What factors are associated with the outcome of individual-focused worksite stress management interventions?

There is a need to understand more of the factors governing the effectiveness of individual-focused stress management interventions in the workplace. This article examines research contrasting different approaches to stress management. It is argued that due to design and methodological limitations in the majority of studies, a new generation of research is required which (a) delineates clearly between interventions of differing technical content; (b) includes session process measures to help distinguish the degree of outcome variance associated with specific and non-specific factors; (c) focuses on the moderators of change enabling greater understanding of the circumstances in which a particular stress management intervention is appropriate; and, (d) examines the mediators of change thereby increasing our understanding of the psychological mechanisms underpinning outcome change. A framework is proposed to help guide future research into these issues.