapted primarily from Caplan et al. (1975).
These items required the respondent to indicate on a five-point scaie
Job Satisfaction how frequently they experienced certain physical and psychological re-
sponses to work conditions.
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Figure 1. Schematic representation or hypothesized relationships Understanding of events, predictability of events, and control over
This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its allied publishers.

among understanding, prediction, control perceived role stress, satis- one's work environment (self-determination) were measured by scales
faction, and psychological well-being. (Because the same relationships developed for this study based on Sutton and Kahn's (1986) definitions.
are hypothesized for understanding, prediction, and control, only one These items are presented in the Appendix. The response scale for the
arrow for each set of hypotheses is drawn to maintain clarity and sim- items was from 1 = very little to 7 = a great extent.
plicity.)

Analysis
constructs: (4) perceived role stress (Hypotheses 4a, 4b, and 4c),
Because of the adverse effect of measurement error in testing for in-
(5) job satisfaction {Hypotheses 5a, 5b, and 5c), and (6) psycho-
teraction effects (Kenny & Judd, 1984), a latent variable model was
logical well-being (Hypotheses 6a, fib, and 6c). These hypothe- developed. The measurement mode! was represented by three latent
ses are reflected by the correspondingly labeled arrows in Fig- variables: perceived role stress, job satisfaction, and psychological well-
ure 1. Finally, it was hypothesized that (7) perceived role stress being. The indicators of perceived role stress were role ambiguity and
influences job satisfaction (Hypotheses 7, arrow 7), which in role conflict, the indicators of job satisfaction were global job satisfac-
turn affects (8) psychological well-being (Hypotheses 8, arrow tion and job-facet satisfaction, and the indicators of psychological well-
8), and that (9) perceived role stress influences psychological being were anxiety and depression. Construction of this measurement
well-being directly (Hypotheses 9, arrow 9). model does not imply that role ambiguity and role conflict are equiva-
lent but simply implies that there is a common underlying construct—
perceived role stress—that is consistent with McGrath's (1976) defini-
Method tion of stress. Similarly, for the other latent variables, no assumption or
Sample constraint was imposed that the indicators were equivalent. Under-
standing, prediction, and control were treated as manifest variables be-
The data were collected at a large naval hospital in the northeastern cause multiple indicators were not available. Confirmatory factor analy-
United States, Participants were physicians, nurses, and dentists sis was used to assess the goodness of fit of the measurement model.
{N - 225). On the average, the respondents were in their thirties, had After the adequacy of the measurement model was assessed, one addi-
been in their current job approximately 16 months, and were midlevel tional confirmatory factor analysis including the additional moderating
officers. Most of them were primarily in clinical work as opposed to effects was performed. As described by Kenny and Judd (1984), mani-
administration. The physicians and dentists were almost all men, fest indicators of each hypothesized latent interactive effect were com-
whereas the nurses were almost all women. Approximately half of the puted by obtaining the cross-products of the respective manifest indica-
nurses were married, and most of the physicians and dentists were mar- tors for the two latent variables involved in a particular interactive
ried. effect. The covariance matrix of all latent variables from this confirma-
tory factor analysis was used in all subsequent analyses, using LIS-
RELVl.
Data Collection
Creation of the cross-product terms results in a violation of multivari-
Participants were recruited through an announcement at staff meet- ate normality for maximum likelihood estimation procedures (Kenny
ings and by notes placed in a newssfaeet published daily at the hospital. & Judd, 1984). Boomsma (1983) suggested that small to moderate vio-
Prospective participants assembled at the end of their work day (4-6 lations of normality (skewnesses of the observed variables less than 1.0)
p.m.) in a designated room. After being briefed on the study, they re- may not affect parameter estimates, standard errors for testing the statis-
viewed and signed a consent form if they agreed to participate in the tical significance of parameters, or the chi-square goodness-of-fit statis-
research. The participants then received the questionnaire and were in- tic. However, only one or two very extreme skewnesses can lead to non-
structed to return it the next day. Of the 225 returned questionnaires, robust results. Therefore, as suggested by Boomsma (1983), Dillon and
206 contained no missing data and were submitted to analysis. Because Goldstein (1984), and Joreskog and Sorbom, (1986), chi-square values,
this study was part of a larger research project, it was necessary to use and the associated probability level, for a given model should not be
abbreviated versions of existing measures. used to assess the goodness of fit of a population model. Instead, one
should use the goodness-of-fit index (GFT), adjusted goodness-of-fix in-
Measures dex f.AGFf), and, if maximum likelihood or generalized least squares
estimation procedures are used, the relative change in chi-square to de-
Perceived role stress is often operationaiized as role ambiguity and greesoffreedom ofcomparative models (Dillon &Goldstein, 1984;J6re-
role conflict. This study included four items from Caplan, Cobb, skog & Sorbom, 1986). One can also use a distribution-free estimation
540 LOIS E. TETRICK AND JAMES M. UROCCO

