Personality

Mood

Mathematics

Confirmatory factor analysis

Clinical psychology

Stressor

Statistics

Psychology

Nomological network

Occupational stress

Applied psychology

Adjective check list

Structural equation modeling

Coping (psychology)

Social psychology

Journal of Occupational Health Psychology

Drawing on the mood regulation and job-stress recovery literature, four self-report measures for assessing how individuals unwind and recuperate from work during leisure time were developed (Study 1).Confirmatory factor analyses with a calibration and a cross-validation sample (total N ϭ 930) showed that four recovery experiences can be differentiated: psychological detachment from work, relaxation, mastery, and control (Study 2).Examination of the nomological net in a subsample of Study 2 (N ϭ 271) revealed moderate relations of the recovery experiences with measures of job stressors and psychological well-being; relations with coping and personality variables were generally low (Study 3).Potential applications for the future use of these short 4-item measures in longitudinal and diary research are discussed.

The Recovery Experience Questionnaire: Development and validation of a measure for assessing recuperation and unwinding from work.