The mediating effect of personality traits between job stress and mental symptoms among firefighters / 中国职业医学

ABSTRACT

ObjectiveTo explore the mediating effect of personality traits between job stress and mental symptoms among firefighters. Methods A total of 974 firefighters in Shandong Province were selected as the research subjects using convenience sampling method. The Job Stress Scale, Brief Version of Chinese Big Five Personality Inventory and Symptom Checklist 90 were used to investigate their job stress, personality traits and mental symptoms. Results Job stress was found at a relatively high level in 39.7% of the firefighters, and 19.2% of the firefighters had high level of neurotic personality trait tendency. The positive detection rate of mental symptoms was 9.9% among firefighters. The score of job stress of the firefighters had a positive correlation with neuroticism and the score of mental symptoms (all P<0.01). The score of job stress and mental symptoms of the firefighters had a negative correlation with the personality traits score of extraversion, openness, agreeableness, and conscientiousness (all P<0.05). Neuroticism played a partially positive mediating effect between job stress and mental symptoms, and its mediating effect accounted for 39.6% of the total effect. Extraversion, agreeableness and conscientiousness played a partially negative mediating effect between work stress and mental symptoms, and the mediating effect accounted for 12.0%, 17.8% and 8.4% of the total effect respectively. There was no mediating effect of openness between job stress and mental symptoms. Conclusion Neurotic personality trait may enhance the negative effects of work stress on firefighters' mental health.