The aim of this study was to examine the reliability and validity of a Chinese-version stress instrument among emergency nurses. The study sample comprised of 113 nurses whose age ranged from 21 to 47 years old. The Chinese version of Medical Personnel Stress Survey (MPSS-R) was answered in 1996 through self-administered questionnaires. The instrument demonstrated excellent convergent and discriminant validity. Cronbach's alpha (reliability) coefficients ranged from .57 to .77. Factorial analysis yielded four principal components, corresponding to job dissatisfaction, team relationship, organization support, and somatic distress. Validation by independent variable was also consistent with theory. Thus, the Chinese-version MPSS-R retained excellent psychometric proper ties when used in an emergency nurses group. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.
