Job-related anxiety, in contrast to general trait-anxiety, is by its very nature associated with problems of participation at work. The aim of this study is to investigate the relation between general trait-anxiety and specific job-related anxiety and to examine whether job-anxiety and trait-anxiety are differently associated with sick leave. 190 inpatients of a psychosomatic and orthopaedic rehabilitation center with mental and somatic disorders filled in the Job-Anxiety-Scale (JAS) and the State-Trait-Anxiety-Inventory (STAI-T). Additionally, informations on age, gender, the current duration of sick leave in weeks, employment status, duration of unemployment, and position at the workplace were collected. Highest scores of job-anxiety were found for the JAS-dimensions "job-related worries" and "health anxieties", followed by "cognitions of insufficiency," "stimulus-related anxieties," and "social anxieties." JAS and STAI-T were significantly correlated. Job-anxiety, in contrast to trait-anxiety, was significantly related to duration of sick leave. Women showed higher scores on the STAI-T but not on the JAS. It can be concluded that job-anxiety is related to but not identical with trait-anxiety. Job-anxiety is important to understand sick leave and appears as a multidimensional and clinically important phenomenon.

Die „Job-Angst-Skala (JAS)“ ist ein neuer Fragebogen zur Erfassung und klinischen Differenzierung verschiedener Formen arbeitsplatzbezogener Ängste. Die Skala besteht aus 70 Items mit 14 Subskalen, die in fünf Hauptdimensionen zusammengefasst werden können: Stimulusbezogene Ängste und Vermeidungsverhalten; Soziale Ängste und Beeinträchtigungskognitionen; Gesundheits- und körperbezogene Ängste; Insuffizienzerleben; Arbeitsplatzbezogene generalisierte Sorgen. Eine Untersuchung der psychometrischen Qualität erfolgte an 190 Patienten einer orthopädischen und psychosomatischen Rehabilitationsklinik. Die interne Konsistenz (Cronbachs alpha) beträgt .98. Die Retestreliabilität der Gesamtskala beträgt .815. Faktorenanalytisch ergeben sich fünf inhaltlich interpretierbare Dimensionen entsprechend der zugrunde liegenden Theorie. Die durchschnittliche Inter-Item-Korrelation der Gesamtskala beträgt .389. Es fand sich ein signifikanter Zusammenhang zwischen der JAS und dem generelle Ängstlichkeit messenden STAI-Trait, was als Hinweis auf die Validität der JAS angesehen werden kann.

Work perception is an important predictor for work ability and therefore of interest for rehabilitation. Until now it is unclear to which extent different psychological aspects explain work perception. This study investigates in which way workplace problems on the one hand, and mental health and coping on the other hand, contribute to work perception. A heterogeneous sample of 384 persons in working age with and without mental health problems was recruited. Participants gave self-reports on workplace problems, mental health problems, work-coping, work-anxiety, and work perception. Persons with mental health problems and workplace problems (M+W) perceive the highest degree of work demands, followed by persons with workplace problems but without mental health problems (NM+W). Work-anxiety appeared as the strongest factor explaining perception of high work demands, whereas general mental health problems did not contribute significantly to variance explanation. Persons with specific mental health problems in terms of work-anxiety may be expected to perceive higher work demands. They may be detected when asking for work perception, e.g. within the frame of return-to-work interventions in rehabilitation, or in occupational health settings by mental hazard analysis.

Background: Pain can severely compromise a person's overall health and well-being. Music-listening interventions have been shown to alleviate perceived pain and to modulate the body's stress-sensitive systems. Despite the growing evidence of pain- and stress-reducing effects of music-listening interventions from experimental and clinical research, current findings on music-induced analgesia are inconclusive regarding the role of specific treatment characteristics and the biopsychological mechanisms underlying these effects. Objective: The overall aim of this pilot randomized controlled trial is to test and compare the differential effects of frequency-modulated and unmodulated music (both researcher-selected) on experimentally induced perception of acute pain and to test the efficacy of the interventions in reducing biological and subjective stress levels. Moreover, these two interventions will be compared to a third condition, in which participants listen to self-selected unmodulated music. Methods and Analysis: A total of 90 healthy participants will be randomly allocated to one of the three music-listening intervention groups. Each intervention encompasses 10 sessions of music listening in our laboratory. Frequency-modulation will involve stepwise filtering of frequencies in the audible range of 50–4,000 Hz. Acute pain will be induced via the cold pressor test. Primary (i.e., pain tolerance, perceived pain intensity) and secondary (i.e., heart rate variability, electrodermal activity, hair cortisol, subjective stress) outcomes will be measured at baseline, post, and follow-up. In addition, intermittent measurements as well as a follow-up assessment and a range of tertiary measures (e.g., music-induced emotions) are included. Discussion: This is the first study to systematically test and compare the effects of music frequencies along with the control over music selection, both of which qualify as central treatment characteristics of music-listening interventions. Results will be highly informative for the design of subsequent large-scale clinical trials and provide valuable conclusions for the implementation of music-listening interventions for the reduction of perceived pain. Clinical Trial Registration: Clinical Trials Database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine: Identifier NCT02991014.

A pilot study was carried out in 4 medical rehabilitation centers to examine the practicability and effectiveness of preventive life-style interventions for employees with risk factors. The programs were developed in cooperation with the German pension scheme and employers. Selection criteria were risk factors as lack of physical activity, overweight, dorsal pain or job strain. The results demonstrate that preventive programs, which are conducted in addition to the normal working hours on the job, can be implemented successfully in rehabilitation units. The participation in the multimodal prevention program goes along with a stable reduction of risky health behavior: increased physical activity, stress coping, dietary change und weight reduction. The healthier life-style is reflected in an enhanced state of health and has also positive impact on the occupational field scale: The percentage of employees who believed to be able to work until their old-age pension, could be increased significantly (p<0.001) from 47% to 74%. Work-related risk behaviors like excessive demands on oneself were reduced and protective strategies were -developed.