Addressing medical student burnout through informal peer-assisted learning: a correlational analysis

BACKGROUND

Despite the recognized advantages of Peer-Assisted Learning (PAL) in academic settings, there is a notable absence of research analyzing its effects on students' Academic Burnout. This study aims to cover this gap by assessing the underlying effectiveness of Informal Peer-Assisted Learning (IPAL) as a cooperative learning method, focusing on its potential to mitigate academic burnout among medical students.

METHODS

In 2022, a cross-sectional study was conducted at the School of Medicine, Universidad Central del Caribe, in Puerto Rico. The research team gathered data from 151 participants, 49.19% of 307 total student body. This cohort included 76 female students, 71 male students, and 4 individuals saying other. The School Burnout Inventory questionnaire (SBI-9) was employed to assess Academic Burnout, along with an added query about self-reported IPAL. The SBI-9 underwent validation processes to ascertain its reliability and validity, incorporating the Exploratory Factor Analysis and Confirmatory Factor Analysis. Following this, the investigators conducted an analysis to determine the correlation between academic burnout levels and involvement in IPAL.

RESULTS

The validation process of the questionnaire affirmed its alignment with an eight-item inventory, encapsulating two principal factors that elucidate academic burnout. The first factor pertains to exhaustion, while the second encompasses the combined subscales of cynicism and inadequacy. The questionnaire shows high reliability (Cronbach's alpha = 0.829) and good fit indices (Comparative Fit Index = 0.934; Tucker-Lewis Index = 0.902; Standardized Root Mean Squared Residual = 0.0495; Root Mean Squared Error of Approximation = 0.09791; p-value < 0.001). The factors proven in the selected model were used to evaluate the correlation between Academic Burnout and IPAL. Students engaged in IPAL showed significantly lower academic burnout prevalence compared to those who never participated in such practices, with a mean academic burnout score of 44.75% (SD 18.50) for IPAL engaged students versus 54.89% (SD 23.71) for those who never engaged in such practices (p-value < 0.013). Furthermore, within the group engaged in IPAL, students displayed lower levels of cynicism/inadequacy 41.98% (SD 23.41) compared to exhaustion 52.25% (SD 22.42) with a p-value < 0.001.

CONCLUSIONS

The results of this study underscore a notable issue of academic burnout among medical students within the surveyed cohort. The investigation reveals a significant correlation between Academic Burnout and IPAL, suggesting that incorporating IPAL strategies may be beneficial in addressing burnout in medical education settings. However, further research is needed to explore potential causal mechanisms.

Personality and Nomophobia: The Role of Dysfunctional Obsessive Beliefs

BACKGROUND

The development of new technologies (ICTs), and specifically the invention of smartphones, has offered users enormous benefits. However, the use of this technology is sometimes problematic and can negatively affect people's lives. Nomophobia has been defined as the fear of being unreachable by means of a smartphone and is considered a disorder of the modern world. The present study aims to provide additional evidence of the relationship between personality traits and nomophobia. Moreover, this research explores dysfunctional obsessive beliefs as another possible antecedent. Finally, this study also examines the effect of the combination of these antecedents on nomophobia.

METHOD

The study sample was comprised of Spanish workers (males: 44.54%; females: 55.46%) in the city of Tarragona and its surroundings.

RESULTS

Our results showed that nomophobia is directly related to personality traits such as extraversion, and that dysfunctional obsessive beliefs play a role in the development of nomophobia. Moreover, our study confirms that the combination of personality traits and dysfunctional obsessive beliefs can affect the degree of nomophobia experienced.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS

Our study contributes to the body of literature that examines how psychological variables of personality can be predictors of nomophobia. Additional research is needed to better understand the determinants of nomophobia.

