The Relationship Between Job Stress, Job Satisfaction, and the Symptom Checklist-90-Revision (SCL-90-R) in Marine Officers on Board

OBJECTIVES This study was conducted to investigate the relationships among job stress, job satisfaction, and mental health in marine officers. METHODS The researchers gathered data on marine officers working at a harbor in Chungcheong Province, South Korea, using a self-reported questionnaire. Mental health was measured by the Symptom Checklist-90-Revision (SCL-90-R), and general characteristics including socioeconomic factors, job stress, and job satisfaction were measured by structured questionnaires. Multiple regression analysis was performed to investigate the relationships among job stress, job satisfaction, and mental health status according to the symptom dimensions of the SCL-90-R. RESULTS Among the marine officers, obsessive-compulsive behavior, depression, and somatization were the most problematic symptoms. Those who reported poor health, low job satisfaction, and high job stress had a higher prevalence of psychoticism, somatization, depression, anxiety, and phobic anxiety. CONCLUSIONS An occupational health system should be introduced that would regularly check the mental health of marine officers in charge of ships and sailors, in order to help reduce their stress levels, enhance their job satisfaction, and thereby improve their mental health.