The Impact of Changes in Job Strain and Its Components on the Risk of Depression

Objectives. We assessed the impact of changes in dimensions of the psychosocial work environment on risk of depression in a longitudinal cohort of Canadian workers who were free of depression when work conditions were initially reported.Methods. Using a sample (n = 3735) from the Canadian National Population Health Survey, we examined the effects of changes in job control, psychological demands, and social support over a 2-year period on subsequent depression. We adjusted models for a number of covariates, including personal history of depression.Results. Respondents with increased psychological demands were more likely to have depression over the following 2 years (odds ratio = 2.36; 95% confidence interval = 1.14, 4.88). This risk remained statistically significant after adjustment for age, gender, marital status, presence of children, level of education, chronic health conditions, subclinical depression when work conditions were initially assessed, family history of depression, and personal history of depression.Conclusions. These results demonstrate that changes in psychological demands have a stronger influence than changes in job control on the onset of depression, highlighting the importance of not assuming an interaction between these 2 components of job strain when assessing health outcomes.Major depression is 1 of the top 3 causes of disability burden in high-income countries.1 The burden of depression could be reduced by identifying predictors of the disease that are amenable to change and then intervening accordingly. Job strain has been identified as one such predictor.2 Job strain refers to a situation where job control (people''s ability to make decisions and use their skills at work) is low and the job''s psychological demands (the pace and mental intensity of work) are high.3Although cross-sectional and longitudinal research has demonstrated that job strain and its components are related to an increased risk of depression,2,4,5 this does not constitute evidence that changing these conditions would result in changes in the risk of depression (for better or worse). Yet, from both an organizational and public policy perspective, evidence that changes in psychosocial working conditions are associated with subsequent increased (or decreased) risk of depression is important if the potential mental health effects are to be accounted for when making decisions that will affect the psychosocial work environment. Ideally, this evidence would be generated from trials (preferably randomized). In lieu of trial data, longitudinal survey data where job strain is measured at 2 or more time points can be used to explore the impact that naturally occurring changes in job strain have on the risk of depression.Four longitudinal studies have examined whether naturally occurring changes in job strain were associated with changes in the risk of both depression and psychological distress.6–9 The findings of all 4 studies suggested that beneficial changes (reductions) in job strain resulted in a lower risk of depression; however, the effect sizes were small in 3 of the 4 studies, and statistical significance was achieved in only 1 study.8 In addition, each of these studies suffered from important methodological limitations in their design, which may have biased the findings reported.None of the previous studies took into account the day-to-day variability in job strain scores when assigning respondents to exposure groups. In each study, a respondent was classified as “exposed” to a change in job strain if his or her job strain score crossed a particular threshold between time points, regardless of the actual size of the change in the score between baseline and follow-up. As a result, some respondents were classified as “exposed” when the change was no greater than the day-to-day variability observed for the score, whereas other respondents were classified as “unexposed” when the change was greater than this variability. These classifications could dilute the “exposed” group, making it more similar to the “unexposed” group with respect to risk of depression (and vice versa). In other words, the use of thresholds in previous studies may have resulted in nondifferential misclassification across exposure groups that, in turn, may have produced an underestimate of the true effect of changing job strain on the risk of depression.10–12Most previous studies focusing on change in job strain have not considered the potentially different impacts of changes in the underlying components of job strain (job control and psychological demands). In addition to job control and psychological demands, it is also important to examine changes in social support because previous work has linked this psychosocial characteristic of work to an increased risk of depression.7,9,13,14 Studies that focused on job strain (but not changes in job strain) have found that these components pose different risks for depression, with high psychological demands more strongly associated with the risk for depression than low job control.15–17 Accordingly, a change in job demands may have a larger effect on depression than a change in job control. If this is the case, investigations focused only on changes in job strain (without consideration of beneficial or adverse changes in the underlying components) would result in an underestimate of the true potential impact of efforts to reduce job strain as a strategy for preventing depression. Only 1 of the 4 studies explored this possibility, reporting that changes in psychological demands had a stronger effect on the risk of depression than changes in job control, although neither change produced a statistically significant effect.9Because of data availability, each of the previous change studies had different time lags between when the change in job strain occurred and the measurement of subsequent depression (or depressive symptoms). Stansfeld et al.9 allowed 2 to 7 years to elapse between the change in job strain and the measurement of depression, whereas Wang et al.8 allowed 1 to 10 years. Research examining the effect of work conditions on mental health has demonstrated that different time lags can result in different study findings, with the strongest relationships between work and mental health found over 1- to 2-year periods.18–20 As a result, 4 previous studies in this area of research have likely underestimated the effect of the change by collapsing short and long lag periods. The study design by de Lange et al. allowed for the risk of depression at year 1 to be attributed to changes in job strain that took place after depression onset.6 Bourbonnais et al.7 took their follow-up measurement of job strain at the same time that they assessed depression, which may have resulted in a spurious, or elevated, correlation between the 2 measures, because of the likely impact that depression has on self-reported job strain assessments.9Finally, each of the previous change studies failed to adjust for personal history of depression, which is a potentially important confounder. Personal history of depression is the strongest predictor of a future episode of depression.21 Because it is plausible that a personal history of depression could also increase the risk for negative changes (increases) in job strain, this history may confound the relationship between changes in job strain and the risk of depression. Some authors have suggested that respondents with a previous history of depression should be removed from analyses focused on the impact of change in psychosocial working conditions on the risk of depression.13 Although removal of respondents who have a potential confounder is one method to deal with confounding, this approach has the disadvantage of creating a hypothetical sample of the working population (i.e., only those workers without any previous history of depression).22,23 The data used in our analysis (from the National Population Health Survey) demonstrate that up to 20% of the working population who are not currently depressed have a personal history of depression. Therefore, excluding these respondents from the analysis creates a sample of workers that is no longer representative of the working population. From a population health perspective, a more reasonable approach to dealing with confounding is to include personal history of depression as a covariate in multivariate analyses.We have designed our study to overcome the limitations of previous work by (1) focusing on psychosocial work environment changes that are greater than those expected as a result of day-to-day variability; (2) examining the separate impacts of job control, psychological demands, and social support in addition to job strain; (3) assessing change in work environment only among respondents not currently depressed; and (4) adjusting for the potential confounding effects of personal history and family history of depression. By overcoming these limitations, we aimed to generate more accurate estimates of the effect of changes in the psychosocial work environment on the risk of depression.     

