Longitudinal associations between occupational stress and depressive symptoms

• Published in: Annals of occupational and environmental medicine Vol. 32; no. 1; pp. e13 - 8
• Main Authors: Kim, Hyung Doo, Park, Shin-Goo, Won, Youna, Ju, Hyeonwoo, Jang, Sung Wook, Choi, Go, Jang, Hyun-Suk, Kim, Hwan-Cheol, Leem, Jong-Han
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Korea (South) Korean Society of Occupational & Environmental Medicine 2020; 대한직업환경의학회
• Subjects: 예방의학; Occupational stress; Depressive symptoms; Worker; Depressive symptoms scale; Korean Occupational Stress Scale; Korea
• ISSN: 2052-4374; 2052-4374
• DOI: 10.35371/aoem.2020.32.e13

Most of the studies that have examined the association between the sub-factors of occupational stress and depressive symptoms have used cross-sectional data. However, our study has longitudinally measured the occupational stress and depressive symptoms of Korean workers of a semiconductor manufacturing company across six years to intending to investigate the associations between the sub-factors of occupational stress and depressive symptoms using longitudinal data. Data collected from the workers of a semiconductor manufacturing company. Out of 1,013 recruited workers, 405 (40.0%) completed the survey questionnaires at 3 and 6-year follow-ups. Occupational stress was measured using a shorter version of the Korean Occupational Stress Scale (KOSS), whereas depressive symptoms were assessed using the Korean version of the Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depressive Symptoms Scale (CES-D). The data of male and female participants independently analyzed. Longitudinal associations were analyzed using panel data analysis with fixed effects. In panel data analysis with fixed effects, job insecurity (B = 0.048, -value = 0.004) was associated with depressive symptoms among male workers. In female workers, inadequate social support (B = 0.080, -value < 0.001), job insecurity (B = 0.039, -value = 0.004), lack of reward (B = 0.059, -value = 0.004) and discomfort in occupational climate (B = 0.074, -value < 0.001) were associated with depressive symptoms among female workers. Temporal changes in the sub-factors of occupational stress were associated with changes in depressive symptoms within the same period. There was a gender difference in occupational stress sub-factors related to depressive symptoms.