The Initial Validation of the Support Mobilisation for Work Stressors Inventory

Abstract

Support mobilisation has been largely overlooked in the occupational stress literature to the extent that there has been no comprehensive assessment of the mobilisation of support in response to work-related stressors. To address this gap in the literature, we developed and initially validated a multidimensional measure of support mobilisation that is applicable to workplace contexts. A series of three studies revealed that the Support Mobilisation for Work Stressors (SMWS) Inventory, adapted from the SAWS measure of perceived available support, showed evidence of reliability, construct validity and replication across samples, and criterion-related validity. The 12-item inventory assesses four supportive functions (emotional, informational, instrumental, appraisal). Respondents rate each item with reference to 3 sources of support (supervisor, work colleagues, non-work people). Thus, 12 distinct constructs are derived from the inventory: three sources of support and within each source, four distinct supportive functions. Limitations and potential uses in organisational psychology research are discussed.