INTRAINDIVIDUAL PATTERNS OF HORMONAL AND AFFECTIVE ADAPTATION TO WORKDEMANDS - AN N=2 STUDY OF JUNIOR DOCTORS

This paper examines the detailed pattern of hormonal and affective res ponse to natural variations in work demands, in relation to a taxonomy of adaptive response based on Frankenhaeuser's (1986) psychobiologica l analysis of coping modes and Hockey's (1993) regulatory control mode l. Two junior doctors were monitored every day over a 7-week period of work on a cardio-thoracic surgery ward. Measurements were made for ea ch morning and afternoon work period of self-rated workload, effort an d affective state, and the level of urinary catecholamines and cortiso l. The de-trended data were analysed separately for the two individual s, using multivariate methods. Following reduction of work variables b y principal components analysis, canonical correlation analyses were c arried out for each individual. These revealed differences in the patt erns of adaptation to two distinctive work contexts (enabling and dema nding work) across the two doctors, as identified through loadings on two significant pairs of canonical variates. As expected, enabling wor k (high medical demands, with high personal resources) was associated with active coping in both subjects (low fatigue, high effort/adrenali ne and low cortisol). However, demanding work (high general demands) w as associated with marked differences between them in the pattern of l oadings, One subject showed the strain pattern normally associated wit h effortful engagement in difficult tasks (high anxiety and fatigue, h igh effort/adrenaline), though without the anticipated reduction in co rtisol. The response pattern of the other individual was indicative of passive coping (high anxiety and cortisol, with no effort/adrenaline component). The findings are interpreted in terms of the role of perso nal coping styles on the adaptive response to work demands. The use of canonical correlation methods with intra-individual data sets, althou gh relatively unusual, appears to provide potentially valuable evidenc e on the nature of individual differences in the process of psychobiol ogical response to stress underlying work-health relationships.