Measuring occupational balance and its relationship to perceived stress and health

Abstract

Background. There is an assumption that occupational balance is integrally related to health and well-being. Purpose. This study aimed to investigate test-retest reliability of the English-translated Occupational Balance Questionnaire (OBQ), its relationship to measures of health (Short Form Health Survey–36 Version 2.0 [SF-36v2]) and stress (Perceived Stress Scale–10; PSS-10), and demographic differences in OBQ scores in Canadian adults. Method. Test-retest reliability (2 weeks) was assessed using intraclass correlation (ICC) coefficients. Online surveys from 86 adults were analyzed using descriptive, correlational, and t test statistics. Findings. OBQ test-retest reliability was ICC = 0.74 (95% CI [0.34, 0.90]; p = .003) when excluding an influential case ( n = 20). OBQ correlations with PSS-10 were r = –.72; with SF-36v2 Mental Component Score, r = .65; and with Physical Component Score, r = .31; all p < .001. Age and gender had no impact on OBQ scores. Implications. Findings help elucidate relationships among health, stress, and occupational balance; however, further psychometric testing is warranted before using OBQ for clinical purposes.