Theoretical assumptions and psychometric characteristics of the sense of personal control at work questionnaire.

UNLABELLED Personal control is a very important determinant of stress experienced at work. This variable is taken into account in different models of stress, and its role in the relationship between stress and stress effects has been studied in many research projects. But there is still lack of in-depth theoretical considerations on various definitions of control, which would allow to develop precise operationalization of this phenomenon. The following issues are discussed in this paper: 1) theoretical assumptions important for proper construction of the Sense of Personal Control at Work (SPCW); 2) the origins of SPCW Questionnaire; 3) the results of empirical study on psychometric characteristics of the SPCW Questionnaire. A group of 160 subjects participated in the study; the SPCW Questionnaire was administered twice with a 2-week interval; at the first stage, it was used together with other instruments, such as Maslach Burnout Inventory, Stress at Work Questionnaire, Work Satisfaction Scale, general Health Questionnaire-28. Reliability coefficients: Cronbach alpha = 0.81; r(tt) = 0.69. VALIDITY correlation coefficients between personal control and work satisfaction r = 0.44; stress at work r = -0.33; emotional exhaustion r = -0.28; personal accomplishment r = 0.25; depersonalisation r = 4.26; mental health r = -0.19. Exploratory factors analysis have not confirmed theoretical structure of the SPCW Questionnaire.