NEUROTICISM, LOCUS OF CONTROL, TYPE-A BEHAVIOR PATTERN AND OCCUPATIONAL STRESS

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between indi vidual differences in personality and susceptibility to stress in the workplace. Stress in lecturers employed by a computer training organiz ation was assessed by means of self-report and measurement of salivary cortisol output during lecturing and non-lecturing weeks. Neuroticism , Type A behaviour pattern and locus of control were measured. Self-re ported stress was found to be much greater during lecturing weeks, but cortisol levels were unaffected by working conditions. There was a si gnificant positive correlation between neuroticism and locus of contro l and a negative correlation between locus of control and Type A behav iour pattern that approached significance. Multiple regression was emp loyed to explore relations between personality and stress. Subjects wi th lower neuroticism scores yielded a bigger increase in reported stre ss, in the lecturing compared with the non-lecturing week, than subjec ts with high neuroticism scores. Type B subjects showed a progressive decrease in cortisol over the working week while Type A counterparts s howed a resurgence of cortisol towards the end of the week. Finally, T ype B subjects having an internal locus of control showed a faster dec line in cortisol level during the lecturing week than the other subjec ts. Implications of these results are discussed in terms of the import ance of simultaneously incorporating a variety of individual differenc es in personality dimensions and stress indices in research designs.