Job demands-control, job support, and depressive symptoms: Unraveling job support's moderating mechanism among social workers in China

Abstract

Work-induced stress poses significant mental health risks in high-stress professions, such as social workers. This study, grounded in the Job Demands-Control-Support model and Conservation of Resources theory, explores how job stressors affect social workers' depressive symptoms, focusing on job demands, job control, and their combinations, alongside the moderating role of job support. Analyzing data from the 2019 China Social Work Longitudinal Study through a city-level fixed-effects model, we find that job demands (role ambiguity and role conflict) and job control influence depressive symptoms both independently and interactively. Specifically, high job demands increase depressive symptoms, while greater job control reduces them. When looking at the combination of job demands and control, social workers facing low job demands with high job control report the lowest levels of depressive symptoms, followed by those with low demands and low job control. Moreover, coworker support emerges as crucial in reducing depression, especially for those grappling with high-role ambiguity and job control. Additionally, in high role conflict with low job control scenarios, support from leaders and supervisors is essential for lessening depressive symptoms. These findings highlight the essential role of job support in mitigating the impact of job stressors on social workers' mental health in China.