OBJECTIVETo evaluate the validity and reliability of the Occupational Stress Scale (OSS) for Chinese offshore oil platform workers.

METHODSA 51-item self-administered questionnaire developed in the light of Cooper's questionnaire and company's special situation was used to investigate 561 subjects.

RESULTS51 occupational stress items relating to offshore oil production were subjected to factor analysis, and nine latent factors were identified, which explained 62.5% of the total variance. According to the contents described by the items included in each factor, they were respectively defined as: "the interface between job and family/social life (factor 1)", "career and achievement (factor 2)", "safety (factor 3)", "management problem and relationship with others at work (factor 4)", "physical factors of workplace (factor 5)", "platform living environment (factor 6)", "role in management (factor 7)", "ergonomics (factor 8)" and "organization structure (factor 9)". Significant difference in the score of five factors was observed among 12 different job categories by analysis of variance. After adjusting for potential confounding factors (age, educational level), hierarchical multiple regression analysis indicated that the score of the OSS was significantly and positively correlated with the poor mental health of the workers (P < 0.01). The consistent test between OSS and each factor showed that Cronbach's alpha were 0.72 - 0.91.

CONCLUSIONThe OSS is a valid and reliable tool for measuring occupational stress, and can be used to explore occupational stress and its influence on health and safety problems in offshore oil workers.