Psychological symptom profile of butchers working in slaughterhouse and retail meat packing business: A comparative study

In this study we aimed to test the hypothesis that butchers have more psychological problems than any other occupation. For this purpose, we applied SCL-90-R (Symptom Check List-90 Revised) to 43 butchers working in a slaughterhouse and 39 butchers working in meat processing or packing in supermarkets, and as a control group 82 office workers. In the research, a statistical significance between butchers and the control group in that the Global Severity Index (GSI) scores (P<0.001) was found. In terms of the GSI scores, there was no significant relationship between the slaughter house workers and the supermarket workers at P<0.05. However, there were significant relationships among the somatization, anxiety, anger-hostility, and psychotism (P<0.01). As a result, when comparing the two groups, butchers, especially those who work in slaughterhouses, have higher levels of psychological disorders than the office workers.