IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/socmed/v359y2024ics0277953624007378.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Persistent low job control and subsequent major depression: A prospective cohort study of Australian working males

Author

Listed:
  • Taouk, Yamna
  • Aitken, Zoe
  • LaMontagne, Anthony D.
  • King, Tania

Abstract

Workers' perception of control over work is a key construct in the relationship between the psychosocial work environment and health. While exposure to low job control has been prospectively linked to poor mental health including depression and anxiety, there is less research examining the impact of prolonged exposure to low job control on mental health. Data from 5054 employed men from 2013 to 2021 in the Australian Longitudinal Study on Male Health was used to examine persistent and intermittent low job control and subsequent major depression symptoms. Persistent low job control was based on consecutive self-reports of low job control over waves 1 and 2. Combinations of low and high job control were classified as intermittent exposure and continuous high job control exposure over both waves was classified as persistent high job control. Major depression symptoms, derived from the Patient Health Questionnaire-9, was measured in wave 3. Generalised linear models and augmented inverse probability weighting were undertaken. There was a strong stepwise relationship between low job control and major depression. Compared to persistent high job control, intermittent low job control was associated with an increased risk of subsequent major depression symptoms by 32% (RR 1.32, 95% CI 0.82, 2.15); and persistent low job control by 103% (RR 2.03, 95% CI 1.21, 3.41). Compared to men exposed to persistent high job control, the average treatment effect for persistent low job control was 0.036 (95%CI 0.014, 0.058) and intermittent low job control 0.019 (95%CI 0.006, 0.032) equating to a risk ratio of 2.46 (95%CI 1.43, 3.50) and 1.79 (95% CI 1.14, 2.45) respectively. This study's findings have implications for public health and occupational policies, as they underscore the importance of reducing prolonged exposure to low job control to protect against the risk of major depression in the working population.

