Measuring job stress and family stress in Chinese working women: a validation study focusing on blood pressure and psychosomatic symptoms

Abstract

Psychometric properties of a questionnaire measuring psychosocial work-related stress in terms of effort-reward imbalance and a short family stress scale were examined in a population sample of 421 working women from four work sites in Beijing, China. The internal consistency of the scales was satisfactory, and the theoretically postulated structure of scales of the work stress questionnaire was replicated. The criterion validity of the scales was tested using psychosomatic symptoms and blood pressure. Combined exposure to work and family- related stress was associated with an adjusted mean 6.4 mmHg increase in systolic blood pressure. Recurrent sleeping problems were also associated with the two stress measures. In conclusion, standardized measures of psychosocial stress in terms of effort-reward imbalance and of family stress can be used in occupational health research in China, with particular relevance for working women.