Reexamining the Relationship Between Shift Work and Health Behavior: Do Fluid Intelligence, Socio-economic Status, and Self-control Moderate the Relation?

Abstract

In contemporary research, the link between shift work and health has received empirical support. Contrary to the well-established association between shift work and adverse health outcomes, literature on the link between shift work and various negative health-related behavior patterns is limited to a rather small number of studies revealing inconsistent results. This is problematic since it is assumed that shift work affects health outcomes via the effect of health behavior. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate the relationship between shift work and select indicators of health behavior (namely, smoking, alcohol consumption, and preventive health care) as well as subjective health in a large representative German sample. In the light of inconsistent previous findings in the field, we further examined potential moderators (namely, fluid intelligence, socio-economic status, and self-control). Results are based on data from 2,590 participants. We conducted multiple regression analyses as well as mean-differences analyses. Our results suggest that shift work had no direct mean effect on health-related behavior patterns. Moreover, fluid intelligence, socio-economic status, and self-control did not moderate any effects. In accordance with the findings regarding objective health indicators, shift and day workers did not differ in the subjective perception of their health. These findings inform future research and potential interventions that should aim at fostering a healthier lifestyle not only among shift workers.