Evaluation on reliability and validity of Utrecht Work Engagement Scale(UWES-9), Chinese version among policemen

Objective To introduce the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale(UWES-9) and to evaluate its reliability and validity among Chinese policemen.Methods Totally 780 policemen were sampled with randomly stratified cluster method.The participants were asked to fill out the scale.Results Exploratory factor analyses showed that the scale was composed of 3 factors of vigor,dedication,and absorption.The Cronbach α of UWES-9 was 0.93 and the Cronbach α for the 3 subscales were 0.78,0.80,and 0.81,respectively.Meanwhile,the test-retest reliability of the 3 subscales was between 0.78 and 0.84.The split-half coefficient was 0.92.The scale had good construct validity and content validity.The indexes for the three dimensions of work engagement vigor,dedication,absorption and the total score were 3.01±1.81,3.46±1.76,2.82±1.53,and 3.10±1.70,respectively.Male police showed significantly more vigor,dedication,absorption,and work engagement than the female police(P<0.01).No significant diffience in the three dimensions of work engagement was observed among policemen of different nationality.Unmarried policemen had higher scores than the married policemen in vigor,dedication,absorption,and work engagement(P<0.01).The vigor,dedication,absorption,and work engagement of the superintendents were lower than those of the supervisors(P<0.05).Conclusion The Chinese version of UWES-9 is reliable and valid for application in China.There is a difference in work engagement between the policemen with different demographic characteristics.