Measuring stress in Australia: validation of the perceived stress scale (PSS-14) in a national sample

Abstract

Background: In Australia, the stress levels have increased over the years, impacting on the physical and mental health of the general population. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the validity and reliability of the PSS-14 in an Australian population. Methods: The PSS-14 was applied to a large national sample comprising 3857 Australians in the population-based cross-sectional study Australia's National Survey of Adult Oral Health 2004-2006. The psychometric properties analyzed with the Rasch model and Graphical Log-linear Rasch models were: model fit, item fit, local dependence, differential item functioning, unidimensionality, reliability, targeting and criterion validity. Results: The PSS-14 did not fit the pure RM (χ2 (55) = 3828.3, p = < 0.001) and the unidimensionality of the whole scale was rejected (p = < 0.001). The Perceived Stress (χ2 (27) = 1409.7, p = < 0.001) and Perceived Control (χ2 (27) = 713.4, p = < 0.001) subscales did not fit the pure RM. After the deletion of two items, the Perceived Stress subscale (χ2 (96) = 94.4, p = 0.440) fitted a GLLRM, while the Perceived Control scale (χ2 (55) = 62.50, p = 0.224) fitted a GLLRM after the exclusion of four misfitting items. Conclusions: The Perceived Stress subscale displayed adequate psychometric properties after the deletion of two items; however, the majority of problems centered around the Perceived Control subscale. The presence of differential item functioning among four items indicates that adjustment of total scores is required to avoid measurement bias. Recommendations for future applications in Australia are provided.

Exploratory Graph Analysis of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Children

“…These differences can lead to distorted caregiver-informant SDQ scores in case of the children with no follow-up having worst (or best) behavioral or emotional difficulties compared to the children with follow-ups. While representativeness is desirable to calculate item means and develop population norms, the lack of representativeness does not entail that model (item) parameters are biased (Richiardi et al, 2013;Santiago et al, 2020b). Secondly, there are also possible concerns regarding self-selection bias as, in both studies, families needed to agree to participate in the study (Dodson et al, 2012).…”

A cross-sectional investigation of the mental health and wellbeing among individuals who have been negatively impacted by the COVID-19 international border closure in Australia

“…Stress was measured with the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) which assesses perception of stress. Eight items of the PSS were selected for use, based on a recent validation of the PSS in an Australian sample [ 19 ]. The items are rated on a five-point Likert scale (ranging from “never” to “very often”).…”

Testing the Efficacy of Family Health-Model of REBT on Family Values and Quality of Family Life Among Parents of Children with Visual Impairment

“…Some items in the scale were reversely scored. The Personal Values Scale has been identified to be valid and reliable when measuring issues related to two or more persons such as family issues (Braithwaite et al, 1991).The validity and reliability of the PVS has been established across cultures and countries such as United States of America, Asia Australia and Greece (Baik et al 2019 ; Ribeiro Santiago et al, 2020 ). In addition to that, we established the reliability (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.81) of the scale in this study.…”