Abstract
The objectives of this study were to validate the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES) for emergency medical technicians in the Gauteng Province of South Africa and to determine its construct equivalence and bias for different language groups. A cross-sectional survey design was used with a convenient sample (N = 318) of emergency medical technicians in Gauteng. The UWES and a biographical questionnaire were administered. A two-factor model of work engagement, consisting of Vigour/Dedication and Absorption was found. Exploratory factor analysis with target rotations confirmed the construct equivalence of the work engagement construct for white and black employees.
Highlights
Researchers and practitioners in psychology are increasingly questioning the prevailing postSecond World War paradigm, described as the pathogenic paradigm where the orientation towards the abnormal, the origin of the pathos is taken as the starting point of interventions and strategies aimed at fixing and treating ill-health (Seligman, 2002)
The prevalence of the pathogenic paradigm in the health and social sciences is confirmed by Diener, Suh, Lucas and Smith (1999) reporting that 17 times more scientific articles were published on negative feelings than on positive feelings
The psychometric properties of the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES) were investigated in this study, for emergency medical technicians in the Gauteng Province of South Africa
Summary
Researchers and practitioners in psychology are increasingly questioning the prevailing postSecond World War paradigm, described as the pathogenic paradigm where the orientation towards the abnormal, the origin of the pathos (disease, ill-health) is taken as the starting point of interventions and strategies aimed at fixing and treating ill-health (Seligman, 2002). This paradigm assumes maladjustment and ill-health of individuals and neglects positive aspects of human functioning (Barnard, 1994). Psychology is not just the study of pathology, weakness and damage, and the study of strength and virtue
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