ASSESSMENT OF JOB STRESS DIMENSIONS BASED ON THE JOB DEMANDS-CONTROL MODEL OF EMPLOYEES OF TELECOMMUNICATION AND ELECTRIC-POWER COMPANIES IN JAPAN - RELIABILITY AND VALIDITY OF THE JAPANESE VERSION OF THE JOB CONTENT QUESTIONNAIRE

To investigate the reliability and validity of 4 selected scales from the Japanese version of the Job Content Questionnaire (JCQ, Karasek, 1 985)decision latitude, psychological demand, supervisor support, and c oworker support-a survey was conducted on a total of 626 employees of telephone and electric companies in Japan. The survey questionnaire wa s composed of 22 items. Data from 472 male and 10X female respondents were analyzed. Cronbach's alpha coefficients far the four JCQ scales r anged from .61 to .89 for men and from .65 to .87 for women. Scree plo ts based on factor analyses of scale items indicated that one major fa ctor explained 30% to 75% of each scale variance in men and women. Fac tor structures of the 22 items for men and women were consistent with those theoretically expected. Distributions of the decision latitude s cores among occupations for men and women were similar to those in the U.S, national samples; the scores significantly and positively correl ated with occupational class. It is suggested that the JCQ scales are reliable and valid instruments for assessing job stressors in a Japane se working population.