Effective factors on coping with stress among employed women based on integrated model of planned behavior and self-efficacy

Objective (s): Coping with stress is more important than the nature of stress itself. Coping with stress is a health promotion behavior and behavior is influenced by unintelligible factors. Theory of planned behavior makes a useful framework for understanding the health behavior and designing appropriate training. Integrating the theory of planned behavior with self-efficacy will increase the predictive capability of the theory.

This research is a qualitative approach based on the “Integrated Model of Planned Behavior and Self-efficacy”. Total 70 women aged between 20-45 works in industrial factories are chosen by purposeful sampling with maximum diversity to participate in focus group discussion. Ten group interviews in the form of seven groups of ten were conducted. After collecting information, analyzing data from the conventional method of content analysis was conducted.

Results showed that the majority of women workers have the attitude that stress is the effective factor on body and spirit health and also a cause of job absence and decreased quality of work in work places. Shouting, emptying stress on others, patience and silence, preying, listening to music and walking are the majority of techniques that women workers use to cope with stress. Significance and effects of understanding and social support are subjective norms of women workers. Susceptible morale, lack of job security, weakness, and working with pressure and lack of knowledge and skills of coping with stress are the most important barriers of coping with stress in women workers. results showed that training the methods and skills of coping with stress and increasing supports in work places and home; could empower women to have more self-efficacy and intention to cope with stress.

By rehabilitations of regular sessions and consulting and persuasion of women to reflect the problems in workplace; and also by informing and training the methods and skills of coping with stress; we can move toward a way of promoting health in our society.