Assessment of psychosocial stressors at work: psychometric properties of the JCQ in Colombian workers

Because the two main models and instruments used to evaluate psychosocial factors at work were developed and applied primarily in developed countries, there are still questions about their properties in less economically developed countries. In this study, a Spanish version of the Job Content Questionnaire (JCQ) was tested in Colombia. Cross-sectional studies, with self-administered surveys, were performed among 294 nurses, 281 bus drivers, and one mixed occupational group with 661 participants. Means and standard deviations among Colombian workers were compared against each other and with averages from studies in other countries. The internal consistency was analyzed through the Cronbach alpha coefficient; the factorial validity through exploratory factorial analysis; concurrent validity of the instrument was calculated using correlations with the effort/reward ratio of the ERI Questionnaire; the predictive validity was tested using correlations with one indicator of health. Differences between samples were generally small, but some interesting tendencies could be observed. The Cronbach’s alpha coefficients were generally Resumen Debido a que los dos principales modelos e instrumentos usados para evaluar factores psicosociales en el trabajo se han propuesto y estudiado principalmente en países desarrollados, persisten dudas sobre sus propiedades psicométricas en países menos desarrollados económicamente. En este estudio, se evaluó en Colombia una versión en español de cuestionario del contenido del trabajo. Se realizaron estudios transversales con 294 enfermeras, 281 conductores y 661 personas con ocupaciones mixtas. Las medias y desviaciones estándar de los trabajadores colombianos se compararon con las reportadas en estudios de otros países. La consistencia interna se analizó mediante el alfa de Cronbach; la validez factorial con análisis factorial exploratorio; la validez concurrente se calculó usando correlaciones con el indicador de desbalance Esfuerzo/ Recompensa del cuestionario ERI; la validez predictiva se evaluó a través de correlaciones con un indicador de salud. En general las diferencias entre las muestras fueron pequeñas, pero a pesar de ello mostraron tendencias interesantes. Los coeficientes alfa de Cronbach fueron