Psychological distress and associated factors among Japanese nursery school and kindergarten teachers: a cross-sectional study

• Published in: Industrial Health Vol. 58; no. 6; pp. 530 - 538
• Main Authors: YAGINUMA-SAKURAI, Kozue, TSUNO, Kanami, YOSHIMASU, Kouichi, MAEDA, Tomohide, SANO, Hiroko, GOTO, Miki, NAKAI, Kunihiko
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Japan National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health 01.01.2020; National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, Japan; National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, Japan (JNIOSH)
• Subjects: Child care workers; Childcare workers; Coworker support; Cross-sectional studies; Day care centers; Early childhood educators; Effort-reward imbalance; Health aspects; Job stress; Kindergarten; Original; Preschool teachers; Psychological aspects; Psychological distress; Psychological stress; Questionnaires; Regression analysis; Reinforcement; Sleep; Supervisor support; Supervisors; Surveys; Work engagement; Work environment; Workers; Workload; Japan; Effort-reward imbalance; Work engagement; Childcare workers; Supervisor support; Psychological distress; Coworker support
• ISSN: 0019-8366; 1880-8026
• DOI: 10.2486/indhealth.2020-0052

The understaffing of nursery schools and kindergartens and the increasing workload of childcare workers are becoming significant issues in Japan. In this study, a cross-sectional survey was conducted to investigate the stress experienced by childcare workers and its antecedents. We distributed 2,640 questionnaires to childcare workers in Miyagi prefecture, obtaining a response rate of 51.9% (n=1,370). Finally, 1,210 valid questionnaires were used in the analysis. As a stress indicator, psychological distress was measured with the Kessler Screening Scale for Psychological Distress (K6). The mean K6 score was 7.0 (SD=5.4), and the prevalence of psychological distress (K6 score ≥5) was 60.0%. Considering work-related factors, the mean scores were as follows: supervisor support 11.8 (2.6), coworker support 12.1 (2.0), work engagement 3.2 (1.2), and effort-reward ratio 0.93 (0.53). A multivariate logistic regression analysis with adjustment for possible confounders revealed that increased psychological distress was associated with higher effort-reward ratio, lower support from supervisors and coworkers, lower work engagement, and insufficient sleep. These results suggest that elevated psychological distress is strongly associated with effort-reward imbalance, while high work engagement in childcare workers helped to reduce their distress.