Abstract
Aims
The aim of this study was to analyse the link between psychosocial factors in the neighbourhood and work environments, and psychosomatic health problems.
Methods
The data were collected in the survey “Life and Health”, which was conducted in 2000 in six Swedish county councils. A total of 71,580 questionnaires were distributed to randomly selected individuals aged 18–79. A total of 46,636 respondents completed the questionnaire. This gives a response rate of around 65%. For the purpose of this study only gainfully employed individuals aged 18–64 are included, which gives a total of 22,164 individuals: 11,247 (50.7%) women and 10,917 (49.3%) men. Two scales were used to measure the psychosocial environments in the neighbourhood and at work. The link between these scales and psychosomatic health problems was analysed by using multinomial logistic regression.
Results
The results show that both “Psychosocial Neighbourhood Environment” (PNE) and “Psychosocial Working Environment” (PWE), independently, are related to psychosomatic health problems. Hence, the health effects of social relations in the neighbourhood were not modified by the quality of social relations at work, or vice versa. The levels of psychosomatic health problems are highest for people experiencing a low degree of social solidarity in the neighbourhood and for those experiencing low degrees of supportive work relationships.
Conclusion
The strong, but independent, effects of social factors related to the neighbourhood and to the workplace on psychosomatic health problems point to the importance of simultaneously considering social relations in different arenas in order to increase the knowledge of the connection between social relations and health.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Andrich D (1988) Rasch models for measurement. Sage Publications, Newbury Park
Andrich D, Sheridan B, Luo G (2004) Interpreting RUMM2020 (Part I, Dichotomous Data): Rasch Unidimensional Models for Measurement. RUMM Laboratory Pty Ltd, Perth, Western Australia
Berkman LF, Glass T (2000) Social integration, social networks, social support, and health. In: Berkman LF, Kawachi I (eds) Social epidemiology. Oxford University Press, New York
Berkman LF, Syme LS (1979) Social networks, host resistance, and mortality: a nine-year follow-up study of Alameda county residents. Am J Epidemiol 109:186–203
Cobb S (1976) Social support as a moderator of life stress. Psychosom Med 38:300–314
Cohen S, Wills TA (1985) Stress, social support, and the buffering hypothesis. Psychol Bull 98:310–357
Dickerson SS, Gruenewald TJ, Kemeny MF (2004) When the social self is threatened: shame, physiology and health. J Person 72:1191–1216
Ellaway A, Macintyre S, Kearns A (2001) Perceptions of place and health in socially contrasting neighbourhoods. Urban Stud 38:2299–2316
Fuhrer R, Stansfeld SA, Chemali J, Shipley MJ (1999) Gender, social relations and mental health: prospective findings from an occupational cohort (Whitehall II study). Soc Sci Med 48:77–87
Gallo LC, Matthews KA (2003) Understanding the association between socioeconomic status and physical health: do negative emotions play a role? Psychol Bull 129:10–51
Hagquist C (2001) Evaluating composite health measures using Rasch modelling: an illustrative example. Soz.-Präventivmed.:369–378
Halpern D (2005) Social Capital Polity Press, Cambridge
Hanson BS (1988) Social network, social support and health in elderly men - a population study. Dissertation, Lund University
Hanson BS, Östergren P-O (1987) Different social network and social support characteristics, nervous problems and insomnia: theoretical and methodological aspects on some results from the population study ‘menborn in 1914’ Malmö, Sweden. Soc Sci Med 25:849–859
Johnson JV, Stewart W, Hall EM, Fredlund P, Theorell T (1996) Long-term psychosocial work environment and cardiovascular mortality among Swedish men. Am J Public Health 86:324–331
Karasek RA, Theorell T (1990) Healthy work: stress, productivity, and the reconstruction of working life. NY Basic Books, New York
Kawachi I, Berkman LF (2000) Social cohesion, social capital, and health. In: Berkman LF, Kawachi I (eds) Social epidemiology. Oxford University Press, New York
Kawachi I, Berkman LF (2001) Social ties and mental health. J Urban Health 78:458–467
Kawachi I, Subramanian SV, Kim D (2008) Social capital and health: a decade of progress and beyond. In: Kawachi I, Subramanian SV, Kim D (ed) Social Capital and Health Springer, New York
Kubzansky LD, Kawachi I (2000) Going to the heart of the matter: do negative emotions cause coronary heart disease. J Psychosom Res 48:323–337
Lazarus RS (1999) Stress and emotion. A new synthesis. Free Association Books, London
Lindström M (2000) Social participation, social capital and socioeconomic differences in health-related behaviours. Dissertation, Lund University
McCulloch A (2001) Social environments and health: cross sectional national survey. BMJ 2001:208–209
Melchior M, Berkman LF, Niedhammer I, Chea M, Goldberg M (2003) Social relations and self-reported health: a prospective analysis of the French Gazel cohort. Soc Sci Med 56:1817–1830
Orth-Gomér K (1979) Studies on ischemic heart disease - psychosocial risk indicators and ventricular arrhythmias. Dissertation, Karolinska Institutet
Paterniti S, Niedhammer I, Lang T, Consoli M (2002) Psychosocial factors at work, personality traits and depressive symptoms. Br J Psychiatry 2002:111–117
Rasch, G (1960/1980) Probabilistic models fore some intelligence and attainment tests (Copenhagen, Danish Institute for Educational Research). Expanded edition (1980) with foreword and afterword by Benjamin D. Wright. The University of Chicago Press, Chicago
Scheff TJ (1990) Microsociology: Discourse, Emotion and Social Structure University of Chicago Press, Chicago
Scheff TJ (1992) Emotion and Illness: anger, bypassed shame and heart disease. Perspect Soc Probl 3:117–134
Scheff TJ (2001) Shame and community: social components in depression. Psychiatry 64:212–224
Siegrist J (1996) Adverse health effects of high-effort/low-reward conditions. J Occup Health Psychol 1:27–41
Sooman A, Macintyre S (1995) Health and perceptions of the local environment in socially contrasting neighbourhoods in Glasgow. Health Place 1:15–26
Stansfeld SA (1999) Social support and social cohesion. Oxford University Press, New York
Thoits PA (1995) Stress, coping, and social support processes: where are we? what next? J Health Soc Behav 35:53–79
Turner JR, Turner BJ (2006) Social integration and support. Springer, New York
Undén A-L (1991) Social support and health: methodology, relationship to work environment and to ischaemic heart disease. Dissertation, Karolinska Institutet
Wilkinson RG (2002) Putting the picture together: prosperity, redistribution, health, and welfare. Oxford University Press, New York
Östberg V, Alfven G, Hjern A (2006) Living conditions and psychosomatic complaints in Swedish schoolchildren. Acta Paediatr 95:929–934
Östergren, P-O (1991) Psychosocial resources and health - With special reference to social network, social support and cardiovascular disease. Dissertation, Lund University
Conflict of interest statement
The authors confirm that there are no relevant associations that might pose a conflict of interest.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Bergh, D., Starrin, B. & Hagquist, C. Solidarity in the neighbourhood, social support at work and psychosomatic health problems. J Public Health 17, 265–271 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10389-009-0248-7
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10389-009-0248-7