Associations Between IT Job Stressors and Anxiety, Depression, and Stress: Cross-Sectional Study

The IT sector is growing and encompasses all professions, from leisure and recreation to hospitals and emergency response groups. IT professionals are experiencing increased threats (eg, ransomware attacks), but little is known about the relationship between these IT profession-specific stressors and the professionals' mental health.

This study aimed to (1) estimate the associations between IT profession-specific stressors and anxiety, depression, and stress, and (2) examine the role of mental health literacy (MHL) as a mediator of the relationship between depression, anxiety, stress, and help-seeking.

Between February and May 2023, IT professionals working in the United States were surveyed online. Participants (n=357) reported demographic characteristics, MHL, mental health symptoms, and help-seeking intentions with the following scales: Mental Health Literacy in the Workplace (MHL-W), Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression-10 (CESD-10), Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7), Perceived Stress Scale-10 (PSS-10), and the Mental Help Seeking Intention Scale (MHSIS). Descriptive statistics, regression models, and mediation analyses were conducted for CESD-10, GAD-7, and PSS-10.

Respondents who had experienced ransomware attacks in the past year reported significantly higher symptoms of depression (odds ratio [OR] 1.85, 95% CI 1.07-3.22; P=.03). Past-year exposure to balancing security and usability was associated with lower odds of reported anxiety (OR 0.48, 95% CI 0.28-0.82; P=.008). Having made critical technology decisions with limited information in the past year was associated with higher perceived stress by 2.02 points on the PSS-10 scale (SE 0.84, 95% CI 0.37-3.66; P=.02), and working with limited resources in the past year increased perceived stress by 1.70 points (SE 0.84, 95% CI 0.04-3.35; P=.04) after adjusting for the covariates. MHL was found to partially mediate the relationship between depression and help-seeking, but not between anxiety or stress and help-seeking.

These findings provide insight into the workplace stressors that pose a greater psychological health risk for IT professionals. These results emphasize the important role of MHL in helping facilitate the connection between depressive symptoms and help-seeking.