Employee job stress in the AIDS service organization: a study of personal and job factors

This study examined employees' perceived job stress in a community-based AIDS service organization. The study reveals that: 1) these employees have a relatively low level of job stress and 2) their perceived job stress is correlated not to personal characteristics but to job-related factors, including job security, work/family conflict, and role ambiguity/conflict. Implications concerning the results of the study are discussed.     

优秀贫困大学生积极心理品质现状及影响因素

  目的  了解优秀贫困大学生的积极心理品质现状及其影响因素,为学校贫困生心理教育工作提供一定的参考依据。  方法  于2021年4—5月,采用一对一深入访谈法,对东莞市某本科高校22名优秀贫困大学生进行访谈。  结果  优秀贫困大学生的积极心理品质主要有9项:感恩(20名)、独立(15名)、真诚(13名)、努力(12名)、友善(11名)、好学(11名)、自我认知调节(11名)、自律(11名)、坚持(11名)等,其中感恩和独立是最核心的心理品质。影响优秀贫困大学生的积极心理品质因素主要为家庭因素(“家人的品质影响”占72.7%,“家人的教导”占63.6%,“家人的情感支持”占59.1%,“父母重视教育”占比36.4%),且家人的品质影响是核心因素;同伴因素(“同伴的影响”占45.5%,“同伴的情感支持”占45.5%);教师因素(“教师的情感支持”占40.9%,“教师的教导”占27.3%),此外,其他因素如个人实践经历、国家政策支持和学校氛围等也有一定的影响作用。  结论  优秀贫困大学生有较多的积极心理品质。应多关注贫困大学生群体的积极心理特征,从多方面探索积极心理品质形成的因素,重视社会情感支持的作用,加强贫困生群体的积极心理品质教育。     

