Saf Health Work.  2018 Mar;9(1):101-108. 10.1016/j.shaw.2017.06.004.

Psychological Health Problems Among Adolescent Workers and Associated Factors in Istanbul, Turkey

Affiliations
  • 1Department of Nursing, Faculty of Health Sciences, Istanbul Bilgi University, BeyoÄŸlu, Istanbul, Turkey. ozlem.koseoglu62@gmail.com
  • 2Department of Community Health Nursing, Florence Nightingale School of Nursing, Istanbul University, ÅžiÅŸli, Istanbul, Turkey.

Abstract

BACKGROUND
Work and work environment have a critical influence on adolescent workers' health. They are subjected to more risks than adults. The aim of this study is to examine psychological health outcomes in adolescent workers in the areas of depression, somatization, anxiety, hostility, and negative self-concept, and to investigate any related factors.
METHODS
This is a descriptive and cross-sectional study. Research samples were collected from adolescent workers between 15 and 18 years old attending a 1-day mandatory education course at vocational training centers, working 5 days per week in small enterprises. Data were collected using the following instruments: Brief Symptom Inventory, Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, and Descriptive Characteristics of Children's Assessment Form.
RESULTS
The investigation covers 837 young workers, of whom 675 were males and 162 were females. The majority of the families had low incomes (68.1%). Overall, 33.5% of the adolescents had been hospitalized because of health problems. Their average weekly working hours were 78.1 ± 10.7. Almost 50% of adolescent workers scored above the mean average in the Brief Symptom Inventory, indicating serious pschological health symptoms.Those who scored high for hostility, depression, negative self-concept, anxiety, and somatization were between 45.4% and 48.9% of the sample. Logistic regression analysis was conducted to determine the underlying factors: a perception of "feeling very bad" health conditions was 2.07-fold whereas the rate of "no annual leave" was 0.73-fold, and both were found to be effective on psychological problems.
CONCLUSION
In this study, it seems likely that psychological health problems are the result of multiple adverse factors including working conditions, annual leave, and health considerations.

Keyword

adolescent workers; child Workers; occupational health; psychological problems; social support

MeSH Terms

Adolescent*
Adult
Anxiety
Cross-Sectional Studies
Depression
Education
Female
Hostility
Humans
Logistic Models
Male
Occupational Health
Turkey*
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