Social Representation and Imagery of Labor: Evaluation Process of the Psychosocial and Labor Vulnerability and Its Relation with Mental Health

Abstract

This work is a first step in the research line called “Vulnerability Psycosociolaboral (VPSL), Conceptualization and Measurement: Its effects on mental health.” The main purpose is to conceptualize the new construct called psychosocial and labor vulnerability. Subsequently, we decided to operationalize the concept, building and validating a screening instrument capable of measuring the construct. The preliminary instrument was implemented as part of a pilot phase in a first “control sample”, characterized by a wide profession and age variability of experimental subjects from the city of Rosario (Argentina). We are currently working on the basis of an agreement signed between the National University of Rosario (UNR) and the provincial electric power company’s union of Rosario, applying the instrument to workers constituting the front office of the business organization (Provincial Power Company—EPE). The results obtained so far allow us to provide an acceptable internal consistency and good levels of reliability (Cronbach’s Alpha) in several of the items assessed. Finally, thanks to these first encouraging results and with further testing of the instrument we propose to socialize these findings to then patent the instrument. As part of this work we present a summary of the key ideas agreed by the research group.