Assessing Perceptions of Media Persons on Stress Related Disorder and Influence on Performance

Abstract

Media professionals encounter pressure in line of their duties in providing exclusive broadcast and first hand information to the public. The daily professional demands from journalists intensify occupational stress and results to a rapid burn out rate. These result in harmful reaction in their exposure and the range of responsibilities carried out by journalists in attempt to manage tasks and other related pressure to their job, hence facing strain, difficulty, and anxiety. The study therefore gets journalists perceptions on how these stress related disorders influence their performance at work. Quantitative study was designed to assess the perceptions of media persons on stress related disorders and influence on job performance. One hundred and six (106) journalists were purposively sampled from media organizations to participate in the study. Findings from the study revealed that posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), Acute Stress Disorder (ASD), Adjustment Disorders (AD), Reactive attachment disorder are major types of stress disorders which are prevalent among media persons in the country. Thus the study revealed these dominant stress related disorders encountered by working population of journalists. The study revealed major causes of STRDs as violence, war, natural disasters, interactions with victims of tragedies and disasters, harassment, threats, imprisonment, and torture of journalists among others as some causes of STRDs. Also the study revealed a negative correlation between the identified stressors and job performances among journalist in the country. This means that stress related disorders among Ghanaian Journalist were found to significantly influence their performances.