Student ERI: Psychometric properties of a new brief measure of effort-reward imbalance among university students.
Psychosocial stress among university students, particularly medical students, is considered a widely prevalent problem. There is a need for valid measurement of an adverse psychosocial stress environment in university settings. The aim of this study was to examine the psychometric properties of a newly developed short student version of the effort-reward imbalance (ERI) questionnaire in a sample of medical students.



A cross-sectional survey with a self-administrated questionnaire containing three scales was conducted among 406 medical students. Item-total correlations and Cronbach's alpha were calculated to assess the internal consistency of the scales. Confirmatory factor analysis was applied to test factorial validity of the questionnaire structure.



The student version of the ERI questionnaire provides acceptable psychometric properties. The Cronbach's alpha coefficients for effort, reward, and over-commitment were 0.67, 0.65, and 0.79, respectively. Confirmatory factor analysis displayed a satisfactory fit of the data structure with the theoretical concept (GFI>0.94).



This student version of the ERI questionnaire provides a psychometrically tested tool for studies focussing on psychosocial environment in university settings. Further applications of this approach in other student groups are needed, in addition to prospective studies assessing associations with health outcomes.
Institute of Occupational, Social and Environmental Medicine, Centre of Health and Society (CHS), Faculty of Medicine, University of Duesseldorf, Germany; Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical Faculty, Heinrich Heine University, Düsseldorf, Germany. Electronic address: natalia.wege@uni-duesseldorf.de.
Natalia
N
Wege
Institute of Occupational, Social and Environmental Medicine, Centre of Health and Society (CHS), Faculty of Medicine, University of Duesseldorf, Germany.
Jian
J
Li
Institute of Occupational, Social and Environmental Medicine, Centre of Health and Society (CHS), Faculty of Medicine, University of Duesseldorf, Germany.
Thomas
T
Muth
Institute of Occupational, Social and Environmental Medicine, Centre of Health and Society (CHS), Faculty of Medicine, University of Duesseldorf, Germany.
Peter
P
Angerer
Medical Faculty, University of Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany.
Johannes
J
Siegrist
D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007588:Job Satisfaction; D008297:Male; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011594:Psychometrics; D012201:Reward; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000523:psychology; D013337:Students, Medical / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014495:Universities; D055815:Young Adult
Effort-reward imbalance; Medical students; Over-commitment; University settings; Validity