Validation of the ultra-short scale for measuring work engagement among social workers in Chinese contexts |
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Authors: | Xuebing Su Victor Wong Charlie Yip |
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Institution: | 1. Department of Applied Social Sciences, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong;2. Department of Social Work, Hong Kong Baptist University, Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong |
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Abstract: | Based on 683 valid questionnaires collected among a convenience sample of social workers from Hong Kong, Macau and three other cities in mainland China, this study investigated the psychometric properties of the Chinese version of the three-item ultra-short Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (C-UWES-3). The results of confirmatory factor analyses supported the discriminant validity of C-UWES-3 by differentiating its three items from other five items measuring emotional exhaustion and role ambiguity. The concurrent validity of C-UWES-3 was supported by its superior explanatory power to the original nine-item version of the scale (C-UWES-9) in relation to explaining social workers' turnover intention. The convergent validity of C-UWES-3 was supported by its correlations vis-à-vis factors in the job demands-resources model such as job demands, job resources, turnover intention and collective psychological ownership. The C-UWES-3 showed good internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = 0.81). Overall, the C-UWES-3 demonstrates excellent psychometric properties for informing future research. |
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Keywords: | work engagement job demands job resources social workers turnover intention collective psychological ownership |
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