Safety and Health at Work

Occupational Safety and Health Research Institute, Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency (산업안전보건연구원)
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Formulations of Job Strain and Psychological Distress: A Four-year Longitudinal Study in Japan

  • Mayumi Saiki (School of Nursing, University of California, Los Angeles) ;
  • Timothy A. Matthews (Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Fielding School of Public Health, University of California, Los Angeles) ;
  • Norito Kawakami (Department of Digital Mental Health, Graduate School of Medicine, University of Tokyo) ;
  • Wendie Robbins (School of Nursing, University of California, Los Angeles) ;
  • Jian Li (School of Nursing, University of California, Los Angeles)
  • Received : 2023.07.18
  • Accepted : 2024.01.08
  • Published : 2024.03.30
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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 followup 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.

Keywords

Acknowledgement

The Midlife in Japan (MIDJA) Study was supported by a grant from the U.S. National Institute on Aging (5R37AG027343). Ms. Saiki was supported by the Occupational and Environmental Health Nursing Program of the Southern California NIOSH Education and Research Center (SCERC) (Grant Agreement Number: T42 OH008412) from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official view of the U.S. CDC.

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