Associations of sense of coherence with sickness absence and reported symptoms of illness in Japanese civil servants

Psychosocial stressors in inter-human relationships and health at each life stage: A review

Currently, psychosocial stressors' impacts on health are increasing. Among these stressors, this review focused on inter-human relationships. Since social supports could be protective against ill health, consequences contributing to psychosocial stressors are discussed here in relation to social supports for each stage of childhood, adulthood and elderly status.For childhood, parental divorce/isolation, and child abuse/neglect appeared to be determinants of healthy development at either the initial or later stages. According to prospective studies, such stressors, especially those occurring until around 3 years of age, were associated with later adverse life quality in adulthood. Therefore, nationwide preventive strategies were developed in each country to monitor protective social programs.For adulthood, job strain was focused on Karasek's job strain model, effort-reward imbalance, employment grade and working hours. These psychosocial stressors were shown to affect not only the physical health but also the mental health of working people. These days, since Karoshi and even suicide related to excessive workloads are taking a toll on workplace organization, stress-coping abilities such as a sense of coherence were introduced from the individual-social interaction aspect.For elderly status, retirement, caring for the elderly, and spouse bereavement were discussed as psychosocial stressors. Some evidence indicates that these stressors could be determiants of health. Finally, social supports have been demonstrated to promote health and protect the elderly against diseases and death.

Sense of coherence is associated with reduced psychological responses to job stressors among Japanese factory workers

Background

Job stress is associated with adverse health effects. The present study was conducted to examine the association between sense of coherence (SOC), as advocated by Antonovsky, and psychological responses to job stressors among Japanese workers.

Methods

A self-administered questionnaire containing a Japanese version of the 13-item SOC scale, the Brief Job Stress Questionnaire, and a self-rated health item were distributed to 1968 workers in X Prefecture. Anonymous responses were recovered by postal mail.

Results

Complete responses were received from 299 workers (response rate 15.2%, 191 males and 108 females) who consented to participate in the study. Participants were 186 office clerks, 38 sales representatives, 22 technical engineers, 16 service trade workers, eight information processing workers, eight technical experts, and 21 other workers of various types. SOC scores were associated with age, self-rated health, job title, and marriage status. According to regression analyses stratified by gender, SOC was inversely associated with tension, fatigue, anxiety, depression and subjective symptoms in males, and tension, depression and subjective symptoms in females. SOC was positively associated with vigor in both males and females.

Conclusions

Having a strong SOC may reduce worker’s negative job stress responses and increase their vigor. Longitudinal studies are required to confirm this finding.

Psychosocial work characteristics and sickness absence in Japanese employees

OBJECTIVES

This study was undertaken to examine the association between sickness absence in Japanese employees and job demand/control and occupational class as psychosocial work characteristics.

METHODS

The study was cross-sectional in design with data collected from 20,464 male and 3,617 female employees, whose mean age was 40.9 years (SD +/- 9.1 years) and 36.9 years (SD +/- 10.8 years), respectively. The participants were asked to write the total number of sick leaves they had taken during the past year, and a comparison was made between the group with more than 6 days of sickness absence and the group with 0-6 days as a reference group. Job demands, job control, and worksite support from supervisors and colleagues were analyzed by the Job Content Questionnaire, and likewise by the Generic Job Stress Questionnaire of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.

RESULTS

Both low job control and low support at the worksite were associated with a high frequency of sickness absence. But there was no clear relationship between job demands and sickness absence. The lowest sickness absence rate was found in male managers and the highest in male and female laborers.

CONCLUSION

This is the first report of a large-scale survey of Japanese employees to show a high frequency of sickness absence associated with increased work stress and a socioeconomically low occupational class.

Gender differences in associations of C-reactive protein with atherosclerotic risk factors and psychosocial characteristics in Japanese civil servants

OBJECTIVE

Several prospective studies have demonstrated a direct association between high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) and the risks of developing cardiovascular disease. A strong sense of coherence (SOC) has also been associated with a reduced risk of cardiovascular mortality, but the underlying pathophysiologic mechanism remains unclear. We have evaluated the relationship of serum CRP and SOC and assessed the association of atherosclerotic risk factors with CRP in male and female subjects.

METHODS

Data were collected in 2003 and 2004 cross-sectionally from the two phases of a longitudinal study. Atherosclerotic risk factors were evaluated along with psychosocial characteristics for 1,339 apparently healthy civil servants (748 women and 591 men) aged 20 to 60 years. The Japanese version of the SOC-13 was used in the study.

RESULTS

After controlling for traditional atherosclerotic risk factors, SOC was inversely associated with hsCRP levels only in men. Among the atherosclerotic risk factors, body mass index and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol had the strongest associations with hsCRP in both sexes. Mean arterial pressure and blood glucose were positively correlated with hsCRP in men, and serum triglyceride levels positively correlated with hsCRP in women.

CONCLUSION

The findings suggested that a higher SOC might be associated with lower serum CRP levels in men. Also, the association of traditional atherosclerotic risk factors with CRP was not equal in men and women.

Validity of Antonovsky's sense of coherence scale: a systematic review

STUDY OBJECTIVE

The aim of this paper is to systematically review and analyse the validity and reliability of Antonovsky's life orientation questionnaire/sense of coherence scale (SOC).

DESIGN

The study is descriptive and analytical with a systematic integration of the contemporary knowledge base on the salutogenic research published 1992-2003. The review includes 458 scientific publications and 13 doctoral theses.

SETTING

Worldwide, based on postgraduate scientific publications in eight authorized databases, doctoral theses, and available books.

MAIN RESULTS

The SOC questionnaire has been used in at least 33 languages in 32 countries with at least 15 different versions of the questionnaire. In 124 studies using SOC-29 the Cronbach's alpha ranges from 0.70 to 0.95. The alpha values in 127 studies using SOC-13 range from 0.70 to 0.92, and in 60 studies using a modified SOC scale range from 0.35 to 0.91. Test-retest correlation show stability and range from 0.69 to 0.78 (1 year), 0.64 (3 years), 0.42 to 0.45 (4 years), 0.59 to 0.67 (5 years) to 0.54 (10 years). The means of SOC-29 range 100.50 (SD 28.50) to 164.50 (SD 17.10) points and SOC-13 from 35.39 (SD 0.10) to 77.60 (SD 13.80) points. After 10 years SOC seems to be comparatively stable, but not as stable as Antonovsky initially assumed. SOC tends to increase with age. The factorial structure of SOC seems rather to be multidimensional than unidimensional. SOC predicts a positive outcome in a long term perspective, although there are divergent findings reported. The SOC scale seems to be a reliable, valid, and cross culturally applicable instrument measuring how people manage stressful situations and stay well.