TY - JOUR
T1 - Correlates of mental health in occupations at risk for traumatization
T2 - a cross-sectional study
AU - Schäfer, Sarah K.
AU - Sopp, M. Roxanne
AU - Staginnus, Marlene
AU - Lass-Hennemann, Johanna
AU - Michael, Tanja
N1 - Copyright:
This record is sourced from MEDLINE/PubMed, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine
PY - 2020/6/25
Y1 - 2020/6/25
N2 - BACKGROUND: Hospitals, police stations, and fire departments are highly demanding workplaces. Staff members are regularly exposed to various stressors including traumatic events. Correspondingly, several studies report high rates of mental health issues among these occupations. Nevertheless, despite these challenging circumstances, some staff members manage to sustain their mental health. The current study is the first to investigate three health-promoting factors simultaneously among three different, highly demanding occupations. METHODS: The present cross-sectional survey investigated health-promoting factors (sense of coherence - SOC, trait-resilience, locus of control - LOC) and mental health outcomes (general psychopathological symptom burden, posttraumatic stress, burnout) in medical staff (n = 223), police officers (n = 257), and firefighters (n = 100). RESULTS: Among all occupations, SOC, trait-resilience, and an internal LOC were negatively associated with general psychopathological symptoms, posttraumatic stress, and burnout symptoms. By contrast, all these outcome measures were positively correlated with an external LOC. Multiple regression models including all health-promoting factors explained 56% of the variance in general psychopathological symptoms and 27% in posttraumatic stress symptoms. Among all occupations, SOC was the strongest predictor of both general psychopathological symptom burden and posttraumatic stress symptoms. Multigroup path analyses revealed minor differences across occupations, mainly driven by a stronger influence of LOC in police officers. CONCLUSION: Across all occupations, SOC was identified as the most important health-promoting factor. Future longitudinal studies should further examine the causal link between health-promoting factors and mental distress in different workplaces. Such studies will also allow for further development and evaluation of resilience promoting programs.
AB - BACKGROUND: Hospitals, police stations, and fire departments are highly demanding workplaces. Staff members are regularly exposed to various stressors including traumatic events. Correspondingly, several studies report high rates of mental health issues among these occupations. Nevertheless, despite these challenging circumstances, some staff members manage to sustain their mental health. The current study is the first to investigate three health-promoting factors simultaneously among three different, highly demanding occupations. METHODS: The present cross-sectional survey investigated health-promoting factors (sense of coherence - SOC, trait-resilience, locus of control - LOC) and mental health outcomes (general psychopathological symptom burden, posttraumatic stress, burnout) in medical staff (n = 223), police officers (n = 257), and firefighters (n = 100). RESULTS: Among all occupations, SOC, trait-resilience, and an internal LOC were negatively associated with general psychopathological symptoms, posttraumatic stress, and burnout symptoms. By contrast, all these outcome measures were positively correlated with an external LOC. Multiple regression models including all health-promoting factors explained 56% of the variance in general psychopathological symptoms and 27% in posttraumatic stress symptoms. Among all occupations, SOC was the strongest predictor of both general psychopathological symptom burden and posttraumatic stress symptoms. Multigroup path analyses revealed minor differences across occupations, mainly driven by a stronger influence of LOC in police officers. CONCLUSION: Across all occupations, SOC was identified as the most important health-promoting factor. Future longitudinal studies should further examine the causal link between health-promoting factors and mental distress in different workplaces. Such studies will also allow for further development and evaluation of resilience promoting programs.
KW - Burnout
KW - Firefighters
KW - Locus of control
KW - Medical staff
KW - Occupation
KW - Police
KW - Posttraumatic stress
KW - Resilience
KW - Salutogenesis
KW - Sense of coherence
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85087138361&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1186/s12888-020-02704-y
DO - 10.1186/s12888-020-02704-y
M3 - Article
C2 - 32586338
AN - SCOPUS:85087138361
VL - 20
SP - 335
JO - BMC Psychiatry
JF - BMC Psychiatry
SN - 1471-244X
IS - 1
ER -