Impact of Techno-Creators and Techno-Inhibitors on Techno-Stress Manifestations in Chilean Kindergarten Directors in the Context of the COVID-19 Pandemic and Teleworking

The research objective was to predict the impact of techno-creators and techno-inhibitors on the different manifestations of technostress in kindergarten directors in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and telework. The participants were INTEGRA Foundation kindergarten directors, from a sample of 567 kindergartens in Chile. To measure the technostress manifestations, the RED-TIC questionnaire was used as an instrument, and concerning techno-creators and techno-inhibitors, those established in previous research were considered. The partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) methodology was used, and the model estimation was performed using SmartPLS version 3.0 software. It was obtained that techno-creators correlate positively and significantly with the technostress manifestations. A negative correlation was found between techno-inhibitors and technostress manifestations and techno-creators, but not significant for skepticism and inefficacy manifestations. Therefore, it is concluded that techno-creators lead to technostress manifestations, however, techno-inhibitors did not show a significant effect in reducing these manifestations in the sample studied.

Spanish Adaptation of the Organizational Culture Assessment Instrument: Reflection on the Difficulty in Transferring the ad hoc Factor

The Organizational Culture Assessment Instrument is a common instrument for measuring organizational culture in English-speaking countries based on four factors: Clan, ad hoc, Market and Hierarchy. However, to date, there is no proper translation of the scale into Spanish. In this study, we describe the translation and adaptation of the instrument through Exploratory Factor Analysis with a Spanish sample (n₁ = 246; 69.9% men and 30.1% women) and Confirmatory Factor Analysis with a Peruvian sample (n₂ = 510; 70.4% men and 29.6% women). The result reduces the four-factor internal structure to a three-factor structure that retains the Clan, Market and Hierarchy factors, but completely excludes the ad hoc factor. Confirmatory Factor Analysis shows acceptable indicators, reliabilities are good and indication of validity is also confirmed. In conclusion, this study has given rise to the instrument in Spanish, called OCAI-12, which is suitable for evaluating organizational culture.

Age, gender, personality, burnout, job characteristics and job content as predictors of driver fatigue

Objectives. Several studies have shown that one of the most common causes of collision is driver fatigue since fatigue causes drowsiness while driving and this decreases the driver's ability to maneuver the vehicle and increases the probability of their nodding off and falling asleep at the wheel. This may be due to a variety of personal reasons and specific factors connected to working conditions. In the present work we therefore intend to develop a predictive model for fatigue in professional drivers using the following indicators: age, gender, personality, burnout, characteristics and job content. Method. The participants were 516 professional drivers from different transport sectors, obtained through non-probabilistic sampling. SPSS version 25.0 was used for data analysis. Results. The predictive capacity of a number of variables that affect drivers by causing fatigue is determined. Fatigue can be predicted through certain variables, with the best predictor being exhaustion (48.8%). Conclusions. This research contributes to a greater knowledge of the factors that produce fatigue in professional drivers. It highlights the importance of designing interventions to reduce the incidence of fatigue, resulting in greater well-being for the driver and a lower incidence of collisions.

Personality and impulsivity as antecedents of occupational health in the construction industry

Objectives. In health and safety at work, two main groups of causes of occupational accidents have been identified: unsafe conditions or technical factors; and the causes related to safe behavior or the human factor. The objective of this study is to analyze the predictive variables (emotional intelligence, personality, impulsivity and safety of the work environment) for three factors of the CONS-32 scale (criterion variables: use of protections, personal risk behavior and personal physical workload) in the construction sector. Methods. Using a sample of 256 Spanish workers from this sector, we analyzed the significant correlations between the three criterion variables and a set of variables extracted from various instruments, as well as the regression models that explain most of the variance. Results. The results show that the main predictive variables that explain the three factors are those related to responsibility as a personality trait, impulsivity and safety of the work environment. Conclusions. Based on the empirical evidence found, the most explanatory factor in all cases is safety climate in the work environment.

