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. 2022 Nov 7:13:1020947.
doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2022.1020947. eCollection 2022.

Job stress and depression among Malaysian anti-drug professionals: The moderating role of job-related coping strategies

Noradilah Md Nordin  1 , Naqi Dahamat Azam  2 , Mohd Roslan Rosnon  3 , Mansor Abu Talib  4
Affiliations

Job stress and depression among Malaysian anti-drug professionals: The moderating role of job-related coping strategies

Noradilah Md Nordin et al. Front Psychiatry. .

Abstract

Depression can cause negative consequences to workers' health and social functioning, such as poor work productivity, mental disorders, and suicide. Existing studies have argued that job stress is closely related to depression in many professions. Yet, information on how coping strategies play a significant role in the relationships among Malaysian anti-drug professionals is still scarce. Thus, the aim of this study was to examine to what extent coping strategies moderate the relationship between job stress and depression among Malaysian anti-drug professionals. A total of 3,356 National Antidrug Agency (NADA) officers aged between 21 and 59 years completed online self-report measures of depression, job stress, and job-related control coping and avoidant coping behaviors. The results showed that job stress was strongly correlated with depression, and both coping strategies were found to significantly moderate the correlations. The correlations between stress and depression were stronger among participants who had higher levels of avoidant coping or those who had lower levels of control coping. To conclude, this study highlights the importance of considering job stress and coping behaviors to understand anti-drug professionals' mental health during this challenging COVID-19 pandemic.

Keywords: Malaysia; avoidant coping; control coping; depression; mental health problem.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The moderating effect of control coping on the relationships between job stress and depression.
Figure 2
Figure 2
The moderating effect of avoidant coping on the relationships between job stress and depression.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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