Measurement of work-related psychological injury with depressive symptoms

Mari Tanaka; Yoshiyuki Hirano; Rieko Takanashi; Noriko Numata; Chihiro Sutoh; Tomohiro Yoshikawa; Eiji Shimizu

doi:10.1186/s12888-023-05178-w

Measurement of work-related psychological injury with depressive symptoms

BMC Psychiatry. 2023 Sep 19;23(1):681. doi: 10.1186/s12888-023-05178-w.

Authors

Mari Tanaka¹, Yoshiyuki Hirano^{2

3}, Rieko Takanashi⁴, Noriko Numata⁴, Chihiro Sutoh⁵, Tomohiro Yoshikawa⁶, Eiji Shimizu^{4

2

3}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Cognitive Behavioral Physiology, Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba University, Chiba, Japan. mari.lotus@gmail.com.
² Research Center for Child Mental Development, Chiba University, Chiba, Japan.
³ United Graduate School of Child Development, Osaka University, Kanazawa University, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Chiba University and University of Fukui, Suita, Japan.
⁴ Department of Cognitive Behavioral Physiology, Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba University, Chiba, Japan.
⁵ ANA Narita Airport Services Co., Ltd., Narita, Japan.
⁶ Taimei Corporation Co., Ltd, Kawaguchi, Japan.

Abstract

Objective: This study aimed to measure the level of psychological injury caused by work-related stress as well as the severity of depression among workers.

Method: First, we conducted an online survey and recruited 500 workers diagnosed with depression or adjustment disorder to investigate what type of stress they experienced within six months before onset. Second, we conducted another online survey and recruited 767 participants who experienced some form of work-related stress. All the participants were classified into four groups by whether or not they were diagnosed with depression and whether or not they quit their jobs due to work-related stress. We used the Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R) to measure psychological injury caused by work-related stressful events and the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ)-9 to assess the severity of depression.

Results: In study 1, 62.4% of workers diagnosed with depression or adjustment disorder experienced work-related stress within six months before onset. In study 2, the IES-R mean scores were 40.7 (SD = 23.1) for Group A (workers with depression and quit their jobs) and 36.67 (SD = 23.4) for Group B (workers with depression but stayed at their jobs), with both exceeding the cut-off point (24/25) of PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder), while the mean score of Group C (workers who did not have depression but quit their jobs because of work-related stress) was 20.74 (SD = 21.2), and it was 13.89 (SD = 17.4) for Group D (workers who had work-related stress but stayed at their jobs), with both of them below the cut-off point of PTSD. The total scores of IES-R of Group A and Group B were significantly higher than those of Group C and Group D(p < 0.001). There was a significant positive correlation between the scores of IES-R and PHQ-9 for all four groups (r = 0.708).

Conclusions: This study suggests that it is necessary to measure not only depressive symptoms but also the level of psychological injury resulting from stressful events in the workplace to assess workers with depression.

Keywords: Adjustment disorder; Depression; Psychological injury; Work-related stress.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adjustment Disorders
Depression / diagnosis
Humans
Occupational Stress* / complications
Occupational Stress* / diagnosis
Psychological Trauma*
Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic* / diagnosis