A new study, led by Samuel Harvey, Associate Professor at the Black Dog Institute in Australia, investigates the association between job strain and mental health challenges. The results of the study, published in The Lancet Psychiatry, indicate that higher job strain increases one’s risk of developing a “common mental disorder” by age 50.
Mental health challenges are one of the biggest reasons why people are absent from work in high-income countries. Because of this, scholars and policymakers have been increasingly interested in the interaction between job characteristics and mental health.
The authors cite Karasek’s job demands-control model which suggests that high job demands and low job control (i.e., unable to make decisions about one’s work) lead to high job strain and may result in health problems. Cross-sectional and longitudinal studies have found an association between job strain and poorer mental health, providing support for Karasek’s model. However, the authors note that these studies have not been able to rule out reverse causation (e.g., being diagnosed with a mental health disorder may lead to having a less desirable job) or confounding factors (e.g., a third variable such as socioeconomic status is driving both job strain and mental health challenges).
[For more on this story by Shannon Peters, go to https://www.madinamerica.com/2...l-health-challenges/]
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