The impact of sense of coherence and high-demand/low-control job environment on self-reported health, burnout and psychophysiological stress indicators

Sense of Coherence (SOC) is a new concept belonging to a salutogenic paradi gm, proposing to explain health as contrasted to disease, a pathogenic para digm. The Job Demand-Control (JDC) model of job stress suggests that the co mbination of high job demands and low job control, defined as job strain, i s strongly associated with adverse health consequences. The aim of this stu dy was to evaluate the relationship between SOC and the JDC model in assess ment of negative job effects within three pathogenically defined contexts: self-reported health, burnout and psychophysiological stress indicators, as sessing the explanatory value of SOC for such variables. The study was cond ucted with 103 employees of social-welfare and social-insurance agencies in Sweden. A questionnaire related to job conditions, health and burnout was administered, and blood samples were collected and analysed for serum conce ntrations of cortisol, prolactin and immunoglobulin G. Multiple regression models were calculated including variables from all three contexts. In the analyses, a distinction was made between emotional job strain and quantitat ive job strain. The SOC interacted with emotional job strain, but the inter action also increased the independent effect of emotional job strain. The i ndependent effect of SOC disappeared in most models when interaction was in cluded. It is concluded that studies of job strain-effects according to the JDC model should include the SOC as an interaction factor.