Stress Outcomes of Four Types of Perceived Interruptions

Details

• Personal Author:
  Fletcher KA ; Potter SM ; Telford BN
• Description:
  Objective: We sought to define and measure four types of perceived interruptions and to examine their relationships with stress outcomes. Background: Interruptions have been defined and measured in a variety of inconsistent ways. No study has simultaneously examined the subjective experience of all types of interruptions. Method: First, we provide a synthesized definition and model of interruptions that aligns interruptions along two qualities: origin and degree of multitasking. Second, we create and validate a self-report measure of these four types of perceived interruptions within two samples (working undergraduate students and working engineers). Last, we correlate this measure with self-reported psychological and physical stress outcomes. Results Our results support the four-factor model of interruptions. Results: further support the link between each of the four types of interruptions (intrusions, breaks, distractions, and a specific type of ruminations, discrepancies) and stress outcomes. Specifically, results suggest that distractions explain a unique portion of variance in stress outcomes above and beyond the shared variance explained by intrusions, breaks, and discrepancies. Conclusion: The synthesized four-factor model of interruptions is an adequate representation of the overall construct of interruptions. Further, perceived interruptions can be measured and are significantly related to stress outcomes. Application: Measuring interruptions by observation can be intrusive and resource intensive. Additionally, some types of interruptions may be internal and therefore unobservable. Our survey measure offers a practical alternative method for practitioners and researchers interested in the outcomes of interruptions, especially stress outcomes. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Men Occupational Health Safety Women Workplace
• Keywords:
  Attentional Processes Author Keywords: Distractions And Interruptions Humans Job Stress Mental Workload Models Physiological Stress Physiology Physiopathology Psychological Stress Psychometrics Stress Work Environment Workers

  More +
• ISSN:
  0018-7208
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Florida ; OSHA Region 4
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  222-235
• Volume:
  60
• Issue:
  2
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20055190
• Citation:
  Hum Factors 2018 Mar; 60(2):222-235
• Contact Point Address:
  Keaton A. Fletcher, MA, Department of Psychology, University of South Florida, 4202 E. Fowler Ave, PCD4118G, Tampa, FL 33620
• Email:
  fletcherk@mail.usf.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2018
• Performing Organization:
  Sunshine Education and Research Center, University of South Florida
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  Human Factors
• End Date:
  20290630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:806eb3d78365b35f191ef037d90f1d9386ce621410d80caaf49ab6c75a68f77870fc46d6f75f363d580f9690a397adbbd481ff2b5bc1f38e147813a05385d267
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/217548/cdc_217548_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 128.98 KB ]