Spanish Adaptation of the Groningen Sleep Quality Scale (GSQS-8)

Professional drivers are a group susceptible to sleep problems or incorrect rest patterns resulting from work stress that causes alterations in biological stress markers, such as cortisol, or in cardiovascular parameters that show a state of physiological hyper-activation. The current research objective was to adapt and validate the Groningen Sleep Scale (Meijman et al., 1990) in a Spanish population. We analysed its internal structure, reliability and evidence of validity. The participants in this study were 372 drivers (93.4% men, 6.6% women), with a mean age of 40.9 (SD = 10.54), obtained through non-probabilistic sampling. The SPSS 23.0 and AMOS (5.0) programs were used. With the confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) of the AMOS program (5.0), the indicators NFI = 0.902; TLI = 0.844; CFI = 0.913; RMSEA = 0.129 were obtained and showed an acceptable adjustment of the unifactorial model with 8 items.  Adequate reliability (0.90) and appropriate evidence of validity with TDS-38, MBI-GS, Irritation, MP-9, DII, and Trans-18. We can conclude that the Groningen Sleep Scale (GSQS-8) is a reliable and valid instrument, suitable in the Spanish language for evaluating the sleep quality of professional drivers.

Variables that predict burnout in professional drivers

Objectives. Stress maintained over time leads to a state of exhaustion known as burnout syndrome. This syndrome constitutes an occupational health problem, leading to high absenteeism. It can also mean that workers come to the workplace feeling unwell, which increases occupational collisions and injuries at work. In this study, we developed a predictive model of burnout in professional drivers using the following indicators: age, hours worked, seniority, educational level, fatigue, personality, attitudes toward driving, safety behaviors in the vehicle, and work characteristics and content. Method. A total of 523 professional drivers from different transport sectors, obtained through non-probability sampling, participated in the study. We used SPSS version 25.0 to analyze the data. Results. We determined the predictive capacity of certain variables that affect drivers and cause burnout. Exhaustion can be predicted with fatigue (48.8%), professional efficiency with emotional stability (39.8%) and cynicism with lack of motivation (28%) as the best predictors. Conclusions. The results contribute to a better knowledge of those factors that cause burnout in professional drivers. It is important to design individual interventions to reduce burnout, which would help reduce sick leave and possible collisions, in addition to providing greater well-being for drivers.

Analyzing the evolution of technostress: A science mapping approach

This paper analyzes the scientific map of technostress and the scientific production on this topic between 1982 and 2017, highlighting its structure, evolution, and trends in this field. A literature review based on bibliometric analysis of 246 records indexed in Scopus database was conducted. These publications were analyzed according to bibliometric indicators and through science maps with SciMAT. Co-occurrence of terms by grouping techniques was implemented. In addition, elaboration of maps of science and performance analysis for periods was executed. The main contribution of this work is to provide the first scientific map of technostress and a detailed understanding of the scientific production that predicts the directions of future research. The bibliometric analyses permit an overview of the growth, extent and distribution of the scientific literature related to the technostress and the study of the scientific production of an institution, country, author or research group.

DF-8: a specific scale for assessing work fatigue in professional drivers

The study objective is to create a scale specifically for measuring driver fatigue and to analyze the scale's psychometric properties. The participants were 518 Spanish drivers. We carried out an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and the first subsample obtained a single-item solution (eight items). We then performed a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) with a second subsample. The results were root mean square error of approximation (rmsea) = 0.05, comparative fit index (CFI) = 0.94 and Tucker-Lewis index (TLI) = 0.92, which corroborates the previous results and maintains the same number of elements. The resulting dimension shows good reliability. The scale scores were then related to several external correlates and other scales, and showed good convergence and criteria validity. The results indicate that the scale for assessing work fatigue specifically in professional drivers - driver fatigue (DF-8) - is a reliable and valid instrument.

Influence that job characteristics, personality and burnout have on fatigue in professional drivers

Objectives. Professional drivers drive for many hours without rest. This factor, in addition to the characteristics of the job, the vehicle, the environment and the driver, causes driver fatigue. Fatigue is one of the most common risk factors when driving because it causes drowsiness, decreases drivers' attention and may make them fall asleep at the wheel. In this article we propose a predictive model for professional drivers using the following variables: age, number of children, time spent at work, time spent inside the vehicle, personality, job characteristics (JDS), job content (JCQ) and burnout. Method. Participants were 509 professional drivers from various transport sectors recruited by non-probabilistic sampling. SPSS version 25.0 was used for statistical analysis. Results. The predictive capacity of variables that cause driver fatigue was determined. Exhaustion best predicts fatigue positively, while openness to experience best predicts it negatively. Burnout and certain personality characteristics are good predictors, whereas other variables, such as JCQ and JDS, are weak predictors. Conclusions. This study extends our knowledge of the factors that cause fatigue in professional drivers and underlines the importance of designing interventions aimed at reducing the incidence of fatigue, promoting greater driver well-being and lowering the incidence of accidents.

