THE PSYCHOSOCIAL WORK-ENVIRONMENT OF PHYSICIANS - THE IMPACT OF DEMANDS AND RESOURCES ON JOB DISSATISFACTION AND PSYCHIATRIC DISTRESS IN A LONGITUDINAL-STUDY OF JOHNS-HOPKINS MEDICAL-SCHOOL GRADUATES

This study examines the relationship between the psychosocial work env ironment and cross-sectional job dissatisfaction and prospective psych iatric distress in a cohort of Hopkins Medical School graduates in mid career. An instrument was constructed consisting of five scales. psych ological job demands, patient demands, work control, physician resourc es, and coworker support. The results of scale reliability and factor analysis are presented. Higher job demands were found to be associated with increases in job dissatisfaction and psychiatric distress and gr -eater resources were associated with decreased levels of dissatisfact ion and distress. In multiple-regression analysis, only work control a nd social support were found to be independently associated with dissa tisfaction and distress. These results suggest that the presence of co ntrol and social support at work protects physicians from developing j ob dissatisfaction and psychiatric distress.