An investigation of apparent mass psychogenic illness in an electronics plant.

Details

• Personal Author:
  Anania, Thomas L. ; Colligan, Michael J. ; Hornung, Richard W. ; Rosensteel, Robert E. ; Urtes MA ; Wisseman C
• Description:
  An apparent case of mass psychogenic illness in an electronics assembly facility (SIC-3679) was investigated. Of the 400 female and 100 male employees, 65 percent were dayshift workers and the remainder were on the night shift. On three separate occasions within 1 week, a total of 93 cases involving symptoms of headache, nausea, dizziness, weakness and lightheadedness were reported by 50 female dayshift workers. Initial results of environmental testing and medical examinations did not identify any toxic agent capable of producing the observed symptoms. A questionnaire designed to measure various aspects of job and life stress was distributed to 150 affected and nonaffected female dayshift workers. Additional environmental sampling and medical evaluations were conducted. Affected workers were experiencing considerable job stress and concomitant strain compared to nonaffected workers, and also reported more discomfort from both physical and social psychological stressor. Affected workers scored higher on the hysteria and depression scale tests and lower on the extraversion scale of the personality inventory tests compared to the nonaffected workers. Fifteen days of environmental sampling indicated that localized concentrations of contaminants varied on successive days, but never exceeded recommended limits. Medical evaluations produced little useful information. The authors conclude that personality characteristics of the affected workers were a factor in predisposing them to the spread of illness throughout the work area. Affected workers were also more inclined to somatize psychological distress. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Air Pollutants, Occupational Air Pollution, Indoor Manufacturing And Industrial Facilities Mental Health Occupational Health Safety Shift Work Schedule Stress, Psychological Surveys And Questionnaires Workplace
• Keywords:
  Air-contamination Author Keywords: Electronics Assembly Plant Clinical-symptoms Health-surveys Industrial-factory-workers Investigation Mental-processes NIOSH-Author Physical-stress Psychogenic Illness Psychological-stress Psychological-testing Shift-workers Workplace-studies

  More +
• ISSN:
  0160-7715
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Ohio ; OSHA Region 5
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DBBS - Division of Biomedical and Behavioral Sciences ; DSHEFS - Division of Surveillance, Hazard Evaluations, and Field Studies
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  297-309
• Volume:
  2
• Issue:
  3
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00117504
• Citation:
  J Behav Med 1979 Sep; 2(3):297-309
• Contact Point Address:
  Michael J. Colligan, U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare, Public Health Service, Center for Disease Control, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Cincinnati, Ohio 45226
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1979
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  3679 - Electronic components, not elsewhere classified - (SIC)
• Source Full Name:
  Journal of Behavioral Medicine
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:278989f8fd0492cb2fde1e87d8c9b4803ecea532247753ec8f5a7ae82e5e8acdacff249cd1742e9e7c38e521ccc179cb757d771591830578926cec187d3f3e57
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/184468/cdc_184468_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 804.44 KB ]