Building Psychological Resilience to Improve the Mental Health of Construction Professionals

Due to the nature of modern construction projects, such as demanding work requirements, heavy workload, and harsh working conditions, professionals in the architecture, engineering, and construction industry are prone to suffering from poor mental health. Research has indicated that psychological resilience can effectively protect an individual’s mental well-being. However, little research has examined how psychological resilience can improve the mental health of construction professionals. The psychological resilience level of construction professionals also remains unknown, preventing targeted measures to be developed to enhance their resilience. This research therefore aims to assess the psychological resilience levels of construction professionals, evaluate their mental health outcomes, and establish the association between psychological resilience and mental health outcomes. Using a questionnaire survey, data were collected from 253 construction professionals in China, which were quantitatively analyzed using mean score comparative analysis and multiple linear regression analysis. The results reveal that Chinese construction professionals have a low level of psychological resilience. Their personal acumen and self-control are at a reasonable level, but their tolerance and spirituality levels are low. Furthermore, they have a concerning prevalence of moderate to extremely severe depression (45.06%) and anxiety (44.67%). Among all the five constructs of psychological resilience, building adaptability is the most effective way to reduce the levels of depression, anxiety and stress. On the contrary, reduced tolerance level strongly alleviates depression and anxiety. This research is unique to reveal the comprehensive relationships between psychological resilience and mental health outcomes in construction. The findings highlight that improving adaptability and personal acumen is more effective to maintain the mental well-being of construction professionals, which provides important guidance for construction organizations to build psychological resilience so as to improve the mental health of their employees.