Publication year
2018
Citation Title
Job demands, resources, and stress among staff in after school programs: Neighborhood characteristics influence associations in the job demands-resources model.
Journal Name
Children and Youth Services Review
Journal Volume
88
Page Numbers
366-374
DOI
10.1016/j.childyouth.2018.03.031
Summary
After-school programs are an important part of education, enrichment, and supervision for many children. This study examined the experiences of staff in after-school programs, particularly their job demands and resources, job stress, and how neighborhoods impact these factors. Results indicate that while higher job demands led to higher job stress, staff's access to socioeconomic and health resources resulted in reduction of job stress even when job demands remained high.
Key Findings
Staff who worked in parks in higher-income neighborhoods reported higher levels of job stress.
As job demand increased, job stress increased; this association was stronger in neighborhoods with lower socioeconomic opportunity and higher health an environment opportunity
As job resources increased, job stress decreased only in neighborhoods with lower health and environment opportunity
Implications for Military Professionals
Utilize and maximize job resources in order to reduce job stress
Participate in training on workplace communication skills
Implications for Program Leaders
Offer workshops to after-school staff on how to manage job stress
Provide information to after-school staff about neighborhood resources regarding socioeconomic opportunities and health and environment opportunities
Implications for Policy Makers
Encourage the continuation of after-school programs for youth with educated and competent staff
Recommend professional development of after-school staff regarding improving job resources
Methods
Park staff for the whole city were invited to participate in the study, and those who consented completed their surveys during lunch provided by the research team.
Job demands, job resources, and job stress were measured using the Child Care Worker Job Stress Inventory, a previously published and validated measure.
Neighborhood characteristics were measured using the Childhood Opportunity Index, which measures educational, health and environment, and social and economic opportunities at a census tract (i.e., neighborhood) level.
Participants
Participants were 94 park staff from 30 different parks across one city, ranging from one to five staff per park.
Staff included physical and arts and crafts instructors (40%), recreation leaders (39%), and other staff such as volunteers and attendants (20%). About half (43%) of staff were full-time employees and the rest (57%) were part-time employees.
A majority of staff were female (63%) and above 26 years old (76%), with 40% Black, 27% Latino, 22% White, and 3% Asian/Pacific Islander.
Staff had worked for the park system between 6-10 years on average; 90% had at least a high school diploma or GED and 55% had a college degree or higher.
Limitations
Participants were self-selected, and may be different from park staff who declined to participate, therefore the generalizability of the findings is limited.
Job resources measured in this study were psychological rather than physical, leaving the impact of physical resources unknown.
The study was cross-sectional and therefore causality cannot be determined.
Avenues for Future Research
Gather information about the demographics or types of children with whom the participants work in order to gain a more comprehensive picture of their work environment
Gather additional information about the neighborhood in which the park staff work, such as neighborhood violence, in order to provide context and examine potential confounding variables
Examine a variety of job resources available to staff to determine which may contribute the greatest to stress reduction
Focus
Civilian
Target Population
Population Focus
Abstract
After school programs have shown to be important for the safety and health of children. Although research has shown the influence of job stress on the performance of staff in after school programs, little is known about the sources of stress in this workforce and the extent to which neighborhood factors influence job-related stress for after school staff in urban environments. The current study sought to examine the job demands-resources model and the association of neighborhood characteristics with this model. The sample consisted of 94 park-based after school staff recruited from 30 separate parks in a large Midwestern city. Measures of job demands, job resources, and job stress were used in conjunction with the Child Opportunity Index, a measure of neighborhood opportunity. Increased job demands predicted increased job stress. Additionally, hierarchical linear modeling demonstrated that socio-economic opportunity and health opportunity influenced the association between job demands and job stress. Health opportunity influenced the association between job resources and job stress. Findings suggest that specific neighborhood characteristics may partially explain the associations between job demands, job resources, and job stress. As such, staff require adequate resources to meet job demands, within specific neighborhood contexts, to improve and sustain quality services.
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