The Employment Precariousness Scale (EPRES): psychometric properties of a new tool for epidemiological studies among waged and salaried workers
- 24 June 2010
- journal article
- research article
- Published by BMJ in Occupational and Environmental Medicine
- Vol. 67 (8), 548-555
- https://doi.org/10.1136/oem.2009.048967
Abstract
Background Despite the fact that labour market flexibility has resulted in an expansion of precarious employment in industrialised countries, to date there is limited empirical evidence concerning its health consequences. The Employment Precariousness Scale (EPRES) is a newly developed, theory-based, multidimensional questionnaire specifically devised for epidemiological studies among waged and salaried workers. Objective To assess the acceptability, reliability and construct validity of EPRES in a sample of waged and salaried workers in Spain. Methods A sample of 6968 temporary and permanent workers from a population-based survey carried out in 2004–2005 was analysed. The survey questionnaire was interviewer administered and included the six EPRES subscales, and measures of the psychosocial work environment (COPSOQ ISTAS21) and perceived general and mental health (SF-36). Results A high response rate to all EPRES items indicated good acceptability; Cronbach's α coefficients, over 0.70 for all subscales and the global score, demonstrated good internal consistency reliability; exploratory factor analysis using principal axis analysis and varimax rotation confirmed the six-subscale structure and the theoretical allocation of all items. Patterns across known groups and correlation coefficients with psychosocial work environment measures and perceived health demonstrated the expected relations, providing evidence of construct validity. Conclusions Our results provide evidence in support of the psychometric properties of EPRES, which appears to be a promising tool for the measurement of employment precariousness in public health research.Keywords
This publication has 25 references indexed in Scilit:
- Working without commitments: precarious employment and healthWork, Employment & Society, 2008
- Literature review of theory and research on the psychological impact of temporary employment: Towards a conceptual modelInternational Journal of Management Reviews, 2007
- Precarious employment and health: developing a research agendaJournal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 2007
- Associations between temporary employment and occupational injury: what are the mechanisms?Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 2006
- Social inequalities in the impact of flexible employment on different domains of psychosocial healthJournal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 2005
- Temporary employment and health: a reviewInternational Journal of Epidemiology, 2005
- No security: A meta-analysis and review of job insecurity and its consequences.Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 2002
- How do types of employment relate to health indicators? Findings from the Second European Survey on Working ConditionsJournal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 2000
- Income non-reporting: implications for health inequalities researchJournal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 2000
- A critical appraisal of the demand/control model of the psychosocial work environment: Epistemological, social, behavioral and class considerationsSocial Science & Medicine (1982), 1993