[The work situation and mental health. The results of a cross-sectional study]

The aim of the study is to assess the relationship between employment situation and mental health in the city of Valencia. Between May and July of 1992, a cross sectional study by means of personal interviews was carried out. The total sample was 411 people of these 101 were selected through a random sampling of the working population, the rest (310) consisted of people registered with INEM selected through a predetermined sampling according to age and sex. The variable dependent (psychological morbidity) was measured through the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) consisting of 28 items. The results obtained show that 36.4% of the unemployed sample displayed psychological morbidity as opposed to 23.3% of those is employment (p = 0.01). The prevalence Odds Ratio (OR) was calculated by means of a logistic regression model. Those in causal employment had a OR of 8.62 (95% CI = 2.66-27.9) as opposed to those in regular employment after adjusting for age, sex and professional status. Those that had been unemployed for more than a year had a OR of 16.02 (95% CI = 4.60-55.75) as opposed to those employment after adjusting for the same variables. These results seem to confirm a greater psychological morbidity among those with casual employment and the unemployed as opposed to those in regular employment although the transversal design of the study does not highlight any relation of casualty that might exist among the variables.