Work addiction as a predictor of anxiety and depression

BACKGROUND

A worker's work habits can affect their health, both physically and psychologically. Negative results have been associated with work demands (stress, anxiety and depression).

OBJECTIVE

In the present research we carried out a predictive study of work addiction by applying three questionnaires on depression and anxiety.

METHODS

In this study, the participants were 332 workers, obtained through non-probabilistic sampling. The FACTOR (version 7.2) and SPSS 23.0 programs were used.

RESULTS

The results of the correlation analysis show both positive and negative associations with the variables studied. We conclude that work addiction variables can predict anxiety and depression because we found that two variables predict 18.3% of depression and 20.3% of anxiety, which are feelings generated by work and excessive work.

CONCLUSION

It can be concluded that feelings generated by work and excessive work predict anxiety and depression, thus the present research helps to broaden knowledge on work addiction, promoting a healthy lifestyle and prevent absenteeism.

Tecnoestrés. Evolución del concepto y sus principales consecuencias

El uso de las Tecnologías de la Información y Comunicación puede generar estrés tecnológico. El tecnoestrés comenzó a estudiarse en 1982 y dada la naturaleza dinámica de las tecnologías, cobra importancia evaluar la evolución del concepto y sus consecuencias. El objetivo de este artículo es explorar la estructura intelectual y social de la producción científica sobre el tecnoestrés y analizar la evolución del concepto, detectando las características que influyen en los niveles de tecnoestrés en los individuos. Los resultados indican que las investigaciones más relevantes provienen del área de sistemas de información. El concepto ha evolucionado con el tiempo y sus consecuencias también pueden experimentarlo personas que no trabajan. Concluimos que los programas de prevención deben considerar diferencias individuales, organizacionales y tecnológicas.

The Influence of Gender Inequality in the Development of Job Insecurity: Differences Between Women and Men

Job insecurity is an indicator of precarious work that refers to the fear of losing one's job. It is a relevant source of stress, with negative consequences on people's mental health. The main objective and contribution of this study is to identify how gender inequality and job insecurity are related, responding to the lack of consensus found in scientific literature in this field of study. To do so, a predictive study of job insecurity, broken down by gender, is developed, considering sociodemographic and labor variables as antecedents. The sample included 1,005 employees (420 men and 585 women) aged between 18 and 65, and a linear regression was conducted for each group. Results show that women perceive greater insecurity under precarious working conditions (temporary work, informal work, salary cuts, tenure), whereas in the case of men variables related to their professional careers (job category, education) and household incomes were relevant predictors. It is concluded that job insecurity affects both gender groups, but the conditions in which this perception grows are significantly impacted by gender inequality. These findings will allow for holistic and effective actions to decrease the effects of precarious work.

Teacher Technostress in the Chilean School System

The expanded use of information technology in education has led to the emergence of technostress due to a lack of adaptation to the technological environment. The purpose of this study is to identify the levels of technostress in primary and secondary education in 428 teachers using a RED-TIC questionnaire, of which skepticism, fatigue, anxiety, and inefficiency are the main components. For the empirical analysis of the data, principal component analysis (PCA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) were used. The results show that 12% of Chilean teachers participating in the study feel techno-fatigued, 13% feel techno-anxious, and 11% present both conditions. Male teachers show a higher incidence of techno-anxiety and techno-fatigue than their female peers. It can be concluded that the questionnaire used is a reliable tool to evaluate the presence of technostress, and it manifests itself importantly in its components of techno-anxiety and techno-fatigue in Chilean teachers.

The Spanish version of the Job Crafting Scale

BACKGROUND

A literature review reveals that there is no measure of job crafting available in Spanish. This paper presents the translation, adaptation and validation of a scale to measure job crafting behaviors (i.e. the Spanish Job Crafting Scale &ndash; SJCS; Tims, Bakker, &amp; Derks, 2012).

METHODS

The scale was applied to a sample of 896 employees in Spain (52.26% women and 47.4% men). We tested the reliability and factorial validity of the 21-item instrument.

RESULTS

After confirmatory factor analysis (CFI=.858, TLI= .838, IFI= .860, RMSEA= .067), the results show a structure consisting of four factors: Increasing structural job resources; Decreasing hindering job demands; Increasing social job resources; Increasing challenging job demands. These four factors demonstrate adequate reliability and evidence of validity with others scales that refer to Engagement at Work and Proactivity.

CONCLUSION

The questionnaire may be a useful tool for the assessment of job crafting and for future research in Spanish speaking countries.

Spanish validation of the Job Insecurity Scale JIS-8: Viability of the cognitive and affective model

BACKGROUND

This instrumental study is the Spanish adaptation and validation of the Job Insecurity Scale in its 8-item version (JIS-8). This is one of the reference tests in this field and it also allows the distinction between affect and cognition in quantitative job insecurity to be tested.

METHOD

The JIS-8 was carried out on a Spanish sample with 592 participants (186 men, 406 women; Mean age = 36.68), together with mental health and job satisfaction tests. An exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis were carried out, and the relationship between the scale and other variables was examined.

RESULTS

The Spanish validation shows good construct validity, internal consistency and a Cronbach a = .88, higher than the value obtained in the validation of the original instrument. The analysis shows the consequences of job insecurity on workers&rsquo; mental health, as well as on their job satisfaction. The exploratory factor analysis as well as the confirmatory analysis, in which a one-dimensional and a two-dimensional model were tested, maintain the presence of two factors: the cognitive and the affective dimensions.

CONCLUSIONS

The results underpin the fact that the test is appropriate for application to people in active employment in the Spanish population.

Translation and Validation of the Nomophobia Questionnaire in the Italian Language: Exploratory Factor Analysis

Background

Nomophobia, which is a neologism derived from the combination of “no mobile,” “phone,” and “phobia” is considered to be a modern situational phobia and indicates a fear of feeling disconnected.

Objective

No psychometric scales are available in Italian for investigating such a construct. We therefore planned a translation and validation study of the Nomophobia Questionnaire (NMP-Q), which is an instrument developed by Yildirim and Correia. Subjects were recruited via an online survey using a snowball approach.

Methods

The NMP-Q was translated from English into Italian using a classical “backwards and forwards” procedure. In order to explore the underlying factor structure of the translated questionnaire, an exploratory factor analysis was carried out. A principal component analysis approach with varimax rotation was performed. Multivariate regression analyses were computed to shed light on the psychological predictors of nomophobia.

Results

A sample of 403 subjects volunteered to take part in the study. The average age of participants was 27.91 years (standard deviation 8.63) and the sample was comprised of 160 males (160/403, 39.7%) and 243 females (243/403, 60.3%). Forty-five subjects spent less than 1 hour on their mobile phone per day (45/403, 11.2%), 94 spent between 1 and 2 hours (94/403, 23.3%), 69 spent between 2 and 3 hours (69/403, 17.1%), 58 spent between 3 and 4 hours (58/403, 14.4%), 48 spent between 4 and 5 hours (48/403, 11.9%), 29 spent between 5 and 7 hours (29/403, 7.2%), 36 spent between 7 and 9 hours (36/403, 8.9%), and 24 spent more than 10 hours (24/403, 6.0%). The eigenvalues and scree plot supported a 3-factorial nature of the translated questionnaire. The NMP-Q showed an overall Cronbach alpha coefficient of 0.95 (0.94, 0.89, and 0.88 for the three factors). The first factor explained up to 23.32% of the total variance, while the second and third factors explained up to 23.91% and 18.67% of the variance, respectively. The total NMP-Q score correlated with the number of hours spent on a mobile phone.

Conclusions

The Italian version of the NMP-Q proved to be reliable.

“Adaptación española de la escala HPLP-II con una muestra de empleados”

Antecedentes: Los estilos de vida tienen una gran influencia en la salud laboral de los trabajadores. En este contexto, el objetivo planteado fue la adaptación al castellano de la Escala HPLP-II de Walker and Hill-Polerecky en población trabajadora. Los factores que mide la escala original son 6 y se corresponden con Actividad física, Crecimiento espiritual, Manejo del estrés, Nutrición, Relaciones interpersonales y Responsabilidad hacia la salud. Método: Los participantes han sido 513 trabajadores (48,1 % hombres, 51,9 % mujeres), obtenidos mediante un muestreo no probabilístico. Se han utilizado los programas FACTOR (versión 7.2) y SPSS 20.0. Resultados: En la escala HPLP-II, los resultados apoyan una solución de cuatro factores reduciéndose el número de ítems de 52 a 48, presentando una fiabilidad adecuada (Responsabilidad hacia la salud = .81, Actividad física = .86, Nutrición = .70 y Crecimiento espiritual y relaciones interpersonales = .88) e indicios de validez con: MBI-GS, Autoeficacia, Satisfacción con la Vida y Engagement. Conclusiones: Las Escala HPLP-II es un instrumento fiable y válido, adecuado para ser usado en español.

A predictive study of antecedent variables of workaholism

BACKGROUND

Recent studies have pointed to a relationship between personality variables, engagement, and the lifestyle of workers with workaholism. Our goal in the present study is to carry out a predictive study of the pre-existing variables for workaholism.&nbsp; Method : The study sample participants were 513 workers (48.1 % men, 51.9 % women), obtained through non-probability sampling. The programmes used were FACTOR (7.2 version) and SPSS 20.0.

RESULTS

We found that personality variables such as engagement, self-efficacy, obsessive-compulsive component (ICO), satisfaction with life and lifestyle were predictive of workaholism.

CONCLUSIONS

Workaholism can, in fact, be predicted through certain variables (personality, engagement, self-efficacy, ICO, satisfaction with life and lifestyle) and hence, the present study contributes to a better understanding of workaholism and to furthering a healthy life style which may be affected by workaholism.

Dispositional Employability and Online Training Purchase. Evidence from Employees' Behavior in Spain

This article explores the relationship between dispositional employability and online training purchase. Through a sample of 883 employees working for enterprises in Spain, and a using principal component analysis and binomial logit probabilistic models, the research revealed two main results. First, it was found that dispositional employability is characterized by five factors: “openness to changes at work,” “career motivation and work resilience,” “work and career proactivity,” “optimism and engagement at work,” and “work identity.” Second, the research also found a double causality in the relationship analysis between dispositional employability and online training purchase. However, this causality is not direct. In explaining dispositional employability, certain motivations and types of behavior of employees participating in online training are significant. In particular, greater sensitivity toward career-related personal empowerment, a greater predisposition toward developing new experiences at work, and a greater awareness of the fact that positive job outcomes are related to preparation conscientiousness. In explaining online training purchase, employees who are more motivated and who better identify with their jobs are more likely to pay. Moreover, employees who spend more time on training and have less contact with new trends in their jobs, find it hard to keep calm in difficult situations, and have a greater predisposition toward effort, and preference for novelty, variety and challenges at work are more likely to purchase online training.

Spanish adaptation of the internal functioning of the Work Teams Scale (QFI-22)

BACKGROUND

The aim of this article is to develop the Spanish adaptation of the internal functioning of Work Teams Scale (QFI-22).

METHODS

The scale was adapted from the French version, and was applied to a sample of 1,055 employees working for firms operating in Spain. The article analyses the internal structure (exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis) and internal consistency, and provides convergent validity evidence of the scale.

RESULTS

The QFI-22 scale shows the same internal structure as the original. Factor analysis confirmed the existence of two factors: interpersonal support and team work management, with good internal consistency coefficients (α1 = .93, α2 = .92). Regarding validity evidence, the QFI-22 scale has significant correlations with other correlates and alternative scales used for comparison purposes. The two factors correlated positively with team vision, participation safety, task orientation and support for innovation (Team Climate Inventory, TCI scale), with progressive culture (Organisational Culture, X-Y scale), and with creating change, customer focus and organisational learning (Denison Organizational Culture Survey, DOCS scale). In contrast, the two factors correlated negatively with traditional culture (X-Y scale).

CONCLUSION

The QFI-22 scale is a useful instrument for assessing the internal functioning of work teams.

Adaptación de la escala Creative Environment Perceptions al español

Este estudio se enmarca dentro de la propuesta de Mayfield y Mayfield (2008, 2010) sobre las percepciones del entorno creativo. El objetivo fue realizar la adaptación al español de la escala Creative Environment Perceptions de 9 ítems y analizar sus propiedades psicométricas. Los participantes de la presente investigación son 975 empleados españoles (48,5 % hombres y 51,5 % mujeres). Los resultados obtenidos demuestran, después de realizar análisis confirmatorio, una estructura constituida por tres factores: Apoyo a la creatividad, Características del trabajo y Bloqueos a la creatividad. Además, los tres factores obtenidos tienen una fiabilidad adecuada e igualmente se constatan indicios de validez si se toman como referencia algunos correlatos externos y algunas escalas que hacen referencia a la adicción al trabajo, el burnout y el potencial creativo. En suma, la presente escala puede resultar idónea para identificar de manera apropiada el apoyo a la creatividad, las características del trabajo y los bloqueos a la creatividad.

Adaptación al español del Inventario Multidimensional de Fatiga al entorno laboral

La necesidad de evaluar la fatiga al entorno laboral es esencial para poder desarrollar programas de prevención e intervención. El principal objetivo de este trabajo fue adaptar del inglés al español el Inventario Multidimensional de Fatiga. Se analizaron la estructura interna y la fiabilidad, y se aportaron evidencias de validez convergente. La aplicación de la escala se realizó a una muestra multiocupacional compuesta por 414 empleados. También se utilizaron varios correlatos externos y dos escalas de contraste. Se aplicó el análisis factorial tanto exploratorio como confirmatorio. Los resultados indican que la versión española está conformada por 19 ítems y tres factores denominados Fatiga General, Fatiga Física y Concentración/Motivación. Los coeficientes de fiabilidad obtenidos fueron adecuados y, además, se obtuvieron evidencias de validez con cuatro correlatos externos y dos escalas de fatiga. La presente escala adaptada al español muestra unas propiedades psicométricas idóneas y puede resultar adecuada para identificar de manera apropiada la fatiga en entornos laborales. Futuras investigaciones podrían utilizarla como una herramienta de screening en combinación con otros instrumentos.

Spanish adaptation of the Creative Potential and Practised Creativity scale (CPPC-17) in the workplace and inside the organization

BACKGROUND

This study follows the theoretical framework put forward by Hinton on creative potential and practised creativity. The objective was to adapt the 17-item Creative Potential and Practised Creativity scale into Spanish and examine its psychometric properties.

METHOD

The study sample was made up of 975 Spanish employees (48.5% men and 51.5% women).

RESULTS

After performing a confirmatory factor analysis, the findings revealed a three-factor structure: Creative potential, Practised creativity and Perception of organizational support. Furthermore, appropriate reliability was found for all three factors as well as initial evidence of construct validity in relation to certain external correlates and a series of scales measuring workaholism, irritation, burnout and personality.

CONCLUSIONS

The present scale may prove ideal for adequately identifying Creative potential, Practised creativity and Perceived organizational support.

Spanish version of Bus Drivers' Job Demands Scale (BDJD-24)

BACKGROUND

Karasek and Theorell's Job Demands-Control Model argues that adverse health-related outcomes, both psychological and physiological, arise from a combination of high job demand and a low level of job control. The objective was to adapt Meijman and Kompier's Bus Drivers' Job Demands Scale (BDJD-24), which enables us to assess the job demands of bus drivers, to Spanish.

METHOD

The final version of the Spanish adaptation was applied to a sample made up of 287 bus drivers living in Spain (80.1% men and 19.9% women), whose average age was 40.44 (SD= 11.78).

RESULTS

The results yielded a three-factor structure for the scale used: Time Pressure, Safety, and Passengers. These findings confirm that the Spanish version replicates the factor structure of the original English scale. The reliability of the three subscales was acceptable, ranging from .75 to .84. Furthermore, the subscales were also related to different external correlates and to other scales and showed good convergent and criterion validity.

CONCLUSIONS

The present instrument can be used to evaluate job demands of bus drivers, as its psychometrics are substantially sound.

Estresores laborales en conductores de autobuses (ELBus-21): Estructura factorial, fiabilidad y validez

En el presente artículo se estudian las propiedades psicométricas de la escala ELBus-21 que permite evaluar los estresores laborales que son propios de los conductores de autobuses españoles. Los participantes de la presente investigación son 287 conductores de autobuses (80.1% hombres y 19.9% mujeres) de tres radios de acción: urbano, interurbano y discrecional. Los resultados obtenidos constatan, después de realizar un análisis factorial exploratorio de la escala, una estructura constituida por tres factores que hacen referencia a las condiciones del tráfico, a la sobrecarga y la fatiga, y a la falta de confort personal. Además, los tres factores obtenidos tienen una fiabilidad adecuada. Igualmente, se constatan indicios de validez de los tres factores si se toman como referencia el estrés, los trastornos psicofisiológicos, las conductas de seguridad en el vehículo, la autonomía en el puesto de trabajo y algunos correlatos empíricos. En suma, la presente escala puede resultar idónea para identificar de manera apropiada los estresores laborales en los conductores de autobuses españoles. La escala ELBus-21 puede ser utilizada como un inventario de screening en combinación con otros instrumentos.

Health and safety at work in the transport industry (TRANS-18): factorial structure, reliability and validity

In this article, we study the psychometric properties of a short scale (TRANS-18) which was designed to detect safe behaviors (personal and vehicle-related) and psychophysiological disorders. 244 drivers participated in the study, including drivers of freight transport vehicles (regular, dangerous and special), cranes, and passenger transport (regular transport and chartered coaches), ambulances and taxis. After carrying out an exploratory factor analysis of the scale, the findings show a structure comprised of three factors related to psychophysiological disorders, and to both personal and vehicle-related safety behaviors. Furthermore, these three factors had adequate reliability and all three also showed validity with regard to burnout, fatigue and job tension. In short, this scale may be ideally suited for adequately identifying the safety behaviors and safety problems of transport drivers. Future research could use the TRANS-18 as a screening tool in combination with other instruments.

[The development and validation of two scales on retribution practices: PRG-13 and PRE-21]

The present study outlines the development process of two scales that measure general and specific retribution practices in organisations. Historically, retribution has been the subject of research of other social sciences such as Sociology and Business Administration. In Psychology, and more specifically in Work and Organisational Psychology, there are hardly any studies or inventories designed to evaluate retribution practices. In order to accomplish the objectives, a sample of 237 employees was selected, 42.6% of whom were women and 57.4% were men. We performed and exploratory factorial analysis using principal axis factoring as extraction method and an oblique rotation (oblimin) to analyse the two scales. The former is made up of four factors and the latter is a two-factor scale. The reliability coefficients of the six subscales we obtained ranged between .72 and .89. External validity was analysed using the correlations obtained between the two inventories and the Balanced Scorecard. The two tools were found to be two potentially useful scales to evaluate retribution practices.

[Short Spanish version of Team Climate Inventory (TCI-14): development and psychometric properties]

The aim of the present paper was to develop a Spanish adaptation of the reduced, 14-item version of the Team Climate Inventory (TCI-14), a questionnaire developed to evaluate team climate. To this end the English version was adapted and applied to a sample of 360 employees from Castilla-León and Catalonia (44.4% men and 55.6% women). The results indicated that the TCI-14 has the same structure as the original version, and confirmatory factor analysis was used to verify the existence of the factors Vision, Participative Safety, Task Orientation and Support for Innovation. The TCI-14 also presented good reliability coefficients considering the low number of items on each scale (alphas ranged between .75 and .82). The TCI-14 is a potentially useful instrument for evaluating the climate of work teams. It could be used by future research as a screening tool in conjunction with other instruments.