Stability of factor structure and correlation with perceived job stress in general health questionnaire: A three-wave survey over one year in Japanese workers

A cross-sectional study was conducted to examine psychological symptoms and job stress in Japanese workers. To assess the stability of the relationship between the parameters for perceived job stress and mental health, two additional surveys were carried out six months and one year later. The surveys included demographic questions, the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ), and questions relating to perceived job stress to measure the worker's mental health and job stress. Factor analyses were conducted to clarify the factor structure of mental health. As for the GHQ, the 6 dominant factors were interpreted. These factors involved "Anxiety and depression", "Severe depression", "Lack of interpersonal network or social support", "Poor social activity", "Insomnia", and "Lack of a positive attitude". This structure was stable in the 2 follow up surveys. A multiple regression analysis was used to examine the relationship between extracted factors of the GHQ and job stress. The analysis showed that the factor "Anxiety and depression" had a significantly stable relationship with "Too much responsibility at work" and "Cannot keep up with new technology".