Deepthi Shanbhag , Bobby Joseph
Introduction: Work plays a vital role in the lives of most people. It is not only the means of earning a living and of maintaining self esteem but also a source of constant strain and stress. It is essential to recognize how factors affect women’s mental health in the garment industry since there has been no study done so far regarding the mental health status or any other associated factors, in this sector.
Objective: The objective of this study was to assess the mental health status of the female garment workers and the associated factors.
Methodology: It was a descriptive study conducted in three units of a private garment factory with a sample size of 350 who were randomly selected. General Health Questionnaire-28and the Subjective Well-Being Questionnaire was used to assess the mental health.
Results: The study showed that 45.1% of the study population had General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) Likert scoring >=5, which is considered significant. General health questionnaire revealed that the prevalence of somatic illness is 11%, persons with symptoms of anxiety are 7.6%, social dysfunction is 7.1% and symptoms of depression are 6.8%. Trend analysis showed that there is no significant association between age, education, marital status, years of experience and number of hours of overtime.
Conclusions: The overall GHQ positive (probable cases) workers were found to be as high as 39%. GHQ was not associated significantly with demographic factors like age, education, marital status, and occupational factors like years of experience, overtime done.
