Table 1

Baseline characteristics of intervention and control groups

Total (n=192)
Intervention group (n=109)Control group (n=83)p value
Patient characteristics
Gender, % male66590.28
Age, mean (SD)39 (8.0)42 (8.8)0.02
Married state0.56
    % married6267
    % unmarried2722
    % divorced1111
Highest level of education0.27
    % elementary717
    % secondary7066
    % higher124
    % other1113
Work related characteristics
Years of service at Royal PTT Nederland, % >10 years62760.15
In present job, % >5 years41510.35
% managerial position18120.28
Hours of appointment, mean (SD)36 (9.34)32 (11.8)0.01
Quality of work life (DWHQ), mean (SD)1.42 (0.19)1.38 (0.21)0.24
Coping/control
Active problem solving (UCL), mean (SD)2.41 (0.46)2.31 (0.53)0.18
Total coping (UCL), mean (SD)2.13 (0.25)2.11 (0.26)0.71
Absenteeism
No. of spells in previous year, mean (SD)2.2 (1.9)2.3 (1.6)0.66