Table 1
Descriptive Statistics and Estimates of Internal Consistency

Correlations

Variable N Items M SD

1. Role ambiguity 4 2.88 1.01 .70


2. Role conflict 3 3.67 1.12 .52 .61
3. Job satisfaction 3 5.06 1.40 -.44 -.50 .81
4. Facet satisfaction 15 4.19 0.87 -.46 -.41 .66 .85
5. Anxiety 5 2.44 0.65 .33 .36 -.41 -.36 .79
6. Depression 7 2.27 0.58 .34 .35 -.42 -.40 .79 .76
7. Prediction 3 3.88 0.96 -.27 -.52 .37 .30 -.24 -.28 .66
8. Understanding 3 4.69 1.06 -.48 -.29 .32 .43 -.22 -.24 .15 .75
9. Control 6 4.21 1.15 -.46 -.39 .38 .48 -.24 -.26 .21 .50 .83
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Note. Numbers in boldface represent coefficient alphas.

procedure. LISREL vi provides unweighted least squares estimation as tion was only weakly correlated with understanding or control
the only distribution-free estimation procedure; only the GFI and AFGI (r = . 15 and .21, respectively).
are provided for this procedure. The measurement model was tested by confirmatory factor
Bentler and Bonett's (1980) procedure for testing the statistical sig- analysis using LISREL vi. The resulting lambda parameter esti-
nificance of the hypothesized relations was used. This procedure in-
mates and the correlations among the reduced variables are
volves estimating the fit of a series of sequential, nested models in which
shown in Table 2. The chi-square value of 35.44 with 21 dfs
each model is progressively more restricted (one less parameter to be
estimated). The difference in chi-square between two sequential models (p = .025) indicates that the imposed dimensionality among the
is analogous to the change in R2 in moderated hierarchical regression; observed variables did not account for all of the covariance.
however, the order is the reverse of moderated regression. One starts However, the ratio of chi-square to degrees of freedom (less than
with a model in which the cross-product terms are included and then 2:1), the root mean residual (.053), and the GFI (.962) indicate
reestimates the model with the parameter for a given cross-product term that the hypothesized measurement model adequately ac-
fixed to zero. Then one compares the relative fit of the two models. If the counted for the covariance among the observed variables (Bent-
chi-square difference obtained from subtracting the chi-square value for ler & Bonett, 1980; Joreskog & Sorbom, 1986).
the former model from the chi-square value for the more restricted
Table 3 reflects a summary of the test of sequential, nested
model is statistically significant, the hypothesized effect is supported.
models addressing the hypothesized effects for understanding,
This sequence of testing nested models was continued until all moderat-
prediction, and control, each sequential model being more re-
ing effects and then direct relationships were tested.
stricted than the previous model. The coefficients of determina-
tion for each of the endogenous variables (perceived role stress,
Results satisfaction, and psychological well-being) and the total system
The number of items and the estimates of internal consis- of equations are shown. The chi-square, GFI, and AGFI also
tency based on coefficient alpha are shown in Table 1. The are shown for each more restricted model.
means and standard deviations for the nine variables included Examination of the results of the tests of the sequential,
in this study and the zero-order correlation coefficients among nested models for the moderating effects of understanding, pre-
the variables also are presented in Table 1. None of the observed diction, and control indicated no significant effect on the rela-
variables' skewnesses were greater than 1.0, ranging from .02 to tionship between satisfaction and psychological well-being
.47 in absolute value. The range of skewnesses for the cross- (Hypotheses 3a, 3b, and 3c) or on the relationship between per-
product indicators was from . 17 to .75. The lack of large skew- ceived role stress and psychological well-being (Hypotheses 2a,
nesses indicates that maximum likelihood estimation proce- 2b, and 2c). Progressively restricting the model by fixing the
dures comparing relative fit between models are not inappro- parameters for the cross-product terms in the psychological
priate (Baron & Kenny, 1986; Boomsma, 1983). well-being equation to zero did not result in a statistically sig-
Examination of the correlation matrix indicates that role nificant chi-square difference. After deleting these six parame-
conflict and role ambiguity were correlated (r = .52). Both of ters and gaining 6 dfa, the chi-square value had increased only
these variables were correlated in similar directions with all the 4.90 from 134.38 to 139.28.
remaining variables. However, role conflict was more negatively Similarly, eliminating the hypothesized moderating effect of
correlated with prediction (r = —.52) than was role ambiguity prediction on the relationship between perceived role stress and
(r = -.29), f(203) = -4.15,p< .05. Role ambiguity was more satisfaction (Hypothesis la) did not result in a significant chi-
negatively correlated with understanding (r - -.48) than was square difference (1.44, with 1 df). However, further restricting
role conflict (r = -.29), r(203) = -3.39, p< .05. Facet satisfac- the model to eliminate the moderating effects of understanding
tion and job satisfaction were strongly correlated with each and control on the relationship between perceived role stress
other (r = .66) as were anxiety and depression (r = .79). Under- and satisfaction yielded significant chi-square differences (9.22
standing and control were correlated (r = .50), whereas predic- and 7.90, respectively).
UNDERSTANDING, PREDICTION, AND CONTROL 541