The effects of stressors at work and in family life on self-rated health and psychological well-being

OBJECTIVE: This study examined the effects of stressors at work and in family life on self-rated health and psychological well-being. METHODS: The subjects were civil servants of T City (pop. 210,000) aged 35 years and older. In February 1998, a questionnaire survey was conducted (response rate: 82.6%). The 1,364 responders comprised 971 men, including 143 firefighters, and 393 women. Participants, excluding firefighters, were categorized into two groups according to satisfaction with their job and their family life. In these two groups, the stressors at work and in the home was examined. Job demands-control-support score, type of work, job rank, family control and close friends were examined with the t-test, and sex, hobbies and age examined with the chi 2 test. This was followed by covariance structure analysis of self-rated health and psychological well-being. RESULTS: For the groups dissatisfied with work or family life, the score for jpb demands was higher, and the scores for job control, social support and close friends were lower. The scores for self-rated health and psychological well-being items were also significantly lower. Covariance structure analysis demonstrated that factors at work had stronger effects. Regarding individual factors, job control, satisfaction with their job or family life and close friends had the greatest influence. CONCLUSIONS: Stressors at work and in family life result in lower self-rated health and psychological health. In particular, close friends and factors at work exert strongest effects on personal health. It is thus important for the prevention of stress-related diseases and the development of positive healthy life to reduce the work stressors and develop close friendships.     

Work stress and mental health in a changing society

BACKGROUND: The aim of this representative study in the Hungarian population was to analyse the association between work-related factors and self-reported mental and physical health after controlling for negative affect and hostility as personality traits. METHODS: The effects of job related factors on Beck Depression Score, WHO well-being score and self-rated health (SRH) were analysed in a representative sample of 3153 male and 2710 female economically active Hungarians. RESULTS: In both genders negative affect was the most important correlate of depression, well-being and SRH, whereas hostility was closely associated only with depression. Job insecurity, low control and low social support at work, weekend work hours, job-related life events and dissatisfaction with work and with boss were independent mental health risk factors, but there were important gender differences. Job related factors seem to be equally important predictors of mental health as social support from family. CONCLUSION: The results of this large national representative study indicate that independent of negative affect and hostility, a cluster of stressful work-related psychosocial conditions accounts for a substantial part of variation in self-reported mental and physical health of the economically active population in Hungary.     

Cross-national and longitudinal investigation of a short measure of workaholism

Abstract: The present study investigated the factor structure of the 10-item version of the Dutch Work Addiction Scale (DUWAS). The DUWAS-10 is intended to measure workaholism with two correlated factors: working excessively (WE) and working compulsively (WC). The factor structure of the DUWAS-10 was examined among multi-occupational samples from the Netherlands (n=9,010) and Finland (n=4,567) using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). CFAs revealed that the expected correlated two-factor solution showed satisfactory fit to the data. However, a second-order factor solution, where WE comprised the first-order factors “working frantically” and “working long hours”, and WC the first-order factors “obsessive work drive” and “unease if not working”, showed significantly better fit to the data. The expectation of factorial group invariance of the second-order factor structure between the Dutch and Finnish samples was also supported. Moreover, factorial time invariance was observed across a two-year time lag in a sub-sample of Finnish managers (n=459). In conclusion, the DUWAS-10 was found to be a comprehensive measure of workaholism, meeting the criteria of factorial validity in multiple settings, and can thus be recommended for use in both research and practice.     

