Work-family conflict as a mediator between occupational stress and psychological health among mental health nurses in Japan.
BACKGROUND
Occupational stress among mental health nurses may affect their psychological health, resulting in reduced performance. To provide high-quality, sustainable nursing care, it is necessary to identify and control the factors associated with psychological health among mental health nurses. The purpose of this study was to examine the role of work-family conflict (WFC) in the well-known relationship between occupational stress and psychological health among mental health nurses in Japan.


METHODS
In this cross-sectional study, data were gathered from 180 mental health nurses who had a coresident child or were married. Data from the Work-Family Conflict Scale, the Generic Job Stress Questionnaire, the Maslach Burnout Inventory-General Survey, and the Center for Epidemiologic Studies for Depression Scale were obtained via self-report questionnaires. The effects of occupational stress and WFC on psychological health were explored by hierarchical linear regression analysis.


RESULTS
The relationship between emotional exhaustion and occupational factors, including quantitative workload and the variance in workload, disappeared with the addition of WFC (each work interference with family [WIF] or family interference with work [FIW]). The relationship between emotional exhaustion and mental demands disappeared only with the addition of WIF. The relationship between depressive symptoms and variance in workload disappeared with the addition of WFC (each WIF or FIW).


CONCLUSIONS
Our findings may encourage hospital administrators to consider the risks of medical staff WFC. Furthermore, longitudinal investigations into the factors associated with WFC are required for administrative and psychological interventions.
Department of Clinical Epidemiology, Translational Medical Center, National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry, Kodaira, Tokyo; Department of Neuropsychiatry, Hirosaki University School of Medicine, Hirosaki, Aomori.
Norio
N
Sugawara
Mizoguchi Mental Hospital, Shizuoka.
Kazuma
K
Danjo
Department of Psychiatry, Kuroishi-Akebono Hospital, Kuroishi.
Hanako
H
Furukori
Department of Neuropsychiatry, Hirosaki University School of Medicine, Hirosaki, Aomori; Department of Psychiatry, Mutsu General Hospital, Mutsu.
Yasushi
Y
Sato
Department of Neuropsychiatry, Hirosaki University School of Medicine, Hirosaki, Aomori; Department of Psychiatry, Hirosaki-Aiseikai Hospital, Kitazono, Hirosaki.
Tetsu
T
Tomita
Department of Psychiatry, Seihoku-Chuoh Hospital, Goshogawara, Aomori.
Akira
A
Fujii
Department of Neuropsychiatry, Hirosaki University School of Medicine, Hirosaki, Aomori; Department of Psychiatry, Odate Municipal General Hospital, Odate, Akita.
Taku
T
Nakagami
Mental Health Nursing, Institute of Medical, Pharmaceutical and Health Sciences, Kanazawa University, Kanazawa, Ishikawa, Japan.
Kazuyo
K
Kitaoka
Department of Neuropsychiatry, Hirosaki University School of Medicine, Hirosaki, Aomori.
Norio
N
Yasui-Furukori
burnout; depression; occupational stress; work–family conflict