Formulations of Job Strain and Psychological Distress: A Four-year Longitudinal Study in Japan
Issued Date
2024-01-01
Resource Type
ISSN
20937911
eISSN
20937997
Scopus ID
2-s2.0-85184747283
Journal Title
Safety and Health at Work
Rights Holder(s)
SCOPUS
Bibliographic Citation
Safety and Health at Work (2024)
Suggested Citation
Saiki M., Matthews T.A., Kawakami N., Robbins W., Li J. Formulations of Job Strain and Psychological Distress: A Four-year Longitudinal Study in Japan. Safety and Health at Work (2024). doi:10.1016/j.shaw.2024.01.001 Retrieved from: https://repository.li.mahidol.ac.th/handle/123456789/97238
Title
Formulations of Job Strain and Psychological Distress: A Four-year Longitudinal Study in Japan
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Corresponding Author(s)
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Abstract
Background: Different job strain formulations based on the Job Demand-Control model have been developed. This study evaluated longitudinal associations between job strain and psychological distress and whether associations were influenced by six formulations of job strain, including quadrant (original and simplified), subtraction, quotient, logarithm quotient, and quartile based on quotient, in randomly selected Japanese workers. Methods: Data were from waves I and II of the Survey of Midlife in Japan (MIDJA), with a 4-year follow-up period. The study sample consisted of 412 participants working at baseline and had complete data on variables of interest. Associations between job strain at baseline and psychological distress at follow-up were assessed via multivariable linear regression, and results were expressed as β coefficients and 95% confidence intervals including R2 and Akaike information criterion (AIC) evaluation. Results: Crude models revealed that job strain formulations explained 6.93–10.30% of variance. The AIC ranged from 1475.87 to 1489.12. After accounting for sociodemographic and behavioral factors and psychological distress at baseline, fully-adjusted models indicated significant associations between all job strain formulations at baseline and psychological distress at follow-up: original quadrant (β: 1.16, 95% CI: 0.12, 2.21), simplified quadrant (β: 1.01, 95% CI: 0.18, 1.85), subtraction (β: 0.39, 95% CI: 0.09, 0.70), quotient (β: 0.37, 95% CI: 0.08, 0.67), logarithm quotient (β: 0.42, 95% CI: 0.12, 0.72), and quartile based on quotient (β: 1.22, 95% CI: 0.36, 2.08). Conclusion: Six job strain formulations showed robust predictive power regarding psychological distress over 4 years among Japanese workers.