A Study of the Mental Health and Psychological Hardiness of the Staff at the Pars Special Economic Energy Zone in Iran: A Cross-Sectional Study

Background: Psychological hardiness is a protective personality characteristic against life stresses that plays a major role in improving one’s ability to cope with environmental pressures. Objectives: Thus, the present study aimed to evaluate the mental health status, psychological hardiness, and the correlation between the two in workers of the Pars special economic energy zone in 2010 with a special emphasis on demographic factors, such as age, sex, marital status, job status, field of action, and job experience. Materials and Methods: This was an analytical cross-sectional study conducted amongst 743 workers of the Pars special economic energy zone. Stratified sampling was carried out. Data were collected using a general health questionnaire, a psychological hardiness scale, and a demographic characteristics questionnaire. Frequency distribution, means and standard deviations (SD) were calculated; Spearman’s ρ test, Kruskal-Wallis, and Mann-Whitney U-test for evaluating the correlation between the variables were also used. The cut-off value for statistical significance was set at 0.05 or lower. Results: Findings showed that the mental health score had significant but reverse correlation with psychological hardiness (P = 0.002, r = -0.50). In 44% of the workers, the general health questionnaire score was higher than the cut-off point; the psychological hardiness score in this group of workers was also significantly lower than those with a mental health score below the cut-off point. This study also demonstrated that female gender, a younger age, being single or widowed, being a non-rotational shift worker, and working in the operational units were associated with poorer mental health and a lower psychological hardiness score. Conclusions: Findings of this study showed the importance of psychological hardiness in maintaining mental health. Special attention should be paid to maintaining and improving the mental health of workers in the Pars special economic energy zone. One of the main principles involved in the sustainable and integrated development of a company is healthy human resources in all aspects, including physical, mental, and social health. Therefore, the current situation necessitates designing evidence-based interventions focusing on vulnerable subgroups.