Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Psychology / Clive J. A. Fullagar / Research on occupational well-being, commonly conceptualized as job satisfaction or the
opposite of burnout, is criticized for its lack of theoretical basis. Danna and Griffin (1999) point
out the need to refine this construct as well as develop measures to assess well-being in the
workplace. This study proposed a scale of occupational well-being based on the work of Ryff
(1989). Ryff's (1989) model of psychological well-being was designed to address similar
concerns plaguing research on general well-being. The scales derived from Ryff's (1989)
research are theoretically based on a variety of converging theories of optimal well-being that
had previously been ignored. Unfortunately, the support for the psychometric properties of the
psychological well-being scale is mixed. Researchers have either been able to produce longer,
more reliable scales with a poor factor structure or shorter, less reliable scales with strong
factorial validity. The results of this study are consistent with general research on well-being.
Of the multiple first order models (with six independent factors) produced, the only acceptable
fit was from a scale with 4 item sub-scales. Though acceptable by some, the reliability of these
subscales was not as strong as it was for longer versions. The fit of the first order model was
then compared to that of a second order model (where the 6 dimensions loaded onto occupational
well-being). While both models had an acceptable fit to the data, preference was given to the
second order model. While they had similar REMSA values, the PGFI was higher for the second
order model; researchers have suggested that PGFI be used to help interpret the REMSA value.
In addition, the second order model was cross validated, producing results similar to the original
findings. This model was then used to assess the relationship between occupational well-being
and the context of work; previously, this has been ignored. Partial support was found for a
mediated relationship between psychological climate and occupational well-being. Composite
psychological climate scores influenced job satisfaction; this in turn, affected occupational wellbeing.
The limitations, contributions, and meaning of the study are then discussed.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:KSU/oai:krex.k-state.edu:2097/746 |
| Date | January 1900 |
| Creators | Schultz, Monica L. |
| Publisher | Kansas State University |
| Source Sets | K-State Research Exchange |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Dissertation |
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