The prevalence of obesity is increasing worldwide and is now considered an epidemic.  The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between body composition and health and lifestyle factors in school-age children. The first part of the study consisted on secondary analysis of data from the National Diet and Nutrition Survey: young people aged 4 to 18 years to investigate the relationship between overweight, high waist circumference, high mid-upper arm circumference and blood pressure and blood lipids.  The relationship of these anthropometric measures to demographic factors and diet and physical activity was also investigated.  The second part of the study consisted of collection and analysis of data from 129 children aged 8-10 and 75 children aged 14-16 years, from the Aberdeen area to investigate the relationship between BMI, waist circumference and percentage body fat and psychosocial functioning (self-esteem, locus of control, depression and bullying), blood pressure and lung function.  The relationship of these anthropometric measures to diet and physical activity was also investigated. High body fat was associated with increased blood pressure and an unfavourable lipid profile, but was not found to have a detrimental effect on lung function.  High body fat was associated with poorer psychosocial functioning in young girls (8-10 years) but not in boys. Body fat was negatively associated with time spent in exercise and percentage energy from total sugars and non-milk extrinsic sugars and positively associated with time spent in inactive pursuits, average daily total energy intake, dieting to lose weight, percentage energy from total fats and a ‘healthier’ diet.   Demographic factors found to be related to body fat were region, number of parents and siblings in household, whether parents receive income support and social class of parents.   Sex and age variations in these relationships were found.

Three studies are presented within this thesis that examine the effects of occupational stress, individual coping behaviours and specific dispositional characteristics on well-being. Building on an integrative review of the literature, a theoretical model of the stress process was developed which was based on the general transactional model. Study One was an investigation of stress in trainee social workers using repeated measures methodology. Measures represented the proposed model in order to test it. Study Two investigated well-being, coping, interventions and attitudes towards employer duty of care amongst a sample of Social Service Employees. A high incidence of stress was found, particularly amongst students. Elements in the stress process most important in predicting outcome were negative affectivity and mastery. These elements were also found to have significant interactions with coping styles in the prediction of well-being. Coping behaviours produced two factors: direct and indirect coping. Dispositional coping was more important in the prediction of outcome, although direct coping was generally associated with better outcomes. Qualitative data was collected in Study Three in order to complement the first two studies by providing a context to the quantitative findings. Employee perceptions of the legal responsibility of employers to offer protection from extreme stress and respond effectively to stress related problems were also explored. Results indicated that bullying and violence were sources of extreme stress and that employees were unclear about the help available or their employer’s legal responsibilities.

The dissertation explores post-traumatic stress (PTS) symptoms in bullied adolescents. The initial part of the literature review discusses prevalence, gender differences and developmental aspects of bullying. The risk factors of being bullied are explored as well as the subsequent sequelae. The second part of the review discusses the adolescent trauma literature, particularly focusing on the developmental issues and sequelae. Because only a small proportion of individuals experience PTS symptoms, the moderating and mediating factors of developing PTS symptoms are discussed. The final section of the review brings the two bodies of literature together and argues that some bullied adolescents may actually be experiencing PTS reactions. The empirical study tests the argument proposed in the literature review that bullied adolescents experience symptoms associated with PTS symptoms, exploring the moderating role of social support and mediating role of dissociation. The participants were members of a secondary school (n = 689) who filled in four questionnaires exploring bullying experiences, levels of dissociation and support, and PTS symptoms. The results indicated that those who reported being bullied experienced significantly more PTS and dissociation symptoms that those who reported not being bullied. Over half of those bullied more than once or twice had scores for the Impact of Events Scale which fell in the clinically significant range for PTS symptoms. Dissociation was found to be a mediator between bullying and PTS symptoms but social support was not identified as a moderator. The implications for clinical practice and future research are discussed.

‘Occupational stress is a major problem in western societies, where its relationship with various diseases is becoming increasingly obvious’ (Vander Hek & Plomp, 1997). Recognising this has led to ‘increasing interest in the phenomenon of stress and a growing concern to find ways of alleviating it’ (Stuart, 1991). This interest is reflected in an ever increasing body of literature and the development of stress management interventions based on this literature. Using an interpretivist research approach and based on the aforementioned literature, a hypothesis centred on an inability of organisations in the Irish financial services industry to effectively manage stress was developed. This hypothesis would be tested by firstly examining stress levels in the industry by means of a syllogism and secondly by identifying preferred approaches to stress management. The study sought to examine the effectiveness of current stress management interventions by measuring stress levels. This was achieved through conducting a survey based on the HSE’s Psychological Working Conditions in Great Britain (2004) tailored to complement Cooper & Marshall (1976) typology relating to the causes of stress. Survey respondents indicated that stress levels were moderate and as such were not impacting on morale or organisational performance. The principal sources of stress identified were work overload and relationships with colleagues, while the main interventions employed by organisations were flexi-time, casual dress and sports sponsorship. The study also sought to identify preferred approaches to the management of stress, facilitating a comparison between current and optimal interventions. Utilising the 1994 study by Bradley & Sutherland, 16 possible interventions were put to the respondents with flexi-time and keep-fit programmes emerging as the favoured approaches, which would be seen to benefit both the individuals themselves and the organisation as a whole, while counselling and stress recognition training proved unpopular. Ultimately this study proved that organisations in the Irish financial services industry do not specifically manage stress, but the all-encompassing initiatives introduced to protect employee mental health appear to sufficiently control stress levels.

Objectives:  The study aimed to determine the prevalence of posttraumatic stress symptoms in a population of incarcerated young offenders, and to test the applicability of a cognitive model of PTSD to this unique population.  It explored whether there was a link between reported bullying behaviour and posttraumatic stress symptoms, and investigated hyperarousal as a possible mediating factor. Design:  A cross-sectional, questionnaire based study design was used. Method:  56 incarcerated young offenders participated in the study.  Four questionnaire measures were administered in a single interview, and additional information was collected from the young person’s prison life. Results:  A high prevalence of posttraumatic stress symptoms was found in the study population.  Significant correlations were found between posttraumatic stress symptoms and negative appraisals, and cognitive factors predicted variance in posttraumatic stress symptoms over and above non-cognitive factors.  No relationship was found between bullying behaviour and overall posttraumatic stress symptoms although significant correlations were found between hyperarousal and indirect bullying behaviour and total frequency of bullying behaviour. Conclusions:  The study provided support for the important role of cognitive factors in posttraumatic stress symptoms and suggests that a cognitive model can be usefully applied to a population of incarcerated young offenders.  For the most part, the results suggested that no relationship exists between bullying behaviour and posttraumatic stress symptoms, but a specific relationship between hyperarousal and some forms of bullying behaviour was found.  Further research is needed to fully understand the experience of bullying in this population, and to examine the causes and consequences further.