Standardization and Study of Psychological Properties of the HSE Stress Questionnaire

Background Job stress has recently been regarded as a risk factor for some diseases. Objectives In this study, we standardized the Persian version of the HSE management standards indicator tool and studied the psychological properties of the tool. Methods In this cross-sectional study, the Persian version of the HSE questionnaire was submitted to 429 participants who were randomly drawn from five occupational groups in Isfahan, Iran in 2014. Internal consistency, reliability, discriminative validity, and construct validity were evaluated. Predictive validity was explored with respect to the beck depression inventory (BDI). discriminant validity was explored with respect to type of occupational groups. Results Cronbach’s alpha for the all subscales ranged between 0.53 and 0.74. In addition, the intraclass correlations for the domains ranged from 0.52 to 0.73 with a median of 0.7. The confirmatory factor analysis showed that the Persian version of the HSE questionnaire had adequate construct validity. The root mean square error of approximation, incremental fit index, and comparative fit index were 0.064, 0.9, and 0.9, respectively; moreover, other indexes were satisfactory. An analysis of variance highlighted the differences between the stress of the occupational groups (P = 0.012). A lower score on the HSE questionnaire was significantly related to a higher BDI score (r = -0.46, P < 0.001). Conclusions The analysis of the reliability and validity of the Persian version of the HSE questionnaire showed that it is a useful and reliable measure to analyze work-related stress.