Introduction

The Occupational Stress Inventory-Revised (OSI-R) quantitatively evaluates individuals' and organizations' occupational stress levels, primary occupational stressors, individual stress responses, and individual coping resources.

Subjects and Methods

1. Research Subjects and Measurement Tools

Using the same subjects as those for establishing occupational stress norms, 2064 professional technicians were selected from Chongqing, Chengdu, and Nanchong cities.

The revised Chinese version of the Occupational Stress Inventory-Revised Edition (OSI-R) with good reliability and validity was used for testing. OSI-R consists of three questionnaires, each containing multiple subscales:

(1) Occupational Role Questionnaire (ORQ): Includes six subscales - Role Overload (RO), Role Insufficiency (RI), Role Ambiguity (RA), Role Boundary (RB), Responsibility (R), and Physical Environment (PE).

(2) Personal Strain Questionnaire (PSQ): Includes four subscales - Vocational Strain (VS), Psychological Strain (PSY), Interpersonal Strain (IS), and Physical Strain (PHS).

(3) Personal Resources Questionnaire (PRQ): Includes four subscales - Recreation (RE), Self-Care (SC), Social Support (SS), and Rational/Cognitive (RC).

Each subscale contains 10 items, totaling 140 items, with each item scored on a five-point scale. Higher scores on the ORQ and PSQ indicate higher stress levels, while higher scores on the PRQ indicate stronger coping abilities and lower stress levels.

2. Research Methods

The raw scores of occupational stress norms were transformed into total scores with a mean of 50 and a standard deviation of 10.

Conversion was performed using the formula T=50+10×(χ-χ̃)/s (where χ is the raw score of each subscale in the three questionnaires, χ̃ is the mean of the norm sample, and s is the standard deviation).

Basic psychometric concepts suggest that human psychological traits follow a normal distribution. Therefore, based on the mean and standard deviation of norm scores, each questionnaire and subscale of the OSI-R can be classified into different levels.

Scores within χ̃±s account for approximately 68.27% of the population, defining this range as normal. Scores within χ̃±1.96s account for about 95% of the population, with scores outside this range considered abnormal. Scores between χ̃±s and χ̃±1.96s fall within the 68.27% to 95% range and are defined as moderately abnormal. Thus, scores are divided into five levels.

Since higher scores on the ORQ and PSQ indicate heavier occupational tasks and higher stress responses, individuals scoring above χ̃+1.96s (top 2.5% of the population) in these questionnaires show excessive occupational tasks and overly high stress responses; those scoring between χ̃+1.96s and χ̃+s show heavier occupational tasks and higher stress responses; those scoring within χ̃±s show moderate occupational tasks and stress responses; those scoring below χ̃-s show no occupational stress or stress responses.

In the PRQ, higher scores indicate stronger coping resources. Therefore, in this questionnaire, individuals scoring below χ̃-1.96s show very weak coping resources; those scoring between χ̃-1.96s and χ̃-s show weaker coping resources; those scoring within χ̃±s show stronger coping resources; and those scoring above χ̃+s show very strong coping resources.

Results

1. Overall Norms and Gender-Specific Norm Tables

Table 1 shows the scores of each questionnaire and subscale for the overall norms and gender-specific norms.

Table 1. Occupational Stress Norms for Professional Technicians by Gender

2. Establishment of Grading Standards for Occupational Stress Norms in Professional Technicians

Occupational Role: Scores ≥70 indicate excessive occupational tasks. Scores between 60-69 indicate heavier occupational tasks. Scores between 40-59 indicate moderate occupational tasks and stress responses. Scores <40 indicate lighter occupational tasks.

Personal Strain: Scores ≥70 indicate excessively high stress responses. Scores between 60-69 indicate higher stress responses. Scores between 40-59 indicate moderate stress responses within normal range. Scores <40 indicate no occupational stress or stress responses.

Personal Resources: Scores <30 indicate very weak coping resources. Scores between 30-39 indicate weaker coping resources. Scores between 40-59 indicate stronger coping resources within normal range. Scores ≥60 indicate very strong coping resources.

Table 2. Occupational Stress Grading Evaluation Standards