Work stress and depression: the direct and moderating effects of informal social support and coping

This article investigated the relationship between job stressors and employee mental health (depression). It also examined the direct and moderating effects of informal social support (objective and subjective) and coping (active coping, overeating and drinking, passivity, and distancing) on the rel...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Stress and health 2009-12, Vol.25 (5), p.431-443
Main Authors: Chen, Wei-Qing, Siu, Oi-Ling, Lu, Jia-Fang, Cooper, Cary L., Phillips, David R.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult and adolescent clinical studies
Biological and medical sciences
Chinese
coping strategies
Depression
Effects
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
informal social support
Medical sciences
Mental depression
Mood disorders
Occupational psychology
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychophysiology
Psychopathology. Psychiatry
Regression analysis
Social support
Stress
Work condition. Job performance. Stress
work stress
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Summary:This article investigated the relationship between job stressors and employee mental health (depression). It also examined the direct and moderating effects of informal social support (objective and subjective) and coping (active coping, overeating and drinking, passivity, and distancing) on the relationships. Survey data were collected from 843 employees in eight types of domestic‐ and foreign‐invested enterprises in China. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that increased exposure to job stressors was directly associated with higher levels of depression. Subjective informal social support and passivity were found to have direct effect on employees' depression. Further, objective informal social support and distancing buffered the negative effect of job stressors on depression. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed in the paper. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
ISSN:1532-3005
1532-2998
DOI:10.1002/smi.1263