Changes in Psychological Distress in Five Groups of Welfare State Service Workers over a Nine-Year Period
Health and social care workers are exposed to varying degrees of stress in their work, which may be reflected in their trajectories of psychological distress during the education program and the first years in the job. The aim of this study was to add to the knowledge concerned with the long-term de...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-03-01
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| Series: | Healthcare |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9032/10/4/592 |
| _version_ | 1797434630755844096 |
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| author | Amy K. Østertun Geirdal Per Nerdrum Per Andreas Høglend Tore Bonsaksen |
| author_facet | Amy K. Østertun Geirdal Per Nerdrum Per Andreas Høglend Tore Bonsaksen |
| author_sort | Amy K. Østertun Geirdal |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Health and social care workers are exposed to varying degrees of stress in their work, which may be reflected in their trajectories of psychological distress during the education program and the first years in the job. The aim of this study was to add to the knowledge concerned with the long-term development of psychological distress in five groups of welfare state service workers in Norway. The study included 1612 individuals. Psychological distress was measured with General Health Questionnaire-12 at four occasions from the start of the education program to 6 years post-graduation (nine year follow-up period). Results of linear mixed models (LMM) for repeated measures showed that psychological distress changed significantly over time in the social work professional groups. At the start of the education program, the lowest and highest levels of psychological distress were found among the child welfare and social workers, respectively. Six years post-graduation, social workers had become less distressed and child welfare workers had become more distressed. No significant change pattern for psychological distress was found among any of the health care professional groups. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T10:34:49Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-1e3ec04cd5734473bc0bb404e1770006 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2227-9032 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T10:34:49Z |
| publishDate | 2022-03-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Healthcare |
| spelling | doaj.art-1e3ec04cd5734473bc0bb404e17700062023-12-01T20:58:16ZengMDPI AGHealthcare2227-90322022-03-0110459210.3390/healthcare10040592Changes in Psychological Distress in Five Groups of Welfare State Service Workers over a Nine-Year PeriodAmy K. Østertun Geirdal0Per Nerdrum1Per Andreas Høglend2Tore Bonsaksen3Department of Social Work, Child Welfare and Social Policy, Faculty of Social Sciences, OsloMet—OsloMetropolitan University, 0170 Oslo, NorwaySenior Centre, OsloMet—Oslo Metropolitan University, 0170 Oslo, NorwayInstitute of Psychiatry, University of Oslo, 0370 Oslo, NorwayDepartment of Health and Nursing Science, Faculty of Social and Health Sciences, Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences, 2418 Elverum, NorwayHealth and social care workers are exposed to varying degrees of stress in their work, which may be reflected in their trajectories of psychological distress during the education program and the first years in the job. The aim of this study was to add to the knowledge concerned with the long-term development of psychological distress in five groups of welfare state service workers in Norway. The study included 1612 individuals. Psychological distress was measured with General Health Questionnaire-12 at four occasions from the start of the education program to 6 years post-graduation (nine year follow-up period). Results of linear mixed models (LMM) for repeated measures showed that psychological distress changed significantly over time in the social work professional groups. At the start of the education program, the lowest and highest levels of psychological distress were found among the child welfare and social workers, respectively. Six years post-graduation, social workers had become less distressed and child welfare workers had become more distressed. No significant change pattern for psychological distress was found among any of the health care professional groups.https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9032/10/4/592general health questionnairelongitudinal studypsychological distressmental healthhealth- and social work professions welfare stateservice workers |
| spellingShingle | Amy K. Østertun Geirdal Per Nerdrum Per Andreas Høglend Tore Bonsaksen Changes in Psychological Distress in Five Groups of Welfare State Service Workers over a Nine-Year Period Healthcare general health questionnaire longitudinal study psychological distress mental health health- and social work professions welfare state service workers |
| title | Changes in Psychological Distress in Five Groups of Welfare State Service Workers over a Nine-Year Period |
| title_full | Changes in Psychological Distress in Five Groups of Welfare State Service Workers over a Nine-Year Period |
| title_fullStr | Changes in Psychological Distress in Five Groups of Welfare State Service Workers over a Nine-Year Period |
| title_full_unstemmed | Changes in Psychological Distress in Five Groups of Welfare State Service Workers over a Nine-Year Period |
| title_short | Changes in Psychological Distress in Five Groups of Welfare State Service Workers over a Nine-Year Period |
| title_sort | changes in psychological distress in five groups of welfare state service workers over a nine year period |
| topic | general health questionnaire longitudinal study psychological distress mental health health- and social work professions welfare state service workers |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9032/10/4/592 |
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