The health and wellbeing of mental health professionals

We examine dimensions of job satisfaction, occupational burnout and general health of a sample of 123 mental health care professionals (psychiatric nurses and nursing assistants, and smaller professional groups such as social workers, occupational and recreational therapists and psychologists) employed at a large Canadian psychiatric hospital. Psychiatric nursing assistants exhibit more of the consequences of job-related stress (less job satisfaction, greater occupational burnout, greater incidence of negative physical and psychological symptoms of stress) relative to the other professional groups in the sample. This may be linked with their position within the hospital organization (having less authority and professional autonomy relative to the other groups), affecting their ability to cope with job-related problems and stresses experienced by all direct care workers. We examine attitudes of mental health professionals towards organized support groups at the hospital, which could provide one forum for the open discussion (and potential resolution) of job-related stresses and problems experienced in hospital settings.     

Irrational Beliefs at Work and Their Implications for Workaholism

Introduction This study examined the associations between work-related irrational cognitions and workaholism. For this purpose, a 16-item work-related irrational beliefs questionnaire (WIB-Q) was developed. Methods Employees (n = 913) completed an online survey that included, besides the irrational cognitions scale, measures of negative affect and workaholism. Results The results show that four factors could be distinguished, which represent irrational beliefs concerning (1) performance demands, (2) co-workers’ approval (3) failure and (4) control. All scales showed good internal consistency. Furthermore, it was found that, after controlling for negative affect, performance demands were associated with workaholism, whereas the remaining types of irrationality were unrelated to workaholism. Conclusions In other words, the findings suggest that interventions for workaholism should target irrational self-oriented performance demands and negative emotions. As Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy focuses on identifying and replacing irrational cognitions, it appears a useful intervention technique for the treatment of workaholics.     

Relationship between job stress contents, psychosocial factors and mental health status among university hospital nurses in Korea]

OBJECTIVES: The present study was intended to assess the mental health of nurses working for university hospitals and to establish which factors determine their mental health. METHODS: Self-administered questionnaires were given to 1,486 nurses employed in six participating hospitals located in Daejeon City and Chungnam Province between July 1st and August 31st, 2006. The questionnaire items included sociodemographic, job-related, and psychosocial factors, with job stress factors (JCQ) as independent variables and indices of mental health status (PWI, SDS and MFS) as dependent variables. For statistical analysis, the Chi-square test was used for categorical variables, with hierarchical multiple regression used for determining the factors effecting mental health. The influence of psychosocial and job-related factors on mental health status was assessed by covariance structure analysis. The statistical significance was set at p<0.05. RESULTS: The factors influencing mental health status among subject nurses included sociodemographic characteristics such as age, number of hours of sleep, number of hours of leisure, and subjective health status; job-related characteristics such as status, job satisfaction, job suitability, stresses such as demands of the job, autonomy, and coworker support; and psychosocial factors such as self-esteem, locus of control and type A behavior patterns. Psychosocial factors had the greatest impact on mental health. Covariance structure analysis determined that psychosocial factors affected job stress levels and mental health status, and that the lower job stress levels were associated with better mental health. CONCLUSIONS: Based on the study results, improvement of mental health status among nurses requires the development and application of programs to manage job stress factors and/or psychosocial factors as well as sociodemographic and job-related characteristics.     

Do Workaholism and Work Engagement Predict Employee Well-being and Performance in Opposite Directions?

This study investigated the distinctiveness between workaholism and work engagement by examining their longitudinal relationships (measurement interval=7 months) with well-being and performance in a sample of 1,967 Japanese employees from various occupations. Based on a previous cross-sectional study (Shimazu & Schaufeli, 2009), we expected that workaholism predicts future unwell-being (i.e., high ill-health and low life satisfaction) and poor job performance, whereas work engagement predicts future well-being (i.e., low ill-health and high life satisfaction) and superior job performance. T1-T2 changes in ill-health, life satisfaction and job performance were measured as residual scores that were then included in the structural equation model. Results showed that workaholism and work engagement were weakly and positively related to each other. In addition, workaholism was related to an increase in ill-health and to a decrease in life satisfaction. In contrast, work engagement was related to a decrease in ill-health and to increases in both life satisfaction and job performance. These findings suggest that workaholism and work engagement are two different kinds of concepts that are oppositely related to well-being and performance.     

