doi:10.1155/2012/469384 Research Article Effect of Affective Temperaments Assessed by the TEMPS-A on the Relationship between Work-Related Stressors and Depressive Symptoms among Workers in Their Twenties to Forties in Japan

Copyright © 2012 Maki Tei-Tominaga et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Relatively recently in Japan, immature-type depression, frequently classified in the bipolar II spectrum, has increased among workers in their twenties to forties. This study explored whether affective temperaments moderate the relationship between work-related stressors and depressive symptoms among this age group. In July 2004, self-administered questionnaires were distributed to all employees of a Japanese company. Eight hundred seventy-four employees (63%) returned the questionnaires, with 728 completed. Questionnaires included the 12-item General Health Questionnaire for assessing depressive symptoms, the Temperament Evaluation of Memphis, Pisa, Paris, and San Diego-Autoquestionnaire version for assessing affective temperaments, the Effort-Reward Imbalance Questionnaire to assess work-related stressors and overcommitment, and questions regarding individual attributes and employment characteristics. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that affective temperaments moderated the relationship between work-related stressors and depressive symptoms. Effort (OR = 1.078), which represents job demands and/or obligations imposed on employees, and the upper tertile of overcommitment (OR = 1.589), whic