The Chinese Version of Utrecht Work Engagement Scale: An Examination of Reliability and Validity

Objective:To introduce the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale(UWES)developed by Schaufeli et al, and to examine its reliability and validity in Chinese middle school teachers. Methods: First, 47 Chinese Middle School teachers were pretest by the translation version of UWES. Two items with unsatisfactory discrimination index were deleted. Second, 277 Chinese Middle School teachers completed a battery of structured questionnaires, including the Chinese version of UWES, SF- 36 Health Survey, COPE and the Job Characteristics Questionnaire of the Middle School teachers. Reliability and validity of the Chinese UWES were analyzed. Results: Results of the Confirmatory Factor Analysis confirmed the hy- pothesized three- factor model of work engagement, consisting of Vigor, Dedication and Absorption. All of the three sub- scales showed acceptable internal consistencies. Work engagement and its sub- conceptions showed complicated relation- ships with the general health, coping strategies and job characteristics,which are consistent to our expectation. Conclu- sion: The Chinese version of UWES is reliable and valid for application in China.