Relationships of job demand,job control,and social support on intention to leave and depressive symptoms in Japanese nurses

This study aims to elucidate the relationships among the factors of the demand-control-support model (DCS) on the intention to leave a hospital job and depressive symptoms. Participants included 1,063 nurses. Job demand, job control, and support from supervisors were found to be significantly related to both the intention to leave and depressive symptoms. Based on the odds ratios per 1 SD change in the DCS factors, low support from supervisors was found to be most related to the intention to leave, and low job control was found to be most related to depressive symptoms. In models that did not include “job demand” as an independent variable, 60-h working weeks were found to have a significantly higher odds ratio for depressive symptoms. Support from supervisors is more important in preventing intention to leave and depressive symptoms among nurses than is support from co-workers. Improving job control and avoiding long working hours may be important to prevent depressive symptoms.     

Food Choice and Nutrition: A Social Psychological Perspective

In this Special Issue, entitled “Food choice and Nutrition: A Social Psychological Perspective”, three broad themes have been identified: (1) social and environmental influences on food choice; (2) psychological influences on eating behaviour; and (3) eating behaviour profiling. The studies that addressed the social and environmental influences indicated that further research would do well to promote positive food choices rather than reduce negative food choices; promote the reading and interpretation of food labels and find ways to effectively market healthy food choices through accessibility, availability and presentation. The studies on psychological influences found that intentions, perceived behavioural control, and confidence were predictors of healthy eating. Given the importance of psychological factors, such as perceived behavioural control and self-efficacy, healthy eating interventions should reduce barriers to healthy eating and foster perceptions of confidence to consume a healthy diet. The final theme focused on the clustering of individuals according to eating behaviour. Some “types” of individuals reported more frequent consumption of fast foods, ready meals or convenience meals or greater levels of disinhibition and less control over food cravings. Intervention designs which make use of multi-level strategies as advocated by the Ecological Model of Behaviour change that proposes multi-level (combining psychological, social and environmental) strategies are likely to be more effective in reaching and engaging individuals susceptible to unhealthy eating habits than interventions operating on a single level.     

Work Organization and Health Among Immigrant Women: Latina Manual Workers in North Carolina

