Validity of occupational stress assessment using a visual analogue scale.
Occup Med (Lond)
; 61(6): 434-6, 2011 Sep.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-21505089
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
The visual analogue scale (VAS) is empirically used by occupational physicians to assess stress but very few studies have been published about its quantitative validation.AIMS:
To assess the external validity of the VAS for the assessment of stress in the clinical occupational health setting by comparing its scores with the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) of Cohen.METHODS:
An anonymous self-completed questionnaire (PSS14) and the VAS were filled in by a random sample of 360 workers from several occupational health centres.RESULTS:
No difference between the mean scores of PSS14 and stress VAS was found. The equation of the linear regression was 'VAS score = -0.18 + 1008 × PSS14 score'. A VAS score of 7.0 was identified as having the best sensitivity/specificity ratio (0.74 and 0.93, respectively) for identifying those with 'high stress' using the PSS cut-off score of 7.2, using a receiver operator curve approach.CONCLUSIONS:
Our results support an acceptable agreement between the two tests, meaning that the two tools assess the same psychological construct. The good sensitivity/specificity ratio and the area under the curve close to 1 provide evidence that a VAS is suitable to help the occupational physician detect a high level of stress. The use of a VAS for stress assessment seems to be meaningful, suitable and useful for occupational physicians.
Texto completo:
1
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Estresse Psicológico
/
Inquéritos e Questionários
/
Doenças Profissionais
Tipo de estudo:
Diagnostic_studies
/
Prognostic_studies
Limite:
Adult
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
País como assunto:
Europa
Idioma:
En
Ano de publicação:
2011
Tipo de documento:
Article