Usage of the Brief Job Stress Questionnaire: A Systematic Review of a Comprehensive Job Stress Questionnaire in Japan from 2003 to 2021

Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2023 Jan 18;20(3):1814. doi: 10.3390/ijerph20031814.

Abstract

The Brief Job Stress Questionnaire (BJSQ) is used widely in occupational health studies and practice. Summarizing scientific production based on measurement is crucial. This study aimed to systematically review observational studies that used the BJSQ and the New BJSQ to show their usability. A systematic search was conducted for studies investigating relationships between the BJSQ or the New BJSQ subscales and other validated measurements on 13 September 2021, in various literature databases. The BJSQ subscales, scoring methods, and other validated measurements in the studies were qualitatively summarized. In total, 145 published reports between 2003 and 2021 were included. Among the BJSQ subscales, job stressors (n = 95) such as quantitative job overload (n = 65) and job control (n = 64) were most often used. The subscales were utilized to investigate the relationships with several other measurements. Five reports used subscales from the New BJSQ. In the last two decades, the BJSQ and the New BJSQ help measure psychosocial factors (PF) at work and contribute to the publication of scientific papers in the occupational health field. This study would encourage the utilization of the questionnaires for future research and practice.

Keywords: job control; job demands; psychometric; questionnaire; social support; workplace.

Publication types

  • Systematic Review
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Humans
  • Japan
  • Observational Studies as Topic
  • Occupational Health*
  • Occupational Stress* / epidemiology
  • Stress, Psychological / psychology
  • Surveys and Questionnaires
  • Workplace / psychology

Grants and funding

This study was supported by the Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JP21K19672 and JP20K19671).