Psychosocial predictors of stress and mental health among seafarers based on COPSOQ II

Seafaring is widely recognized as an occupation characterized by high psychosocial demands. Research indicates that chronic workload, separation from family, functioning within multicultural work environments, and hierarchical organizational structures may contribute to increased psychological strain, reduced well-being, and safety-related behaviors. At the same time, previous studies have most often focused on individual stressors or selected mental health indicators, providing limited evidence regarding the broader psychosocial determinants of seafarers' well-being. Despite growing interest in maritime psychology, important gaps remain in understanding which psychosocial characteristics of the shipboard work environment constitute modifiable organizational factors associated with seafarers' mental health and well-being. The present exploratory study addressed this gap by examining psychosocial job demands, organizational resources, and mental health indicators among Polish seafarers within the Job Demands–Resources (JD-R) framework. Particular attention was given to workplace resources, such as leadership quality, social support, trust, role clarity, and organizational climate, which may represent important targets for interventions aimed at improving mental health and enhancing maritime safety. A cross-sectional study was conducted using the Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire (COPSOQ II) and involved 166 Polish seafarers. The results demonstrated that organizational resources were associated with lower levels of stress and burnout, as well as higher job satisfaction, greater work engagement, and a stronger sense of meaning at work. In contrast, higher psychosocial job demands were associated with greater psychological strain. This study contributes to the advancement of maritime psychology by highlighting the crucial role of organizational resources as potentially modifiable factors associated with seafarers' mental health, well-being, and safety. Given the safety-critical nature of maritime operations, understanding these relationships is essential for developing effective preventive strategies and integrating psychosocial risk management into organizational safety systems. The findings should be interpreted with caution due to the cross-sectional design of the study and the use of a non-probability sample of Polish seafarers.