Psychometric evaluation of the McCloskey/Mueller Satisfaction Scale

Area of Science:

• Nursing Research
• Psychometrics
• Healthcare Management

Background:

• The McCloskey/Mueller Satisfaction Scale (MMSS) is a widely used instrument for assessing job satisfaction in nurses.
• Concerns exist regarding the psychometric validity and applicability of the original 31-item, eight-factor MMSS for non-American nursing populations.
• The scale was developed in 1990 within the American nursing context.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate and refine the eight-factor structure of the 31-item MMSS.
• To assess the psychometric properties of the MMSS for use with Canadian nurses.
• To develop a more valid and reliable measure of job satisfaction for diverse nursing populations.

Main Methods:

• Exploratory factor analysis with varimax rotation was employed.
• Data were collected from a sample of 1007 Canadian nurses.
• The study analyzed nurses working in both hospital and community settings.

Main Results:

• The original eight-factor structure of the MMSS could not be replicated.
• A five-factor model with 25 items emerged as the best-fitting model.
• The revised subscales demonstrated stronger internal consistency (Cronbach's alphas ranging from 0.71 to 0.87) compared to the original (0.52 to 0.84).

Conclusions:

• The revised 25-item MMSS exhibits enhanced reliability and structural validity.
• This refined instrument is a potentially sound tool for measuring nurses' job satisfaction.
• The updated scale can effectively investigate factors impacting nurse job satisfaction and evaluate organizational interventions.