Stress among package truck drivers

In 1992, a cross-sectional questionnaire study of package truck drivers in one company was conducted at four widely scattered sites throughout the US; 317 drivers participated, representing 82% of those eligible. The package truck drivers scored significantly above the US working population comparison norm on all summary and individual scales derived from the SCL 90-R, indicating a substantial increase in psychologic distress for this group. The Global Severity Index, the best single summary measure of psychological distress in the SCL 90-R, revealed a mean T score for the drivers of 64.20, 91st percentile of the normative population. The group perceived significantly more daily stressful events than the average working adult, and their sensitivity to these events was also increased. Role overload, a component of the Occupational Stress Inventory, was the most consistent factor associated with symptoms of psychological distress on multiple regression analysis. This study suggests that job stress is a psychological health hazard for these drivers.