Latin American validation of an instrument to assess stress caused by a possible war originated from the current armed conflicts (War-Stress)

Abstract

Introduction: Every armed conflict generates an uncomfortable and stressful environment, but there were no valid instruments to measure this in the Latin American population. Objective: To validate, in Latin American, an instrument to assess stress due to a possible war originated from the current conflicts. Methodology: This is a multicentric, instrumental study. It was based on a previous survey that measured stress, but we added some other questions according to the context of war. We sought previous and other suggested questions; then, expert judgment was carried out as well as a previous pilot test, virtual surveying, and psychometric analysis. Results: The Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin index (KMO = 0,957) and the Barlett’s test (230039.3; df = 105; p = 0.000) were acceptable. Factor 1 (stress in the war context) explains 64,3%; and Factor 2 (stress due to external situations caused by the war), 75,9% of the variance. Confirmatory factor analysis yielded a nine-item model, grouped into two factors (χ2 = 312,08; df = 26; p = 0.001; RMR = 0.030; GFI = 0.960; CFI = 0,980; TLI = 0.980; and RMSEA = 0.070). The general Alpha (α = 0.935; 95% CI = 0.92 – 0.94), and Factor 2 (α = 0.955; 95% CI = 0.81 – 0.91) were good. Discussion: We validated an instrument with excellent psychometric indicators. Through nine questions in two factors, it can measure stress effectively in the context of war. It is applicable to multiple scenarios.