Psychosocial work environment and psychological well-being: assessment of the buffering effects in the job demand-control (-support) model in BELSTRESS

The Karasek job Demand-Control model has as its central tenet the so-called 'strain hypothesis', stating that the most adverse health outcomes are to be expected in 'high strain' jobs characterized by high job demands and low job control. Later, this model was elaborated, stating that 'isolated' high strain workers experiencing low worksite social support are even more worse off. This is labelled the 'iso-strain hypothesis'. However, in the literature, the question was raised whether a high level of job control may (1) mitigate or buffer the effects of high job demands on psychological well-being, or alternatively whether (2) a high level of social support may buffer the negative impact of high strain on psychological well-being. In this study among 16 335 male workers and 5084 female workers in Belgium, four indicators of psychological well-being are considered: feelings of depression, feelings of fatigue, sleep problems and use of psychoactive drugs. Both in men and in women, the general strain hypothesis and the iso-strain hypothesis alike are corroborated regarding the cross-sectional associations adjusted for age, level of education and living situation. This is most clear with respect to feelings of depression, less so with respect to the use of Psychotropic drugs. The buffer hypotheses however are definitely not supported by our data. Copyright (C) 2002 John Wiley Sons, Ltd.