Suggested Citation

  • Taouk, Yamna & Aitken, Zoe & LaMontagne, Anthony D. & King, Tania, 2024. "Persistent low job control and subsequent major depression: A prospective cohort study of Australian working males," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 359(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:359:y:2024:i:c:s0277953624007378
    DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2024.117283
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277953624007378
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.socscimed.2024.117283?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Karasek, R. & Baker, D. & Marxer, F. & Ahlbom, A. & Theorell, T., 1981. "Job decision latitude, job demands, and cardiovascular disease: A prospective study of Swedish men," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 71(7), pages 694-705.
    2. Muntaner, C. & Eaton, W. W. & Diala, C. & Kessler, R. C. & Sorlie, P. D., 1998. "Social class, assets, organizational control and the prevalence of common groups of psychiatric disorders," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 47(12), pages 2043-2053, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Lallukka, Tea & Lahelma, Eero & Rahkonen, Ossi & Roos, Eva & Laaksonen, Elina & Martikainen, Pekka & Head, Jenny & Brunner, Eric & Mosdol, Annhild & Marmot, Michael & Sekine, Michikazu & Nasermoaddeli, 2008. "Associations of job strain and working overtime with adverse health behaviors and obesity: Evidence from the Whitehall II Study, Helsinki Health Study, and the Japanese Civil Servants Study," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 66(8), pages 1681-1698, April.
    2. Saskia Knies & Math Candel & Annelies Boonen & Silvia Evers & Andre Ament & Johan Severens, 2012. "Lost Productivity in Four European Countries among Patients with Rheumatic Disorders," PharmacoEconomics, Springer, vol. 30(9), pages 795-807, September.
    3. Macleod, John & Davey Smith, George & Metcalfe, Chris & Hart, Carole, 2005. "Is subjective social status a more important determinant of health than objective social status? Evidence from a prospective observational study of Scottish men," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 61(9), pages 1916-1929, November.
    4. Priska Flandorfer & Katrin Fliegenschnee, 2010. "Education and health: theoretical considerations based on a qualitative grounded theory study," Vienna Yearbook of Population Research, Vienna Institute of Demography (VID) of the Austrian Academy of Sciences in Vienna, vol. 8(1), pages 237-259.
    5. Ibrahim, S. & Smith, P. & Muntaner, C., 2009. "A multi-group cross-lagged analyses of work stressors and health using Canadian National sample," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 68(1), pages 49-59, January.
    6. Miranti, Riyana & Li, Jinjing, 2020. "Working hours mismatch, job strain and mental health among mature age workers in Australia," The Journal of the Economics of Ageing, Elsevier, vol. 15(C).
    7. Emma Zang & Anthony R. Bardo, 2019. "Objective and Subjective Socioeconomic Status, Their Discrepancy, and Health: Evidence from East Asia," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 143(2), pages 765-794, June.
    8. Meneton, Pierre & Hoertel, Nicolas & Wiernik, Emmanuel & Lemogne, Cédric & Ribet, Céline & Bonenfant, Sébastien & Ménard, Joël & Goldberg, Marcel & Zins, Marie, 2018. "Work environment mediates a large part of social inequalities in the incidence of several common cardiovascular risk factors: Findings from the Gazel cohort," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 216(C), pages 59-66.
    9. Sekine, Michikazu & Chandola, Tarani & Martikainen, Pekka & Marmot, Michael & Kagamimori, Sadanobu, 2006. "Socioeconomic inequalities in physical and mental functioning of Japanese civil servants: Explanations from work and family characteristics," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 63(2), pages 430-445, July.
    10. Hua Sui & Nijing Sun & Libin Zhan & Xiaoguang Lu & Tuo Chen & Xinyong Mao, 2016. "Association between Work-Related Stress and Risk for Type 2 Diabetes: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Prospective Cohort Studies," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 11(8), pages 1-16, August.
    11. Amar Hamoudi & Jennifer Beam Dowd, 2014. "Editor's choice Housing Wealth, Psychological Well-being, and Cognitive Functioning of Older Americans," The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, The Gerontological Society of America, vol. 69(2), pages 253-262.
    12. Hagihara, Akihito & Murakami, Masayoshi & Miller, Alan S. & Nobutomo, Koichi, 1997. "Association between attitudes toward health promotion and opinions regarding organ transplants in Japan," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 42(2), pages 157-170, November.
    13. Ellen Ek & Anitta Sirviö & Markku Koiranen & Anja Taanila, 2014. "Psychological Well-Being, Job Strain and Education Among Young Finnish Precarious Employees," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 115(3), pages 1057-1069, February.
    14. René Schilling & Flora Colledge & Sebastian Ludyga & Uwe Pühse & Serge Brand & Markus Gerber, 2019. "Does Cardiorespiratory Fitness Moderate the Association between Occupational Stress, Cardiovascular Risk, and Mental Health in Police Officers?," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(13), pages 1-19, July.
    15. Elovainio, Marko & Kivimäki, Mika & Ek, Ellen & Vahtera, Jussi & Honkonen, Teija & Taanila, Anja & Veijola, Juha & Järvelin, Marjo-Riitta, 2007. "The effect of pre-employment factors on job control, job strain and psychological distress: A 31-year longitudinal study," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 65(2), pages 187-199, July.
    16. MUSSARD Stéphane & PI ALPERIN Maria Noel & THIREAU Véronique, 2016. "Aggregable Health Inequality Indices," LISER Working Paper Series 2016-11, Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research (LISER).
    17. Tsutsumi, Akizumi & Kayaba, Kazunori & Hirokawa, Kumi & Ishikawa, Shizukiyo, 2006. "Psychosocial job characteristics and risk of mortality in a Japanese community-based working population: The Jichi Medical School Cohort Study," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 63(5), pages 1276-1288, September.
    18. Joel Goh & Jeffrey Pfeffer & Stefanos A. Zenios, 2016. "The Relationship Between Workplace Stressors and Mortality and Health Costs in the United States," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 62(2), pages 608-628, February.
    19. Natalie Slopen & Robert J Glynn & Julie E Buring & Tené T Lewis & David R Williams & Michelle A Albert, 2012. "Job Strain, Job Insecurity, and Incident Cardiovascular Disease in the Women’s Health Study: Results from a 10-Year Prospective Study," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 7(7), pages 1-10, July.
    20. Frédéric Dutheil & Morteza Charkhabi & Hortense Ravoux & Georges Brousse & Samuel Dewavrin & Thomas Cornet & Laurie Mondillon & Sihui Han & Daniela Pfabigan & Julien S Baker & Martial Mermillod & Jean, 2020. "Exploring the Link between Work Addiction Risk and Health-Related Outcomes Using Job-Demand-Control Model," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(20), pages 1-15, October.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:359:y:2024:i:c:s0277953624007378. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/315/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.