title: Organizational justice and mental health: a multi-level test of justice interactions.
abstract: We examine main and interaction effects of organizational justice at the individual and the organizational levels on general health in a Kenyan sample. We theoretically differentiate between two different interaction patterns of justice effects: buffering mechanisms based on trust versus intensifying explanations of justice interactions that involve psychological contract violations. Using a two-level hierarchical linear model with responses from 427 employees in 29 organizations, only interpersonal justice at level 1 demonstrated a significant main effect. Interactions between distributive and interpersonal justice at both the individual and the collective levels were found. The intensifying hypothesis was supported: the relationship between distributive justice and mental health problems was strongest when interpersonal justice was high. This contrasts with buffering patterns described in Western samples. We argue that justice interaction patterns shift depending on the economic conditions and sociocultural characteristics of employees studied.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Applied Cross-Cultural Research, Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand.
authors.forename: Ronald
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Fischer
authors.forename: Amina
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Abubakar
authors.forename: Josephine Nyaboke
authors.initials: JN
authors.lastname: Arasa
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D003466:Cultural Characteristics; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D007630:Kenya; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D008603:Mental Health; D008875:Middle Aged; D015279:Organizational Culture; D012935:Social Justice; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Africa; Buffering hypothesis; Intensifying hypothesis; Justice climate; Mental health; Organizational justice