To explore why noise has reliable effects on delayed recall in a certain text-reading task, this episodic memory task was employed with other memory tests in a study of road traffic noise and meaningful but irrelevant speech. Context-dependent memory was tested and self-reports of affect were taken. Participants were 96 high school students. The results showed that both road traffic noise and meaningful irrelevant speech impaired recall of the text. Retrieval in noise from semantic memory was also impaired. Attention was impaired by both noise sources, but attention did not mediate the noise effects on episodic memory. Recognition was not affected by noise. Context-dependent memory was not shown. The lack of mediation by attention, and road traffic noise being as harmful as meaningful irrelevant speech, are discussed in relation to where in the input/storing/output sequence noise has its effect and what the distinctive feature of the disturbing noise is.

As the development of technical aids for telework has progressed, work has become more flexible in time and space. Among academics, the opportunity to telework has been embraced by most, but it is unclear how it relates to their health and well-being. The aim of this study was to determine how frequency and amount of telework is associated with perceived health, stress, recuperation, work-life balance, and intrinsic work motivation among teaching and research academics. An electronic questionnaire was sent to junior lecturers, senior lecturers, and professors at Swedish public universities. It included the General Health Questionnaire, Work Stress Questionnaire, items for assessing recuperation, the Basic Psychological Need Satisfaction at Work scale, and parts of Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire, as well as questions about the frequency and amount of telework performed. In total, 392 academics responded to the survey. Multivariate analysis of variance showed significant differences between groups of academics with different telework frequency (p < 0.05). Univariate analyses of variance showed that ratings of stress related to indistinct organization and conflicts were higher among academics that telework several times per week or more than among academics that telework less than once per month. In regression analyses of associations between amount of telework (in hours per week) and the dependent variables, no significant effects were found. Although it cannot be concluded whether stress is a cause or an effect of frequent telework, the findings warrant further attention to academics who telework frequently.

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This article reports two studies intended to develop and assess conceptual models of how different factors mediate and moderate the annoyance reaction in school environments. In the first, a survey of 207 pupils was conducted where assumptions about mediators and moderators were formulated and tested. In the best model, general sensitivity and adaptation led to a higher degree of annoyance causing stress symptoms. In the second study, focus group interviews with 16 pupils were performed to set up a model of mediating and moderating factors from pupils'statements in the formation of annoyance. The objective was also to get their opinions about ways to improve the sound environment in school. The interviews indicated a serial arrangement in which stress symptoms and distraction mediated between chatter and disturbance. Thus, the two studies suggested different models for the prediction of the annoyance reaction. The pupils' views about how to improve the school sound environment are discussed in the framework of an empowerment model.

BackgroundThe aims of the present study are to investigate whether there are differences in health-related quality of life (HRQoL) between girls and boys in two different age groups, to study how much of children’s variance in HRQoL can be explained by common psychosomatic health symptoms, and to examine whether the same set of psychosomatic symptoms can explain differences in HRQoL, both between girls and boys and between older and younger school children.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted of 253 children, 99 of ages 11–12 years (n=51 girls, n=48 boys) and 154 of ages 15–16 years (n=82 girls, n=72 boys), in Swedish schools. The KIDSCREEN-52 instrument, which covers 10 dimensions of HRQoL and additional questions about psychosomatic health symptoms, were used. Analyses of variance were conducted to investigate differences between the genders and age groups, and in interaction effects on the KIDSCREEN-52 dimensions. Regression analyses were used to investigate the impacts of psychosomatic symptoms on gender and age group differences in HRQoL.ResultsBoys rated themselves higher than girls on the KIDSCREEN dimensions: physical and psychological well-being, moods and emotions, self-perception, and autonomy. Main effects of age group were found for physical well-being, psychological well-being, moods and emotions, self-perception, autonomy, and school environment, where younger children rated their HRQoL more highly than those aged 15–16 years. Girls rated their moods and emotions dramatically lower than boys in the older age group, but the ratings of emotional status were more similar between genders at younger ages. Psychosomatic symptoms explained between 27% and 50% of the variance in the children’s HRQoL. Sleeping difficulties were a common problem for both girls and boys. Depression and concentration difficulties were particularly associated with HRQoL among girls whereas stomach aches were associated with HRQoL among boys.ConclusionsGirls and adolescents experience poorer HRQoL than boys and younger children, but having psychosomatic symptoms seem to explain a substantial part of the variation. Strategies to promote health among school children, in particular to alleviate sleep problems among all children, depression and concentration difficulties among girls, and stomach aches among boys, are of great importance.