Capturing Daily Occupational Stress: Psychometric Properties of a New Stress Measure in a Daily Diary Study of Swedish Healthcare Workers

Background: There is a lack of multi-item instruments for assessing daily fluctuations in negative occupational stress reactions in experience sampling designs.Objective: The psychometric evaluation of a new measure that captures daily stress, operationalized as frustration, tension, and feeling pressed, while distinguishing it from energy-related factors (engagement, focus) and other stress-related predictors (relaxation, sleep quality, work status).Methods: First, the reliability of the new measure is assessed using multilevel confirmatory factor analysis by calculating the within-level omega coefficient. Second, a multilevel structural equation model is used to assess discriminant validity by distinguishing it from energy variables and to assess convergent validity by testing the expected relationship between stress and the predictor variables.Results: The results indicate good reliability (within-person omega coefficient: 0.847; P < .001) and discriminant validity, with minimal overlap between energy variables and stress. Convergent validity is supported by the expected negative coefficients of the predictor variables.Conclusions: This new instrument specifically targets negative stress reactions and was found to be independent of positive stress reactions. The results confirm that the three-item stress measure has good psychometric properties and is suitable for use in experience sampling designs.