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Three hundred and one clinical nurses in Taiwan participated in a questionnaire study to empirically test a proposed integrative model of gender-role traits and depression. Measurements of masculinity, femininity, self-esteem, locus of control and depression were taken. Using multivariate analysis and structural modelling, we found that (1) masculinity and femininity were significantly correlated with each other; (2) masculinity and femininity were related negatively to depression, but only indirectly; and (3) self-esteem and locus of control were important and necessary mediators between gender-role traits and depression. Relationships between gender-role traits, self-esteem, locus of control and depression were further discussed and re-examined.

This article examines the construct validity of the Occupational Stress Indicator (OSI) in its Chinese version as well as its criterion-oriented validity against self-reported data on absenteeism and accidents, using a final sample of 1054 workers in the Chinese manufacturing and power industries. The divergent and convergent validities of five of the OSI scales—Job satisfaction, Physical ill-health, Mental ill-health, Type A behaviour and Control—were examined by a multimethod-multitrait matrix technique. Results indicated that the Chinese OSI had fairly good validity in relation to other well-established measures as well as relevant organizational behaviours.

SUMMARY This article examines the reliability of the Occupational Stress Indicator (OSI) in its Chinese version as well as factor structures for three of its scales - stressors, coping and job satisfaction. Estimates of reliability obtained by item-total correlation coefficients and Cronbach's alphas are quite acceptable. Factor analyses using the principal components technique have also found psychologically meaningful structures. Stress has become one of the most serious health issues of the twentieth century - a problem not just for individuals in terms of physical and mental disability, but for employers and governments, who have started to assess the financial damage.' Matteson and Ivancevich2 estimate that stress causes half of absenteeism, 40 per cent of turnover, and that 5 per cent of the total workforce covers for reduced productivity due to preventable stress ($300 billion for the US economy annually). Although other sources may quote different figures, it is obvious that occupational stress has serious consequences for both individual employees and organizations. The problem of occupational stress is particularly relevant for countries undergoing enormous economic and social changes. Taiwan is one such society, with the transformation of its industrial structure from labour-intensive to high-tech, as well as rapid westernization in both work and lifestyles. In this context, it is important for psychologists, occupational physicians, managerial executives and even government policy-makers to not only understand and appreciate, but also accurately assess the