Objectives. We sought to describe work organization attributes for employed immigrant Latinas and determine associations of work organization with physical health, mental health, and health-related quality of life.Methods. We conducted a cross-sectional survey with 319 employed Latinas in western North Carolina (2009–2011). Measures included job demands (heavy load, awkward posture, psychological demand), decision latitude (skill variety, job control), support (supervisor control, safety climate), musculoskeletal symptoms, mental health (depressive symptoms), and mental (MCS) and physical component score (PCS) health-related quality of life.Results. Three fifths reported musculoskeletal symptoms. Mean scores for depression, MCS, and PCS were 6.2 (SE = 0.2), 38.3 (SE = 0.5), and 42.8 (SE = 0.3), respectively. Greater job demands (heavy load, awkward posture, greater psychological demand) were associated with more musculoskeletal and depressive symptoms and worse MCS. Less decision latitude (lower skill variety, job control) was associated with more musculoskeletal and depressive symptoms. Greater support (supervisor’s power and safety climate) was associated with fewer depressive symptoms and better MCS.Conclusions. Work organization should be considered to improve occupational health of vulnerable women workers. Additional research should delineate the links between work organization and health among vulnerable workers.Immigrant and low-income workers constitute a vulnerable population that is at significant risk for occupational injury and illness. These workers often have the most demanding jobs in the most dangerous industry sectors (e.g., agriculture, construction).1-5 When they work in less hazardous sectors, such as manufacturing, they generally work in industries such as poultry and meat processing, which have substantial hazards and few protections.6-7 These manufacturing hazards include exposure to toxicants (e.g., cleaners, solvents), exposure to biological materials (e.g., feces, dander), repetitive motion injuries, slips and falls, and lacerations and amputation from sharp tools and machinery.Although addressing conventional risk factors (e.g., chemical and mechanical exposures) remains important for improving the health of immigrant and low-income workers, greater attention is being given to how work organization affects their health and safety.5,8 The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)9 defines “work organization” as the processes and organizational practices that influence job design. Work organization domains include the timing of when work is performed, such as shifts and hours worked, seasonality, and flexibility; the physical and psychological demands of work; the control or decision latitude workers have, including variation in effort and choice in performing work; and style of supervision and support, including supervisor support and control and work safety climate.10,11Work organization has most often been considered in its effects on job satisfaction and health of white-collar workers. Although work organization is believed to be particularly influential in the health and safety of vulnerable workers, little research has examined work organization and health outcomes for vulnerable populations such as immigrant workers.5,8,12 Even less research has focused on work organization among immigrant women. For example, recent analyses of work organization and health among US immigrant workers in agriculture13-15 and construction16-18 have shown that, among agricultural workers, job demands are associated with poorer physical health13; high worker control is associated with better mental health14; and poor safety climate is associated with greater musculoskeletal discomfort.15 Among construction workers, poor work safety climate is associated with poor work safety behavior.16 However, participants in these studies have been almost exclusively male.Recent analyses of work organization and health among immigrant poultry processing workers have included a substantial number of women.19-22 These analyses showed that management practices, such as poor safety commitment, and job design, such as authority, variety, psychological workload, frequent awkward posture, and repetitive movement, are associated with risk of recent musculoskeletal problems, respiratory problems, and self-reported injury or illness.19-21 In a similar way, organizational hazards, including low job control and high psychological demand, are associated with increased risk for epicondylitis, rotator cuff syndrome, and back pain.22 However, these analyses have not focused on women or on gender differences. A qualitative analysis of female immigrant household domestic workers in Spain reported that such work organization factors as job control affect health.23,24The job demand–control–support model10,11 provides a framework for examining the association of work organization and health among women immigrant manual workers. This model posits that jobs with greater physical and psychological demand or stressors will result in poorer health. However, jobs with greater control or decision latitude can result in better health and can offset the effects of demand leading to poor health. Finally, support of peers and supervisors, including perceived safety climate25 (how workers perceive supervisors’ valuing safety over production) reduces occupational injury and buffers the effects of job demands.The place of work organization in the health of immigrant women is particularly important. These women have major family, child care, and domestic responsibilities that they need to integrate into their work responsibilities.12,26 Immigrant women are also extremely vulnerable to workplace physical and sexual harassment, as they often do not speak English, do not know their rights, and may lack proper work documents.27-29This analysis had 2 goals. The first was to delineate work organization attributes of full-time employed immigrant Latinas with manual occupations. The work organization attributes included indicators of job demands, decision latitude, and support. The second goal was to determine the associations of work organization attributes with health characteristics of these women, including physical health, mental health, and health-related quality of life. We tested 3 hypotheses: (1) greater job demands will be associated with poorer physical health, mental health, and health-related quality of life; (2) greater decision latitude will be associated with better physical health, mental health, and health-related quality of life; and (3) greater job support (higher perceived supervisor control, better job safety climate) will be associated with better physical health, mental health, and health-related quality of life.     

某油田工人工作满意感及其影响因素分析

目的 调查某油田工人工作满意感的状况及其影响因素.方法 采用职业紧张测量工具对某油田作业工人进行问卷调查.结果 ＜30岁组油田工人的工作满意感、工作组织满意感、工作本身满意感评分(分别为45.69±10.98、22.63±6.16、23.07±5.39)低于≥30岁组(分别为49.34±10.12、24.60±5.40、24.74±5.36),差异有统计学意义(P＜0.01).不同工龄组间工作满意感的差异有统计学意义(P＜0.05),工龄为5～10年的工人工作满意感得分最低,分别与工龄＜5年和＞10年两组比较,差异有统计学意义(P＜0.05).油田工人的性别、受教育程度及婚姻状况对工作满意感无明显影响.工作满意感与心理卫生、工作心理控制源、应对策略、情绪平衡、社会支持的相关有统计学意义(P＜0.01).以工作满意感为应变量,以个体统计学特征资料、职业应激因素、个性特征和应付策略变量为自变量进行逐步回归分析.结果 显示,工作心理控制源、情绪平衡、社会支持、心理卫生、应对策略5个变量进入了回归方程.结论 油田工人的工作满意感水平受年龄、工龄、社会支持等多种因素影响.     

