Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 18, 2026

Evaluation of Commercial-Off-The-Shelf Wrist Wearables to Estimate Stress on Students
Published on: June 16, 2018
Validation of alternative formulations of job strain
Delphine S Courvoisier1, Thomas V Perneger
1Clinical Epidemiology Division, Geneva University Hospitals, Geneva, Switzerland. Delphine.Courvoisier@hcuge.ch
Objective:
To examine the construct validity of different formulations of job strain based on the demand-control(-support) model in the context of a hospital-based survey.
Methods:
We defined the best measure of job strain as the one that would be better predicted by professional status and job characteristics and better predict health outcomes, stress and back-pain leave. We received 1,298 responses from collaborators at the University Hospitals of Geneva who responded to a questionnaire survey including all the constructs cited above and the Job Content Questionnaire.
Results:
The difference between decision latitude and psychological demands (strain by subtraction), corresponded to the definition of the best measure of job strain and significantly, albeit weakly, predicted all outcomes. The logarithmic approach was the second best measure of job strain and was in fact a better predictor of stress.
Conclusions:
We would encourage researchers to explore different formulations of job strain, in particular the subtraction approach, to compute strain from demands and decision latitude.
Related Concept Videos
True Stress and True Strain
In contrast, true stress offers a more precise portrayal. It is computed by dividing the...
Problem Solving on Stress and Strain
Measurements of Strain
Thermal Strain
Castigliano's Theorem
Strain Energy
Consider a rod that is fixed at one end and subjected to an axial force at the free end. This axial force induces stress within the rod, leading to its elongation. As the axial force increases, so does the elongation of the rod, illustrating a direct relationship between the force applied and the resulting...
