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Mediating and Moderating Effects of Psychological Detachment on the Association Between Stressors and Depression

A Longitudinal Study of Japanese Workers

Kiuchi, Keita PhD; Sasaki, Takeshi PhD; Takahashi, Masaya PhD; Kubo, Tomohide PhD; Yoshikawa, Toru PhD; Matsuo, Tomoaki PhD; Liu, Xinxin PhD

Author Information

From the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health Japan, Organization of Occupational Health and Safety, Kawasaki, Japan.

Ethical considerations and disclosures: All participants provided Web-based informed consent. The research ethics committee of the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, Japan (H2741 and H3027), approved this study.

Funding sources: This work was supported by the Industrial Disease Clinical Research Grants from the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (150903-01 and 180902-01).

Conflict of interest: None declared.

Address correspondence to: Keita Kiuchi, PhD, Tama-ku Nagao 6-21-1, Kawasaki, Kanagawa, Japan 214-8585 ([email protected]).

Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine 65(3):p e161-e169, March 2023. | DOI: 10.1097/JOM.0000000000002780

Objectives

This study examines the mediating and moderating effects of psychological detachment (PD) based on the stressor-detachment model in the long term.

Methods

Two waves of Web-based surveys, 28 months apart, yielded 3556 responses from Japanese workers. Comparisons between models that included mediating and moderating effects of PD and reverse direction mediating effects (strain → PD → stressor) were made by structural equation modeling. Differences in depression as a strain between combinations of high and low stressors and PD were also examined.

Results

The best-fitting model was the moderation/reciprocal partial-mediation model. The effect of PD was significant in the group with stable or decreasing stressor.

Conclusion

According to the worker's level of stressors, PD, and depression, targeted interventions may effectively prevent physical and mental health problems caused by chronic stress.