Day laborers and occupational stress: testing the Migrant Stress Inventory with a Latino day laborer population.
Although day laborers are likely to suffer from high rates of work-related stress, there are no survey measures that focus on stress among this occupational group. Accordingly, we tested the validity and reliability of the Migrant Stress Inventory (MSI), a scale originally designed for migrant farmworkers. Based on survey data collected from day laborers (N = 102) in two Northern California communities, the MSI was found to have adequate internal consistency, yet additional analyses indicated a different factor structure for the subscales. New subscales (relationships, communication, alcohol and other drug use, years in the United States, age, deportation concerns, discrimination experience) with this sample had strong reliability, as well as construct validity. In all, 57.8% of day laborers experienced high rates of stress, and factor analysis differentiated four stressor domains: instability, relationships, communication, and alcohol and other drug use. Moreover, 39.2% of respondents reported lifetime difficulties with alcohol, although alcohol difficulties were not associated with stress. Implications for further research are discussed based on these findings.
Duke
Michael R
MR
Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation, Prevention Research Center, Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation, 1995 University Avenue, Suite 450, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA. mduke@prev.org
Bourdeau
Beth
B
Hovey
Joseph D
JD
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003863:Depression / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*; D054242:Emigrants and Immigrants / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D004651:Employment / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006630:Hispanic or Latino / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D009790:Occupations; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult