Factor analysis and Mokken scaling of the Organizational Commitment Questionnaire in nurses

AIMS

To generate an Arabic version of the Organizational Commitment Questionnaire that would be easily understood by Arabic speakers and would be sensitive to Arabic culture.

BACKGROUND

The nursing workforce in Saudi Arabia is undergoing a process of Saudization but there is a need to understand the factors that will help to retain this workforce.

INTRODUCTION

No organizational commitment tools exist in Arabic that are specifically designed for health organizations. An Arabic version of the organizational commitment tool could aid Arabic speaking employers to understand their employees' perceptions of their organizations.

METHODS

Translation and back-translation followed by factor analysis (principal components analysis and confirmatory factor analysis) to test the factorial validity and item response theory (Mokken scaling).

RESULTS

A two-factor structure was obtained for the Organizational Commitment Questionnaire comprising Factor 1: Value commitment; and Factor 2: Commitment to stay with acceptable reliability measured by internal consistency. A Mokken scale was obtained including items from both factors showing a hierarchy of items running from commitment to the organization and commitment to self.

DISCUSSION

This study shows that the Arabic version of the OCQ retained the established two-factor structure of the original English-language version. Although the two factors - 'value commitment' and 'commitment to stay' - repudiate the original developers' single factor claim.

CONCLUSION

A useful insight into the structure of the Organizational Commitment Questionnaire has been obtained with the novel addition of a hierarchical scale.

IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING POLICY

The Organizational Commitment Questionnaire is now ready to be used with nurses in the Arab speaking world and could be used a tool to measure the contemporary commitment of nursing employees and in future interventions aimed at increasing commitment and retention of valuable nursing staff.

Fathers' views and experiences of their own mental health during pregnancy and the first postnatal year: a qualitative interview study of men participating in the UK Born and Bred in Yorkshire (BaBY) cohort

Background

The prevalence of fathers’ depression and anxiety in the perinatal period (i.e. from conception to 1 year after birth) is approximately 5–10%, and 5–15%, respectively; their children face increased risk of adverse emotional and behavioural outcomes, independent of maternal mental health. Critically, fathers can be protective against the development of maternal perinatal mental health problems and their effects on child outcomes. Preventing and treating paternal mental health problems and promoting paternal psychological wellbeing may therefore benefit the family as a whole. This study examined fathers’ views and direct experiences of paternal perinatal mental health.

Methods

Men in the Born and Bred in Yorkshire (BaBY) epidemiological prospective cohort who met eligibility criteria (baby born <12 months; completed Mental Health and Wellbeing [MHWB] questionnaires) were invited to participate. Those expressing interest (n = 42) were purposively sampled to ensure diversity of MHWB scores. In-depth interviews were conducted at 5–10 months postpartum with 19 men aged 25–44 years. The majority were first-time fathers and UK born; all lived with their partner. Data were analysed using thematic analysis.

Results

Four themes were identified: ‘legitimacy of paternal stress and entitlement to health professionals’ support’, ‘protecting the partnership’, ‘navigating fatherhood’, and, ‘diversity of men’s support networks’. Men largely described their ‘stress’ with reference to exhaustion, poor concentration and irritability. Despite feeling excluded by maternity services, fathers questioned their entitlement to support, noting that services are pressured and ‘should’ be focused on mothers. Men emphasised the need to support their partner and protect their partnership as central to the successfully navigation of fatherhood; they used existing support networks where available but noted the paucity of tailored support for fathers.

Conclusions

Fathers experience psychological distress in the perinatal period but question the legitimacy of their experiences. Men may thus be reluctant to express their support needs or seek help amid concerns that to do so would detract from their partner’s needs. Resources are needed that are tailored to men, framed around fatherhood, rather than mental health or mental illness, and align men’s self-care with their role as supporter and protector. Further research is needed to inform how best to identify and manage both parents’ mental health needs and promote their psychological wellbeing, in the context of achievable models of service delivery.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12884-017-1229-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.