At least two alternative hypotheses have been offered to describe relationships of job-related stress and social support with various outcomes. One hypothesis holds that stress and support are additive, that is, each exerts a direct influence on outcomes such as satisfaction, self-esteem, retention, and so forth. The second hypothesis holds that support buffers or moderates the effects of stress, that is, high levels of support may overcome negative outcomes normally related to stress. The present study compared direct effect with interactive or moderator models for relationships between measures of job stress (role ambiguity and role conflict) and support from leaders and co-workers. Measures were derived from questionnaire responses of 3,725 Navy enlisted personnel. Potential moderating or buffering effects of social support were assessed by both moderated regression and subgrouping analyses techniques. Results supported the direct effects hypothesis but generally failed to provide evidence for the buffering hypothesis.Considerable attention has focused on the negative outcomes of job stress. For example, job stress in the form of role conflict and role ambiguity has been linked to job dissatisfaction, job-related tension and anxiety, reduced performance and effectiveness, and a greater propensity to leave the organization (House

Scales were constructed for a 40-item mood questionnaire administered to a sample of 1140 Navy recruits. The questionnaire was shown to be similar to others in content and reliabilities. Construct, concurrent and predictive validities of the scales with several criteria in a number of testing situations are also presented. The findings emphasize the usefulness of this questionnaire as a criterion measure or as a predictor of objective behavioral criteria under field-testing conditions.

Variables from five domains—demography, social background, service history, satisfaction, and performance—were used in a discriminant analysis approach to distinguishing three groups of naval personnel: Those eligible to reenlist who do, those eligible who do not, and those not eligible. Discriminant weights were derived from a sample of 642 first‐term enlisted men and cross‐validated on a sample of 628. The results indicated that both pre‐service characteristics (demography and social background) and in‐service experiences (service history, satisfaction, and performance) contributed importantly to prediction of attrition/retention. Potential usefulness of this method, including implications for better understanding and control of manpower turnover were discussed.

Reactions to the invasion of personal space in terms of age, sex, and race of the invaders were investigated. Children, grouped by sex (male and female), race (black and white), and age (5, 8, and 10 yr. old), invaded the personal space of 192 adults grouped by sex (male and female) and race (black and white). The six types of behavioral responses were: avoidance, aggression, exploratory behavior, facilitative behavior, excess motor activity, and failure to respond. Responses to personal space invasion were not affected by sex. Blacks responded more often than whites but did not differ with regard to any particular type of behavioral response. Age of the invader had a significant effect on type of response given by adults whose personal space was invaded. It was concluded that the age of the invader was much more important than race or sex in determining the response to invasion of personal space.

Numerous studies of withdrawal from work organizations have considered demographic and other personal history characteristics of leavers. Relatively few of these studies have incorporated dynamic situational characteristics in their designs. In the present effort, the relationship between perceived characteristics of the work environment and stated intentions to reenlist were examined for two groups of first-term Navy enlistees: 198 with less than one year of active duty and less than six months of sea duty, and 516 personnel with more than one year of active duty and more than six months of sea time. It was hypothesized that: (a) the relationship between organizational conditions and intent to reenlist would be weaker for new members than for experienced men, (b) that new personnel would be most likely to change their intentions over time, and (c) that new personnel would quickly assimilate the beliefs, values, and perspectives of their more experienced co-workers. Hypothesis 1 was not supported although the pattern of relationships was in the predicted direction. Hypotheses 2 and 3 were supported. The authors discuss the need for research which emphasizes the impact of initial expectation and organizational socialization on the withdrawal decision process.