Escape or activate? Pathways of work stress on substance use.

Background: Research on the spillover effects of work stress on substance use have mainly focused on the concept of escapist substance.

Objective: Building on the concept of self-endangering work behavior, we expand this stress-theoretic view with a presenteeism path of work-induced substance use. Contrary to emotion-based disengaging coping strategies associated with escapist use, we argue that high job demands may also promote problem-focused engagement coping, where substances are used for activation.

Mental distress and quality of life in a deaf population.

Background: High risks of mental illness within the deaf community are reported. The assessment of the level of mental distress and quality of life in the deaf community is difficult due to communication problems in spoken and written language. The deaf community is characterized by the use of sign language.

An innovative and reliable way of measuring health-related quality of life and mental distress in the deaf community.

Background: Structured assessment of quality of life and mental distress in deaf people is difficult for various reasons. This paper describes the development and reliability of an interactive computer-based assessment package for measuring quality of life and psychological distress in the deaf population.

Methods: The Brief version of the WHO Quality of Life (WHOQOL) Questionnaire, the 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) and the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI) had been translated into sign-language and videotaped.