A new measure for a high-stakes profession: development and validation of the professional identity scale for prehospital emergency personnel (PIS-PEPs)

Purpose The professional identity (PI) is an important psychological resource for prehospital emergency personnel (PEPs), yet existing instruments do not adequately capture the occupational realities of frontline prehospital work. This study aimed to develop and validate a context-specific measure, the Professional Identity Scale for Prehospital Emergency Personnel (PIS-PEPs). Design/methodology/approach An initial 13-item pool was developed through ride-along observation, preliminary interviews, theory mapping and literature review, and was then administered to 894 frontline PEPs in Beijing. The sample was randomly split for cross-validation. Item analysis, exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and exploratory graph analysis (EGA) were conducted in the training sample (N = 447), followed by confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and gender invariance testing in the validation sample (N = 447). Additional reliability and construct-validity indices were examined using the full sample. Findings The final PIS-PEPs retained 11 items across three dimensions: Survival and Social Relations Identity, Team Relations and Occupational Safety Identity, and Transcendental Identity. The three-factor structure was supported by both EFA and EGA and showed good fit in CFA (CFI = 0.946, TLI = 0.928, RMSEA = 0.055, 90% CI [0.041, 0.069]). In full-sample supplementary analyses, Cronbach's a ranged from 0.685 to 0.878 across subscales, McDonald's ω ranged from 0.715 to 0.881, composite reliability ranged from 0.711 to 0.882 and average variance extracted ranged from 0.454 to 0.714. Originality/value This study presents, to our knowledge, the first multidimensional scale developed specifically for the professional identity of frontline PEPs. Rather than assuming direct transferability from general healthcare or nursing-focused instruments, the PIS-PEPs provides a context-sensitive tool for future research and for organizational assessment in emergency service settings.