Table 2
Parameter Estimates From Measurement Model for Nine Original and Six Reduced Variables

Perceived Psychological
Variable role stress Satisfaction well-being Prediction Understanding Control

Lambda parameter estimates

Role ambiguity .74


Role conflict .76
Job satisfaction .82
Facet satisfaction .82
Anxiety
Depression .92
Prediction
Understanding
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Control
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Correlations among reduced variables (phi matrix estimates)

Perceived role stress —


Satisfaction -.73
Psychological well-being
(reflected) .51 -.55
Prediction -.58 .46 -.32
Understanding -.57 .48 -.29 .28
Control -.59 .54 -.30 .28 .50

2
Note. x (2\,N= 206) = 35.44,p = 0.025. Goodness-of-fit index = 0.962. Root mean residual = 0.053.

Retaining only the two moderating effects found to be sig- be "antidotes" to adverse work conditions. Understanding and
nificant, the hypothesized direct effects of understanding, pre- control were found to moderate the negative relationships be-
diction, and control on psychological well-being (Hypotheses tween perceived role stress and satisfaction. Support was not
6a, 6b, and 6c) were tested. None of the chi-square difference found for a moderating effect of understanding, prediction, and
tests were significant, indicating that understanding, prediction, control on the relationship between perceived role stress and
and control did not have direct relationships with psychological psychological well-being or the relationship between satisfac-
well-being. tion and psychological well-being.
Hypothesis 5 stated that understanding, prediction, and con- Understanding and control may be most useful in moderating
trol were directly related to satisfaction. The chi-square differ- the effects of organizational conditions on job-related attitudes
ence test indicated that there was no direct relationship between and strains and least effective when health outcomes are of con-
prediction and satisfaction (change in chi-square was 2.70, with cern, although understanding, prediction, and control all had
1 df, p> .05). Similarly, adding the constraint that the parame- indirect effects on psychological well-being through their effects
ter linking understanding to satisfaction was zero did not result on perceived role stress. This finding, if substantiated in future
in a significant chi-square difference (change in chi-square was research, is intriguing because research on the moderating
2.47; p > .05). However, the chi-square difference eliminating effect of social support tended to find just the opposite. That is,
the linkage between control and satisfaction was significant social support generally has been found to moderate the effects
(change in chi-square was 6.92; p < .05), supporting this hy- of organizational conditions on psychological and physical
pothesized relationship. All other direct hypothesized relation- health, but generally it has not been found to moderate these
ships were supported. effects on job-related attitudes and strains (LaRocco, House, &
The results of this sequential test of nested models only par- French, 1980).
tially supports the hypothesized relationships shown in Figure One explanation for the moderating effect of understanding
1. Perceived role stress had a direct relationship with satisfac- and control found in this study and those found for social sup-
tion and psychological well-being. Satisfaction had a direct rela- port in other studies may involve the principle of relevancy (Co-
tionship with psychological well-being. Understanding, predic- hen & Wills, 1985; French, Caplan, & Harrison, 1982). The
tion, and control all had direct relationships with perceived role principle of relevancy holds that the strongest relationship be-
stress and no direct relationships with psychological well-being. tween an independent and dependent variable occurs when
Only control had a direct relationship with satisfaction and only both are measured on commensurate dimensions. By extrapo-
understanding and control were found to moderate the relation-
ship between perceived role stress and satisfaction. None of the 1
The results of the analyses were not substantially different for solu-
other hypothesized moderating effects were supported.'
tions based on generalized least squares or unweighted least squares esti-
mation procedures. For generalized least squares, this model resulted
Discussion
in the largest adjusted goodness-of-fit index (AGFI; .803), with a chi-
This study provides partial support for Sutton and Kahn's square of 40.44. Unweighted least squares estimation procedures also
(1986) proposal that understanding, prediction, and control can resulted in this model having the largest AGFI (.985).
542 LOIS E. TETRICK AND JAMES M. LAROCCO

