Short-term test-retest reliability of the Job Content Questionnaire and Effort-Reward Imbalance Questionnaire items and scales among professional firefighters

Relatively little is known about the short-term test-retest reliability of the Job Content Questionnaire (JCQ) and Effort-Reward Imbalance Questionnaire (ERIQ). Seventeen JCQ and six ERIQ items were qualitatively reviewed by 19 firefighters in focus groups. The items were then administered twice to 81 firefighters with a time interval of 1-8 weeks. The short-term reliability of the JCQ and ERIQ items and scales with the four-point Likert item responses was at least fair or moderate with several complementary statistical methods. It improved substantially when the four-point responses were simplified into the two ('agree' or 'disagree') responses. The JCQ psychological demands and the ERIQ effort scales were among the least reliable scales and their items were most frequently indicated by the firefighters to be clarified. The responses of professional firefighters to the JCQ and ERIQ items and scales were stable during an 8-week period, particularly when dichotomous item responses were used. Practitioner Summary: The little-known short-term reliability of the two most commonly used questionnaires for assessing psychosocial working conditions was investigated. This study indicates that the dichotomous (strongly agree/agree vs. strongly disagree/disagree) responses of firefighters to the JCQ and ERIQ items and scales are generally stable during an 8-week period.