Development and application of the Japanese version of effort-reward imbalance questionnaire

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

The Japanese version of the Effort-Reward Imbalance Questionnaire (ERI) was developed through a back translation process. The reliability was acceptable for various Japanese working populations, and the validity was confirmed in several empirical investigations. Confirmatory factor analyses replicated the theory-driven factorial structures of the scales. The criterion validity was tested in terms of the associations with psychological and physiological health outcome ; the ERI stress indices were associated with several psycho-physiological and behavioral health outcomes. The discriminant validity was discussed in terms of the stress prevalence in various socioeconomic strata. The responsiveness of the stress measures was demonstrated in the real case of restructuring of a company. The theoretical association between the person-specific model component 'overcommitment' and motivational behavior at workplace was empirically demonstrated. The questionnaire item characteristics were examined based on the Item Response Theory, and by applying an Item Response Theory model, a possible mean to refine the questionnaire format was proposed. Pursuing the international comparability is an important theme in future study. Although there is still room to sophisticate the questionnaire, the Japanese version of the ERI questionnaire is well applicable to Japanese working populations.