Mental health of Turkish civil engineers in the construction industry

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Dundar_Can_Ustun_MSc-Thesis.pdf

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2022-6-21

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Üstün, Dündar Can

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The construction industry is notoriously dangerous regarding employees’ physical safety. Countermeasures have been developed in the past to prevent hazards. Although the construction industry is showing progress in workplace safety, an essential part of the health problem is often neglected; mental health. Few studies have been made in the past regarding the mental health of the workers. These studies are mostly done in developed countries. Turkey, as a developing country, is the subject location of this thesis. A questionnaire is developed to evaluate the mental health of Turkish civil engineers. A mental health assessment tool from the literature has been selected, Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS). The questionnaire consists of four main parts; the participant profile, sources of work stress, coping strategies, and the Turkish version of the DASS. The questionnaire was distributed to large Turkish construction firms via email, and 182 responses were received. The average DASS scores for depression, anxiety, and stress are computed at 13.99, 9.91, and 16.66, respectively. The top three answers to work stress questions are work overload, poor occupational climate, and long working hours. To cope with the stress, participants mostly employ mental disengagement, seeking social support from family and friends, and alcohol and drug disengagement. In conclusion, this study aims to be a starting point for mental health research in the Turkish construction industry.

Subject Keywords

Mental health, Depression, Anxiety, Turkish civil engineers, Work Stress

URI

https://hdl.handle.net/11511/98123

Collections

Graduate School of Natural and Applied Sciences, Thesis

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Citation Formats

D. C. Üstün, “Mental health of Turkish civil engineers in the construction industry,” M.S. - Master of Science, Middle East Technical University, 2022.