Who Is (Not) Under Stress? A Comparison of Doctoral Students’ Effort–Reward Profiles
Vilser M, Hommelhoff S, Mausz I (2026)
Publication Type: Journal article
Publication year: 2026
Journal
Book Volume: 70
Pages Range: 71-90
Journal Issue: 2
DOI: 10.1026/0932-4089/a000463
Abstract
Abstract: The doctoral phase can be considered demanding and stressful, but also insightful and rewarding. To identify which doctoral students feel particularly stressed (vs. less stressed), the effort–reward imbalance model (Siegrist, 1996) was applied to data from 1,275 doctoral students in an online survey. Latent profile analyses revealed three groups: a high-risk group (10 %), a medium-risk group (65 %), and a low-risk group (25 %). The high-risk group reported high effort, low reward, considerable exhaustion, and low social support. The medium-risk group showed a balanced relationship between effort and reward, while the low-risk group reported more rewards than efforts and the highest level of social support as well as the lowest level of exhaustion. These findings were validated in a follow-up survey after 6 weeks. Overall, the study shows that during doctoral studies, social support – especially from doctoral supervisors – protects against stress.
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Germany (DE)How to cite
APA:
Vilser, M., Hommelhoff, S., & Mausz, I. (2026). Who Is (Not) Under Stress? A Comparison of Doctoral Students’ Effort–Reward Profiles. Zeitschrift für Arbeits- und Organisationspsychologie, 70(2), 71-90. https://doi.org/10.1026/0932-4089/a000463
MLA:
Vilser, Melanie, Sabine Hommelhoff, and Irmgard Mausz. "Who Is (Not) Under Stress? A Comparison of Doctoral Students’ Effort–Reward Profiles." Zeitschrift für Arbeits- und Organisationspsychologie 70.2 (2026): 71-90.
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