Although there has been extensive research on the phenomenon of stress, there is still a lack of assessment tools, especially in the South African context, that have strong theoretical underpinnings, tapping into both internal depletion of resources and the excessive external demands from the environment in the measurement of stress. The aim of this study was to validate the Setswana version of the original 30-item long form of the Stress Overload Scale as well as the 10-item short form (Stress Overload Scale-Short Form), both evaluating experienced personal vulnerability and external event load. A sample of N = 376 adults living in a rural community in the Northern Cape Province of South Africa were randomly selected to partake in the study. Emerging model fit indices of confirmatory factor analysis testing the hypothesized two-factor structure of the original Stress Overload Scale were not convincingly good. However, we found a remarkable improvement in model fit indices in the case of the Stress Overload Scale-Short Form. Concurrent validity was shown for the Stress Overload Scale-Short Form in significant correlations with depression and emotional well-being. We conclude that the Setswana version of the Stress Overload Scale-Short Form is a psychometrically sound instrument for measuring stress in the present context; however, further validation of the original Stress Overload Scale in diverse samples is necessary to provide stronger support for the hypothesized two-factor structure.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.