When War Enters Work: Job Insecurity, Personal Resources, and War-Related Anxiety Among Iranian Mental Health Professionals

Mehdi Alimohammadi; Yasaman Rezvani

doi:10.61838/kman.jarac.6525

Authors

Mehdi Alimohammadi PhD Graduate in Guidance and Counseling, Department of Counseling, Kharazmi University, Tehran, Iran Corresponding Author https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0499-1350
Yasaman Rezvani Marriage and Family Therapy Trainee, University of Massachusetts Global, United States Author https://orcid.org/0009-0000-3717-8863

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.61838/kman.jarac.6525

Keywords:

job insecurity, career adaptability, personal resources, war-related anxiety, armed conflict

Abstract

Objective: This study examined the associations of quantitative and qualitative job insecurity, career adaptability, and agency-related personal resources with war-related anxiety among Iranian mental health professionals during a period of armed conflict.

Methods and Materials: A cross-sectional online survey was conducted in Iran from April 3 to April 19, 2026, using convenience recruitment among counselors and psychologists. Of 250 available records, five containing unexplained fractional item responses were excluded, yielding a primary analytic sample of 245 respondents. Measures assessed quantitative and qualitative job insecurity, career adaptability, an agency-related personal-resource composite comprising self-efficacy, optimism, and purposefulness, and war-related anxiety. Pearson correlations and standardized ordinary least-squares regression models were applied. Variance inflation factors, residual diagnostics, heteroskedasticity-consistent HC3 standard errors, post hoc coefficient contrasts, and sensitivity analyses were also conducted.

Findings: In the primary anxiety model, qualitative job insecurity was positively associated with war-related anxiety (β = .307, 95% CI [.183, .432], p < .001), whereas the association for quantitative job insecurity was not statistically significant (β = .074, 95% CI [−.041, .189], p = .206). Career adaptability (β = −.228, 95% CI [−.381, −.075], p = .004) and agency-related personal resources (β = −.259, 95% CI [−.376, −.141], p < .001) were negatively associated with anxiety. The model explained 55.3% of the variance. In the secondary model, career adaptability was positively associated with agency-related resources (β = .576, 95% CI [.429, .724], p < .001), whereas both insecurity dimensions were nonsignificant. HC3 and sensitivity analyses produced comparable patterns.

Conclusion: Qualitative threats to valued working conditions, rather than perceived job-loss risk alone, were associated with greater war-related anxiety, while career adaptability and agency-related personal resources were associated with lower anxiety. These findings support examining occupational threats and personal resources jointly during conflict, while the cross-sectional design precludes causal or mediational interpretations.

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Author Biographies

Mehdi Alimohammadi, PhD Graduate in Guidance and Counseling, Department of Counseling, Kharazmi University, Tehran, Iran

Mehdi Alimohammadi
Mehdi Alimohammadi holds a Ph.D. in Guidance and Counseling from Kharazmi University, serves on the board of the Iranian Association of Psychotherapy Studies, and is the proprietor and license holder of Digargoun Psychology and Counseling Clinic in Tehran. His professional path spans supervised practice from Solar Hijri 1393 (2014-2015; Psychology and Counseling Organization of Iran membership number 12319), independent licensure in 1400 SH (2021-2022), and clinic licensure and the supervision of other counselors from 1402 SH (2023-2024). His master's thesis examined whether encouragement could reduce depression among soldiers. His doctoral dissertation extended this inquiry into working life, examining encouragement in relation to employees' job involvement and organizational citizenship behavior. These studies reflect a sustained concern with encouragement's clinical and social significance, linking questions of personal distress with those of engagement and contribution at work.
Yasaman Rezvani , Marriage and Family Therapy Trainee, University of Massachusetts Global, United States

Yasaman Rezvani
Yasaman Rezvani is a Marriage and Family Therapy trainee at the University of Massachusetts Global, with expected graduation in 2027. She is pursuing the M.A. in Marriage and Family Therapy with an emphasis in Professional Clinical Counseling. She holds a B.A. in Social Science from Allameh Tabataba'i University and master's degrees in Clinical Psychology from Azad University and General Psychology from American University. Her clinical and academic interests include anxiety, relational dynamics, identity development, and culturally responsive practice. She is also interested in the impact of social and intergenerational experiences on mental health.

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