Chronic job insecurity
Associations between chronic job insecurity and poor self
rated health and a greatly increased risk of minor psychiatric
morbidity reflect evidence of chronicity from previous
studies.2 3 Persistence of a chronic stressor may also maintain
pre-existing chronic psychological distress and impede
recovery.24
Previous work among Whitehall II participants has demonstrated
a strong association between chronic attributed job
insecurity and increased BMI in both sexes, but associations
with minor psychiatric morbidity were few.25 In the present
analyses, however, chronic perceived job insecurity in women
was associated with a lower BMI, but high GHQ 30 and
depression scores. These findings may represent short-term
physiological responses to chronic psychological distress typified
by anxiety and reduced dietary intake. Any effects of
chronic job insecurity in raising levels of morbidity and risk
factors and increasing mortality risk may have a much longer
time course than that observed in this study.
In general, findings among women were very similar to
those for men, although the smaller number of women tended