[Factors related to the mental health of workers dispatched to foreign countries].
The purpose of this study was to elucidate factors related to mental health standards of workers dispatched to foreign countries. The subjects were 317 male employees of an electronics company aged between 30 and 49 yr who were first dispatched to North America, Southeast Asia, or Western Europe without movement between the actual locations. A questionnaire survey was conducted on these subjects. Items of investigation consisted of 12 General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) items (indices of mental health standards), 4 baseline characteristics (age, assignment period, areas, and types of work), and 37 other items such as sociocultural factors, medical-sanitary factors, work factors, daily lifestyle factors, social support factors, and environmental factors. Multiple regression analysis was performed on the GHQ scores as criterion variables and baseline characteristics and various factors as explanatory variables. As a result, the following factors were correlated with GHQ scores in workers dispatched to foreign countries: inconvenience caused by different manners and customs (beta = 0.256) among sociocultural factors: inability to understand doctor's instructions (beta = 0.129) among medical-sanitary factors: bad relationships with local superiors (beta = 0.229) and the frequency of paid vacation in a year (beta = -0.129) among work factors: taking exercise less than once in a week (beta = 0.141) and smoking habit (beta = 0.136) among daily lifestyle factors, and lack of communication with the family (beta = 0.177), lack of persons to consult with (beta = 0.138), being dispatched alone (beta = 0.119), and lack of cultural exchange with the local community (beta = 0.117) among social support factors. Since social support factors accounted for 4 of the 10 items related to GHQ scores, personal relationships may be important for mental health in workers dispatched to foreign countries.
Suzuki
Keiko
K
Graduate School of Nursing, Chiba University, 1-8-1, Inohana, Chuo-ku, Chiba, 260-8672 Japan.
Kitaike
Tadashi
T
Miyazaki
Yukiko
Y
Nojiri
Masami
M
D000328:Adult; D001210:Asia, Southeastern; D005060:Europe; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D007564:Japan / Q000208:ethnology; D008019:Life Style; D008297:Male; D008603:Mental Health; D009656:North America; D016272:Occupational Health; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012931:Social Environment; D012944:Social Support; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D017132:Workplace