Symptom Correlates and Factor Structure of the Health Professions Stress Inventory

Abstract

Generalizability, psychological symptom correlates, and the factor structure of the Health Professions Stress Inventory were assessed with a sample of 92 geriatric nurses. The inventory was designed to measure the sources and frequency of stress among nurses, physicians, and pharmacists; little is known, however, of the extent to which scores correlate with psychological symptoms or of the underlying dimensions of stress measured. Analyses showed high correspondence between responses of the geriatric nurses and the normative nurses as measured by mean values and Cronbach alpha. Factor analysis of the intercorrelations among items yielded 4 factors contributing to work-related stress, i.e., Lack of Perceived Enrichment Potential, Patient Care, Interpersonal Conflict, and Family Responsibility Conflict. Scores on the inventory correlated significantly with those of all SCL-90—R scales.