The role of "stress" in workers' compensation stress claims.

Twenty-six cases of workers' compensation "stress" claims were examined to delineate the nature and causes of psychiatric illness in relation to psychological stress in the workplace. Correlations were made among demographic data, psychiatric diagnoses, categories of complaints, psychological themes, and role of litigation. Findings showed that most subjects sorted into two major groups. For the largest group (56%), symptoms were precipitated by interpersonal issues. Within this group, 86% of subjects believed that unfair treatment caused their symptoms, 79% fulfilled criteria for a personality disorder diagnosis, and 71% were more focused on issues related to their claim than on symptom relief. A smaller group (24%) encountered significant stress at work. This group had more severe psychiatric illness and fewer personality disorders.