Premium
Changes in psychosocial work environment and depressive symptoms: A prospective study in junior physicians
Author(s) -
Li Jian,
Weigl Matthias,
Glaser Jürgen,
Petru Raluca,
Siegrist Johannes,
Angerer Peter
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
american journal of industrial medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.7
H-Index - 104
eISSN - 1097-0274
pISSN - 0271-3586
DOI - 10.1002/ajim.22246
Subject(s) - psychosocial , medicine , prospective cohort study , mental health , depression (economics) , psychiatry , economics , macroeconomics
Background We examined the impact of changes in the psychosocial work environment on depressive symptoms in a sample of junior physicians, a high risk group for stress and mental disorders. Methods This is a three‐wave prospective study in 417 junior physicians during their residency in German hospitals. The psychosocial work environment was measured by the Effort–Reward Imbalance (ERI) Questionnaire at Waves 1 and 2, and the depressive symptoms were assessed with the State‐Trait Depression Scales at all three waves. Multivariate linear regression was applied for prospective associations between ERI across Waves 1 and 2, and baseline‐adjusted depressive symptoms at Wave 3. Results Compared with the ERI scores at Wave 1, at Wave 2, and mean scores between the two waves, the baseline‐adjusted ERI change scores between the two waves showed slightly better statistical power, predicting depressive symptoms at Wave 3 (β = 0.78, 95% CI = 0.38–1.18 for increased ERI per SD, β = 0.64, 95% CI = 0.22–1.06 for increased effort per SD, β = −0.65, 95% CI = −1.06 to −0.24 for increased reward per SD, and β = 0.68, 95% CI = 0.27–1.09 for increased overcommitment per SD). Conclusions Negative changes in the psychosocial work environment, specifically increased ERI, are associated with depressive symptoms in German junior physicians. Reducing the non‐reciprocity of working life, particularly improving reward at work, may have beneficial effects on prevention of mental health problems in the hospital workplace. Am. J. Ind. Med. 56:1414–1422, 2013. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.