Psyc 2220- Industrial - Organizational Psychology

PSYC 2220- Industrial/Organizational Psychology

Homework 10

Article Review: “Work–school conflict and health outcomes: Beneficial resources for working college students.”

The purpose of this article is to investigate the relationship between work and school for students who work while taking classes. The article aims to describe their research process that specifically examines health as an outcome variable and share their findings in order to offer literature on this underrepresented topic. When it comes to work-school conflict, the article argues that negative experiences at work such as undermining a student’s ability or energy leads to poorer academic outcomes. This hypothesis stems from role theory, which states that each person has a specific set of duties and expectations that they are expected to follow and fulfill.

        Prior to conducting any investigations themselves, the authors of the article expected work-school conflict to be a stressor for students which then leads to a negative correlation with psychological health and a positive correlation with physical health. This means that with more conflict between work and school, there is expected to be better physical health, but worse psychological health. After their investigation, the authors found WSC is not significantly predict physical health, however it did significantly predict psychological health.

        The article goes on to explain that resources provided from the school serve as moderating factors, and hypothesizes that they weaken the negative relationship between WSC and psychological health. The investigation revealed that work-school support does in fact moderate the relationship between WSC and psychological health. The results had a correlation of .82, which is strong and positive.

        Overall, the authors’ findings matched some of their hypotheses. The investigation proved to be consistent with their prediction that WSC is negatively correlated with psychological health. However, their investigation did not significantly predict physical health, so that prediction wasn’t able to be supported nor rejected. The findings on work-school support as a moderator did in fact support their hypothesis since the negative relationship between WSC and psychological health was weakened.

        Based on the findings from this article I would recommend schools offer more support for students who are simultaneously working and studying. The findings prove that support from the school can moderate the negative effects of work, therefore making students less stressed and less likely to be negatively affected from conflicts between work and school. This can be done by offering workshops for students about how to balance school and work, and also to let them meet with other people in similar situations. Another way to improve student health could be to use an emotion focused approach. By trying to make students happier through fun activities and social opportunities, the psychological health of students can be improved and thus decrease WSC since they have a negative relationship.