Assessment of Psychosocial Stressors at Work: Psychometric Properties of the Spanish Version of the ERI (Effort-Reward Imbalance) Questionnaire in Colombian Workers

Assessment of Psychosocial Stressors at Work: Psychometric Properties of the Spanish Version of the ERI (Effort-Reward Imbalance) Questionnaire in Colombian Workers Evaluación de Estresores Psicosociales en el Trabajo: Propiedades Psicométricas de la Versión Española del Cuestionario ERI (Effort-Reward Imbalance) en Trabajadores Colombianos Viviola Gómez Ortiz Universidad de los Andes Abstract. In this study, a Spanish version of the ERI questionnaire was tested in Colombia. Cross-sectional studies were performed among two groups of teachers (251 and 318), 294 nurses, 281 bus drivers, and two mixed occupational groups (661 and 117 participants). The internal consistency and the factorial, concurrent and predictive validity of the instrument were examined. Mean values and standard deviations of the Colombian workers were compared to each other and then to averages available for similar workers from two other countries. Based on the results on six groups of Colombian workers presented in this article, it can be said that the Spanish version of the ERI Questionnaire has show to be a satisfactory measurement instrument of the psychosocial risk factors at work in Colombia. Key words: Effort-Reward Imbalance model, ERI, psychometric properties, occupational stress, psychosocial factors. Resumen. En este estudio, una versión española del cuestionario ERI fue examinada en Colombia. Estudios cross-seccionales fueron llevados a cabo en dos grupos de profesores (n=251 y n=318), uno de enfermeras (n=294), uno de conductores de autobús (n=281) y dos grupos ocupacionales mixtos (n=661 y n=117). También se examinaron la consistencia interna, y la validez factorial, concurrente y predictiva del cuestionario. Los valores medios y las desviaciones típicas de los trabajadores colombianos se compararon entre sí y con los promedios disponibles de trabajadores similares de otros dos países. Sobre la base de los resultados de los seis grupos de trabajadores colombianos, puede decirse que la versión española del ERI ha demostrado ser un instrumento de medida satisfactorio de los factores de riesgo psicosocial en el trabajo en Colombia. Palabras clave: modelo de desequilibrio esfuerzo-recompensa, ERI, propiedades psicométricas, estrés ocupacional, factores psicosociales. Psychosocial factors at work seem to be one of the most important causes of job-stress. Two main models are currently used in the occupational context in the U.S. and European countries to evaluate psychosocial factors at work: the Demand-Control-Support (DCS) model (Karasek, Gardell, & Lindell, 1987) and the Effort-Reward Imbalance (ERI) model (Siegrist, 1996, 2002). Much research has been advanced based on these theoretical approaches and the instruments supported by them. Since the models and instruments were constructed and applied primarily in economic developed countries, there are still questions about their usefulness in some developing countries. The process of evaluation of the psychometric properties of the Spanish versions of these instruments is still Correspondence on this article should be sent to Viviola Gómez Ortiz, Department of Psychology, Social Sciences Faculty, Universidad de los Andes, Bogotá, Colombia. E-mail: Copyright 2010 by the Colegio Oficial de Psicólogos de Madrid ISSN: 1576-5962 - DOI: 10.5093/tr2010v26n2a6 incomplete. More applications to different occupational groups of various Spanish speaking countries are needed to confirm the psychometric characteristics of the instruments and to improve deficiencies that could be detected on them. Additionally, Latin-American countries like Colombia need validated instruments that allow them to evaluate their workers in order to prevent or intervene potential noxious psychosocial factors at work. At the moment there are not such kinds of instruments available. The purpose of this paper is to report data about the reliability and validity of a Spanish version of the ERI applied to Colombian workers. Houtman, Jettinghoff, and Cedillo (2007, p. 1) affirm that the problem of work related stress is significant “in countries in transition who are subjected to rapid and drastic economical and social changes (for example in Russia), where there is an increased demand for adaptation of workers, the over-riding of Revista de Psicología del Trabajo y de las Organizaciones Vol. 26, n.° 2, 2010 - Págs. 147-156 148 ERI PSYCHOMETRIC PROPERTIES traditional values, the reorientation of the occupational health system, and generally poor working conditions”. The focus of Occupational Health and Safety initiatives in most economic developing countries has been traditionally on chemical, biological and physical exposures, while the psychosocial risks at work have been largely neglected and their causes and consequences still insufficiently understood. Houtman, Jettinghoff, and Cedillo (2007) believe that the current division between working conditions and the (physical) work environment makes the identifications of the psychosocial risks at work harder for most of the Occupational Health and Safety professional. Not surprisingly very little research on the magnitude of causes and consequences of work-related psychosocial stress is available from these countries. A different difficulty for the assessment of psychosocial factors at work derives from the fact that the theoretical models and instruments related with these factors, like the ERI model and its measurement instrument, were developed in English and German and primarily applied in countries with high economical development for jobs among men. Because of cultural and socio-economic level of development differences among countries, problems could be expected in applying the ERI in worker populations from countries different from the ones in which it has proved to be sensitive. These differences can determine individuals’ values and perceptions. Therefore, what is stressful for one person in a given country may not be as stressful for another in a different country (Lazarus, 1999). A similar argument can be made with respect to the gender of the workers, considering that analyses based mainly on male data could not be easily applied to female workers. To have the possibility of assessing the magnitude of psychosocial stressor in countries like Colombia, and most important to retain the possibility of comparing the results with those of the countries in which it has been measured for longer periods of time, it is necessary to examine the psychometric properties (e.g., the reliability and validity) of the newly developed Spanish versions of these questionnaires. This paper reports data about the reliability and validity of a Spanish version of the ERI model questionnaire applied to Colombian workers. The ERI model, as a model of the person-environment interaction in the organizational context, has a basic notion which is that the crucial link between selfregulatory functions such as self-esteem and self-efficac (...truncated)