Development and testing of the Stressor Scale for Pediatric Oncology Nurses

Pediatric oncology nursing has been identified as a stressful specialty, but the exact sources of the stress have not been comprehensively specified nor put into measurable form. Effective interventions can best be developed when the stressors are known and measured. The purpose of this study was to develop and test an instrument that could accurately and sensitively measure the job-related stressors for pediatric oncology nurses. A 61-item, visual analogue instrument, the Stressor Scale for Pediatric Oncology Nurses (SSPON), was inductively developed from interviews with 30 pediatric oncology nurses. Subsequently, the SSPON was tested in three geographically separated samples of pediatric oncology nurses (n = 78). After an item analysis, 11 items were deleted from the scale. Reliability of the SSPON was estimated using both stability and internal consistency methods. The test-retest correlation coefficient was 0.88, and the total scale alpha coefficient was 0.94. Content validity was estimated using a two-stage process of developmental and judgment quantification with a panel of three specialty nurses. Construct validity was estimated through testing of theoretically derived hypotheses and a cluster analysis. Findings indicated the SSPON is content valid. Six meaningful clusters that represented sources of job-related stress were identified and defined. The revised SSPON appears to have adequate psychometric properties for a new instrument.