Translation and psychometric validation of the Chinese version of the Emotional Labour Scale for nurses

OBJECTIVE: To translate and psychometrically validate the Emotional Labour Scale (ELS) for nurses in China. BACKGROUND: Emotional labour is an indispensable component of nursing practice. We currently lack a standard instrument to assess nurses' emotional labour that fits the nursing context in China. METHOD: Using convenience sampling, 561 nurses were recruited from five tertiary comprehensive hospitals. Internal consistency reliability, test-retest reliability, split-half reliability, face validity, content validity, criterion validity and construct validity were used to evaluate the psychometric attributes of the scale. RESULTS: Exploratory factor analysis verified a three-factor scale structure with a cumulative variance contribution of the factors of 61.281%. The three factors were 'emotional control effort in profession,' 'patient-focused emotional suppression' and 'emotional pretence by norms.' Cronbach's alpha values were 0.881, 0.807 and 0.764, respectively. Confirmatory factor analysis results indicated that the three factors were consistent with the original scale structure. CONCLUSION: The C-ELS for nurses is a reliable and valid instrument with satisfactory psychometric properties. Future studies should recruit a more representative sample of nurses in China to verify the applicability of the scale. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT: A reliable and quantitative instrument is available for leaders to evaluate clinical nurses' emotional labour and establish effective emotional labour management strategies based on the measurement results.