Table 3
Test of Moderating and Direct Relation Based on a Comparison of Sequential, Nested Models

Coefficient of determination
Goodness-of-fit indices
Psychological
Sequential model Role stress Satisfaction well-being Total dj X2 GF1 AGFI

Sequential tests of moderating effects of understanding, prediction, and control

Full model .635 .647 .352 .674 9 134.38 .921 .316


Moderating effect on relation between
Role stress and well-being .635 .647 .352 .684 12 135.36 .920 .482
Satisfaction and well-being .635 .647 .339 .678 15 139.28 .918 .572
Role stress and satisfaction
Prediction X Role Stress .635 .646 .339 .676 16 140.72 .917 .618
17 149.94*
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Understanding X Role Stress .635 .613 .330 .667 .917 .618


17 148.62*
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Control X Role Stress .635 .620 .330 .666 .916 .614

Sequential tests of direct effects of understanding, prediction, and control

Modified model" .635 .646 .339 .676 4 34.29 .963 .663


Direct relation with
Psychological well-being .635 .646 .332 .673 7 36.02
Satisfaction .960 .797
Prediction .635 .646 .332 .673 8 36.02 .960 .797
Understanding .635 .642 .332 .671 9 38.49 .958 .831
Control .635 .642 .335 .664 10 45.41* .951 .824
Role stress
Prediction .470 .643 .332 .521 10 115.07* .900 .640
Understanding .546 .645 .333 .589 10 83.34* .921 .717
Control .595 .628 .325 .638 10 60.03* .939 .779

Sequential tests of direct relation among perceived role stress, satisfaction, and psychological well-being

Role stress and well-being .635 .352 .305 .671 10 46.99* .947
Satisfaction and well-being .635 .642 .275 .671 10 53.11* .943 .7%
Role stress and satisfaction .635 .642 .271 .729 10 151.24* .880 .568

Note. The sequence of models represents progressively more restricted models (i.e., there are fewer parameters free to be estimated). Significant
increases in x2 relative to the change in <# indicate that the parameters that have been fixed should be left in the model rather than being fixed to
zero. GFI = goodness-of-fit index; AGFI = adjusted goodness-of-fit index.
' Modified model is based on the covariance matrix containing only those cross-product terms that were significant.
* Change in x! is significant, p < .05.

