PSYCHOLOGY OF COMPUTER USE: XXIX. MEASURING COMPUTER USERS' STRESS: THE COMPUTER HASSLES SCALE

Abstract

Measurement of computer users' stress was based on the Computer Hassles Scale. 65 questionnaires were returned from 113 mailed to users of accounting information systems who worked for manufacturing companies. Correlations were calculated for the total sample and subsamples divided by gender. The analysis indicated that persons with college degrees experienced greater computer users' stress than those who were without. Those persons who reported more computer hassles experienced more somatic complaints which indicated that the computer hassles were stressful. There were no significant mean differences between women and men on computer hassles or somatic complaints. The correlations of computer hassles with somatic complaints differed by gender. Women's computer hassles were significantly correlated .61 with somatic complaints, but men's computer hassles were not significantly correlated (r = .18) with somatic complaints. The gender differences suggest that there is a complex relationship between stressors (computer hassles) and stress reactions (somatic complaints).