Quality of Life and its Determinants in People Living with Human Immunodeficiency Virus Infection in Puducherry, India

Context:

With anti-retroviral therapy (ART) for human immunodeficiency virus infection (HIV) coming into picture, quality of life (QOL) has gained importance. Knowledge on the factors affecting QOL would be helpful in making important policy decisions and health care interventions.

Aims:

The aim of this study is to assess the quality of life of people living with HIV (PLWH) and to identify the factors influencing their QOL.

Materials and Methods:

The study was done among 200 PLWH attending a tertiary care hospital, and three Non Governmental Organizations at Puducherry, India, from November 2005 to May 2007. QOL was assessed using HIV specific World Health Organization Quality Of Life scale (WHOQOL-HIV) – BREF questionnaire which has six domains (physical, psychological, level of independence, social relationships, environment and spirituality/religiousness/personal belief). Social support and stigma were measured using “Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support” and “HIV Stigma Scale,” respectively, using Likert Scale. Factors influencing QOL were identified using backward stepwise multiple linear regression with the six domain scores as the dependent variables.

Results:

Male: Female ratio was 1:1 and 58% were in early stage of the disease (stage I/II). Psychological and SRPB (Spirituality Religiousness and Personal Beliefs) domains were the most affected domains. All the regression models were statistically significant (P<0.05). The determination coefficient was highest for the social relationship domain (57%) followed by the psychological domain (51%). Disease stage and perceived social support significantly influenced all the domains of WHOQOL. Younger age, female gender, rural background, shorter duration of HIV, non-intake of ART and greater HIV related stigma were the high risk factors of poor QOL.

Conclusion:

Interventions such as ART, family, vocational and peer counseling would address these modifiable factors influencing QOL, thereby improving the QOL of PLWH.     

Self perceived health and mental health among women flight attendants

Aims

The authors investigated associations of work related risk factors with self perceived health as less than “good” and psychological distress among Italian women flight attendants.

Methods

The authors conducted a cross sectional survey on health and mental health among 1955 former and current flight attendants, using a postal questionnaire.

Results

More current than former flight attendants reported self perceived health as fair to poor and psychological distress measured as a GHQ‐12 score of six or more. Among current flight attendants, reporting health as fair to poor was associated with low job satisfaction (OR 1.89) and recent experiences of sexual harassment by passengers (OR 2.83). Psychological distress was associated with low job satisfaction (OR 2.38) and frequent tension with partner over childcare (OR 1.79).

Conclusions

Perceived health as fair to poor and psychological distress were greater among current flight attendants and were related to job characteristics and family difficulties. Perceived poor health has been shown in the literature to be related to mortality, high job strain, and early retirement, and psychological distress is associated with work absence. The effect of sexual harassment by passengers on perceived health of flight attendants may be relevant to other working women dealing with the public. The health effects of family/work conflicts, low job satisfaction, and sexual harassment should be explored more in depth, using qualitative as well as quantitative methods among working women in various occupations.     

Effects of occupational stress on the physical and psychological health of women in a microelectronics plant.

Physical and psychological effects of occupational stress were examined in a sample of 552 female blue collar employees of a microelectronics facility. After controlling for demographic and biological risk factors, non-work life events, and solvent exposure, job-related conflict was associated with depressive symptomatology, severe headaches, lightheadedness weakness/fatigue, rashes, and presence of multiple symptoms. Job demands were only associated with multiple symptoms. Solvent exposure did not interact with either of the job stress measures synergistically to increase symptom reports. Although the main effects of social support, when present, were in the direction of reducing symptomatology, the interactive effects of social support and stress on health were inconsistent and dependent on the source of support.     