lation, one might hypothesize that moderator variables are variables. Predictability of events in the work environment was
likely to have more and greater effects to the extent that their more negatively correlated with role conflict than role ambigu-
conceptual dimensions are relevant to the independent and de- ity, whereas understanding of events in the work environment
pendent variables whose relationship they are said to moderate. was more negatively related to role ambiguity than role conflict.
For example, social support, which is almost universally mea- Control was correlated with both role conflict and role ambigu-
sured as socioemotional in nature, more often moderates rela- ity. One possible explanation of these relationships is that per-
tionships involving socioemotional outcomes, such as anxiety, ceived predictability may lead to an illusion of control (Langer,
depression, and somatic complaints. Perceived understanding 1983), at least within a larger time frame. This could allow an
and control, being perceived job characteristics and more rele- individual to avoid simultaneously competing demands and
vant to events at work, appear to moderate relationships involv- thus reduce perceived role conflict. Understanding, on the other
ing other job characteristics and attitudes such as job satisfac- hand, may reduce ambiguity because one knows why events are
tion. occurring—but knowing why things occur does not necessarily
Another interesting aspect of this study was the differential provide a means to avoid or spread out demands on one's re-
relationships between both understanding and prediction, on sources.
the one hand, and both role ambiguity and role conflict, on the This pattern of relationships also suggests that the psycholog-
other. Jackson and Schuler (1985) argued, based on their meta- ically important aspects of one's role in the work environment
analysis, that role conflict and role ambiguity, although gener- may be understanding and control. Deci and Ryan (1985) have
ally correlated with each other, are differentially related to other suggested that self-determination (control over the work envi-
variables. Support for their argument is evident in the zero-or- ronment) and perceived self-competence (similar to under-
der correlations in this study relative to understanding and pre- standing) are the central motivational variables in the work en-
diction but not with the satisfaction or psychological well-being vironment. In light of the results of the study reported here, as
UNDERSTANDING, PREDICTION, AND CONTROL 543

well as other investigations of organizational stress (Lazarus & Cohen, S., & Wills, T. A. (1985). Stress, social support, and the buffering
Folkman, 1984; McGrath, 1976), an integration of the theories hypothesis. Psychological Bulletin, 98,310-357.
and empirical results on stress and motivation in the workplace Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (1985). Intrinsic motivation and self-deter-
may help clarify the inconsistent findings in both of these re- mination in human behavior. New York: Plenum.
Dillon, W. R., & Goldstein, M. (1984). Multivariate analysis: Methods
search areas.
and applications. New ^brk: Wiley.
Summary French, J. R. P., Caplan, R. D., & Harrison, R. V. (1982). The mecha-
nisms of job stress and strain. New York: Wiley.
This study found support for Sutton and Kahn's (1986) pro-
Hackman, J. R., & Oldham, G. (1980). Work redesign. Reading, MA:
posed moderating effects of understanding and control on the Addison-Wesley.
relationship between role stress and satisfaction. Prediction was House, J. S. (1981). Work stress and social support. Reading, MA: Ad-
not found to moderate this relationship. Understanding, predic- dison-Wesley,
tion, and control did not moderate the relationship between House, R. J., & Rizzo, J. R. (1972). Role conflict and ambiguity as
perceived role stress and psychological well-being or between critical variables in a model of organizational behavior. Organiza-
This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly.

satisfaction and well-being. Understanding, prediction, and tional Behavior and Human Performance, 7,467-505.
This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its allied publishers.

control were found to be directly related to perceived role stress. Jackson, S. E., & Scbuler, R. S. (1985). A meta-analysis and conceptual
Control also was directly related to satisfaction. Therefore, it critique of research on role ambiguity and role conflict in work set-
would appear that understanding of events, predictability of tings. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 36,
16-78.
events, and control over outcomes in the work environment
Joreskog, K. G., & Sorbom, D. (1986). USREL vi: Analysis of linear
may serve as antidotes to occupational stress.
structural relationships by maximum likelihood, instrumental vari-
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Appendix

Items Used to Measure Understanding of Events, Predictability of Events,


and Control Over One's Work Environment

Understanding of events Tb what extent do you have influence over the things that afl'ect you
To what extent do you know why others at work act as they do? on the job?
lb what extent do you understand the reason oiganizational changes To what extent do you have input in deciding what tasks or parts of
occur? tasks you will do?
To what extent do you understand the reasons why job-related deci- To what extent do you have the opportunity to take part in making
sions were made? job-related decisions that affect you?
To what extent can you set your own work deadlines?
Predictability of events
To what extent does your job allow you the opportunity for indepen-
To what extent can you predict what job demands wilt be placed on
dent thought and action?
you each day?
To what extent do you control the pace and scheduling of your work?
To what extent do unexpected events occur on your job?
To what extent are you faced with unexpected decisions concerning
Received My 11,1986
your work?
Revision received April 6,1987
Control over one's work environment Accepted April 28,1987 •

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