[Reliability and validity of the Occupational Stress Scale for Chinese offshore oil platform workers].
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the validity and reliability of the Occupational Stress Scale (OSS) for Chinese offshore oil platform workers.


METHODS
A 51-item self-administered questionnaire developed in the light of Cooper's questionnaire and company's special situation was used to investigate 561 subjects.


RESULTS
51 occupational stress items relating to offshore oil production were subjected to factor analysis, and nine latent factors were identified, which explained 62.5% of the total variance. According to the contents described by the items included in each factor, they were respectively defined as: "the interface between job and family/social life (factor 1)", "career and achievement (factor 2)", "safety (factor 3)", "management problem and relationship with others at work (factor 4)", "physical factors of workplace (factor 5)", "platform living environment (factor 6)", "role in management (factor 7)", "ergonomics (factor 8)" and "organization structure (factor 9)". Significant difference in the score of five factors was observed among 12 different job categories by analysis of variance. After adjusting for potential confounding factors (age, educational level), hierarchical multiple regression analysis indicated that the score of the OSS was significantly and positively correlated with the poor mental health of the workers (P < 0.01). The consistent test between OSS and each factor showed that Cronbach's alpha were 0.72 - 0.91.


CONCLUSIONS
The OSS is a valid and reliable tool for measuring occupational stress, and can be used to explore occupational stress and its influence on health and safety problems in offshore oil workers.
Chen
Wei-qing
WQ
Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510089, China.
Huang
Zi-hui
ZH
Yu
De-xin
DX
Lin
Yan-zu
YZ
Ling
Zhi-ming
ZM
Tang
Ji-song
JS
D000328:Adult; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis*; D010578:Petroleum; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000175:diagnosis*
D010578:Petroleum