On the basis of the fear avoidance model we expected group differences between CLBP patients with high and low fear avoidance as well as between CLBP with high fear avoidance and controls. Regarding neural correlates such no such differences were found, thereby casting doubt on the concept of fear avoidance as a process primarily driven by fear or phobic fear. We examined the hypotheses that sex and gender, assessed by the Bem Sex Role Inventory, modulate responsiveness to experimentally induced pressure pain. Furthermore various psychological variables assumed to be potential mediators were assessed. 74 students took part in the experiment. Pain threshold (PT), intensity (PI) and unpleasantness (PU) of a standard pressure stimulus were determined as well as sensory and affective pain (SP, AP). Analysis of variance revealed a significant main effect of sex for nearly all pain variables. Women exhibited a lower PT, rated pain to be more severe and unpleasant, and reported more SP and AP. Against our hypothesis gender role did not influence pain behaviour. Fear of pain (FPQ / PASS) and catastrophizing (PCS) showed significant correlations to all pain parameters except PT. The variable depressive symptoms was almost without influence whereas coping style modulated pain responsiveness. Gender Role Expectations of Pain (GREP) correlated only in a few cases with pain responses. Using sex and gender and all significant psychological variables as predictors in multiple regression analyses showed that essentially sex and fear of pain significantly predicted pain. PT was the only parameter that was not influenced by psychological variables. In summary, our study corroborated a distinct effect of sex regarding mechanical pain stimuli, showing women to be more responsive. In contrast the expected effect of gender role was not confirmed. Fear of pain seems to mediate the effect of sex on pain responsiveness, at least partially. Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is a debilitating disorder for which no single etiological factor has been identified. Stress has been suggested to play a role in the manifestation and maintenance of CFS. Various studies haven shown associations between different aspects of stress (e.g. childhood trauma, maladaptive coping, adult chronic stress) and fatigue. However, no studies have simultaneously measured and analyzed multiple characteristics of stress in one single study of CFS. In the current population-based study, 501 participants took part and provided information on early life stress, personality characteristics, chronic stress, coping, cortisol as biological stress marker, and CFS symptoms. Data were analyzed using structural equation modelling (SEM, LISREL). After comparing various theoretically sound models, the strongest model focused on the combined effect of childhood trauma and personality features. This model shows a strong effect of maladaptive personality features on CFS symptoms, in part mediated by adult chronic stress and coping. The impact of childhood trauma was significant, but the effect was lower than that of personality. SEM analysis indicates a good fit of this model (Chi2=855.19, p= 0.0, GFI=.88; AGFI=.85, CFI=.95, SRMR=.05; RMSEA=.071, p (RMSEA) = 0.0). Our findings indicate the importance of stress in CFS. We have combined various aspects of stress in our study and were able to test a model encompassing a broad variety of stress characteristics. Future studies should include longitudinal designs in order to test causal relationships. It seems critical to devote research resources to a detailed understanding of the processes that lead from stress to CFS in order to improve current treatment strategies. Background: Attrition and workload are serious issues for faculty members, faculty associations and university administration. Despite the debates about methods for measuring workload, there is a high level of agreement that faculty members devote large amounts of time to their work, causing high levels of stress, and affecting their well-being and work commitment and. This study explores relatively underexamined questions related to factors affecting faculty members and their intention to leave their jobs, such as work demands, control over work, work-related rewards and stress pertinent to work in academic settings. Methods: The faculty workload study was carried out using an online survey that completed 637 faculty members. The data on faculty intentions to quit, workload as an indicator of work demands, control over work, rewards, and work-related stress specific to the university setting were collected with a survey developed for this study. This study also collected open-ended, qualitative data that are included in the report, and compared this data with that from similar Canadian surveys, i.e., the Labour Force Survey (LFS) and the Work and Lifelong Learning Survey (WALL). Findings: The study shows a high faculty workload, as demonstrated by the large number of work hours, significantly exceeding the national average found in the LFS and the WALL surveys (41% of faculty work more than 60 hours per week), and by the large number of courses taught during the academic year (24% of faculty teach five to eight courses). The results show significant bivariate associations between faculty's desire to leave their jobs with the majority of indicators related to workload, control over work, rewards, and work-related stress. Multiple logistic regression analysis, controlled for relevant demographic factors (age, sex and years of service), shows that faculty who perceive low control over work demonstrate the strongest likelihood of leaving their jobs (adjusted odds, AO= 3.775), followed by those who perceive lack of rewards (AO= 2.402), high work-related stress (AO = 2.363), and higher workload (AO=2.278). Conclusions: Similarly to the growing number of studies demonstrating that the control-demand and effort-reward models complement each other, this study identifies the important roles of both models of work-related stress, but suggests that among faculty members, control over work plays a highly important role in their intention to quit.