The Mediating and Moderating Effects of Workplace Social Capital on the Associations between Adverse Work Characteristics and Psychological Distress among Japanese Workers

Our current study investigated how workplace social capital (WSC) mediates and moderates the associations between adverse work characteristics and psychological distress among Japanese workers. We collected cross-sectional data (N=9,350) from a baseline survey of an occupational Japanese cohort study. We focused on individual WSC and considered job demands/control, effort/reward, and two types (i.e., procedural and interactional) of organizational justice as work-characteristic variables. We defined psychological distress as a score of ≥5 on the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K6 scale). Multivariate logistic regression analyses predicted a binary variable of psychological distress by individual WSC and adverse work characteristics, adjusting for individual-level covariates. Individual WSC mediated the associations between adverse work characteristics and psychological distress in almost all model specifications. Additionally, individual WSC moderated the associations of psychological distress with high job demands, high effort, and low interactional justice when we used a high WSC cutoff point. In contrast, individual WSC did not moderate such interactions with low job control, reward, or procedural justice. We concluded that individual WSC mediated the associations between adverse work characteristics and psychological distress among Japanese workers while selectively moderating their associations at high levels of WSC.     

The Role of Friendship in the Lives of Male and Female Adolescents: Does Diabetes Make a Difference?

PurposeWe examined differences in the nature of friendship between adolescents with diabetes and healthy adolescents. We also examined whether friend support and negative relations with friends were related to health for both groups.MethodWe interviewed 127 adolescents with diabetes and 129 healthy adolescents on two occasions, separated by one year. We measured aspects of friendship and psychological health among both groups as well as self-care behavior and metabolic control among adolescents with diabetes. We used logistic regression analysis to predict the presence of friends, repeated measures analysis of covariance to predict changes in friendship over time, and hierarchical multiple regression analysis to examine the relations of friendship to psychological health, self-care behavior, and metabolic control.ResultsBoth groups of adolescents were equally likely to have a best friend and boyfriend/girlfriend, but healthy adolescents were more likely to have an other-gender friend. Adolescents with diabetes and healthy adolescents reported similar levels of friend support, but support increased over the year for healthy girls only. Boys with diabetes had the lowest levels of friend support. Negative relations with friends were inversely related to psychological health and predicted a decline in psychological health over time. Negative relations also predicted poor metabolic control and a deterioration of metabolic control over time.ConclusionThere are similarities and differences in the nature of friendship for adolescents with diabetes compared with healthy adolescents. Friendship serves a protective function for psychological health for both groups and has implications for physical health among those with diabetes.     

Socioeconomic and Gender Inequalities in Job Dissatisfaction among Japanese Civil Servants: The Roles of Work,Family and Personality Characteristics

Abstract: This study examines (1) whether there are employment grade and gender differences in job dissatisfaction and (2) whether work, family, and personality characteristics explain grade and gender differences in job dissatisfaction. The participants were 3,812 civil servants, aged 20–65, working at a local government in Japan. In both males and females, low control, low social support, work-to-family conflict, type A behaviour pattern and negative affectivity were significantly associated with job dissatisfaction. In females, high demands, long work hours and being unmarried were also associated with job dissatisfaction. Among males, in comparison with the highest grade employees, the age-adjusted odds ratio (OR) for job dissatisfaction in the lowest grade employees was 1.90 (95% CI: 1.40–2.59). The grade differences reduced to 1.08 (0.76–1.54) after adjustment for work, family and personality characteristics. Among females, similar grade differences were observed, although the differences were not statistically significant. In comparison with males, the age-adjusted OR in females for job dissatisfaction was 1.32 (1.14–1.52). This gender difference was reduced to 0.95 (0.79–1.14) following adjustment for the other factors. The majority of employees belong to low to middle grades, and female employees have increased. Reducing grade and gender differences in work and family characteristics is needed.