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. 2020 May-Aug;20(2):173-181.
doi: 10.1016/j.ijchp.2020.03.004. Epub 2020 May 22.

Measuring stress in clinical and nonclinical subjects using a German adaptation of the Perceived Stress Scale

Eva Elisa Schneider  1 , Sandra Schönfelder  2 , Mila Domke-Wolf  1 , Michèle Wessa  1   2
Affiliations

Measuring stress in clinical and nonclinical subjects using a German adaptation of the Perceived Stress Scale

Eva Elisa Schneider et al. Int J Clin Health Psychol. 2020 May-Aug.

Abstract
in English, Spanish

Background/Objective: Stress is perceived differently across individuals, which might be particularly true for nonclinical and clinical subjects. For this reason, we tested a German adaption of the 10-item Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10) for model fit and measurement invariance in a big nonclinical and clinical sample. Method: We (1) conducted multiple confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) in 1,248 nonclinical subjects and 575 outpatients, (2) measurement invariance with multigroup CFA, (3) assessed correlations with relevant constructs and (4) calculated internal consistencies for overall stress and the subscales Helplessness and Self-efficacy. Results: In both samples, CFA revealed a robust two-factorial structure with an excellent model fit. Group comparisons revealed strict measurement invariance. Correlations with associated measures support validity. Internal consistencies were good to very good. Conclusions: We show highly satisfactory psychometric properties of the German PSS-10 for nonclinical and clinical individuals. Measurement invariance analyses demonstrated that varying stress levels of people with a different mental health status are due to true interindividual differences.

Antecedentes/Objetivo: El estrés se percibe de manera diferente entre los individuos, lo que podría ser particularmente cierto para los sujetos no clínicos y clínicos. Por esta razón, probamos una adaptación alemana de la Perceived Stress Scale de 10 ítems (PSS-10) para el ajuste del modelo y la invarianza de la medición en una gran muestra clínica y no clínica. Método: Realizamos (1) un análisis factorial confirmatorio múltiple (CFA) en 1.248 sujetos no clínicos y 575 pacientes ambulatorios, (2) invarianza de medición con CFA multigrupo, (3) correlaciones con constructos relevantes y (4) cálculos de la consistencia interna para la escala general y las subescalas Desvalidez y Autoeficacia. Resultados: En ambas muestras, el CFA reveló una estructura robusta de dos factores con un excelente ajuste del modelo. Las comparaciones grupales indicaron invarianza estricta. Las correlaciones con las medidas asociadas respaldan la validez. Los coeficientes de consistencia interna fueron buenos a muy buenos. Conclusión: Mostramos propiedades psicométricas altamente satisfactorias de la version alemana de la PSS-10 para individuos no clínicos y clínicos. Los análisis de invarianza de medición demostraron que los niveles variables de estrés de las personas con un estado de salud mental diferente se deben a diferencias interindividuales verdaderas.

Keywords: Clinical subjects; Factor analyses; Instrumental study.; Invariance; Perceived Stress Scale.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Final PSS model retrieved from CFA (standardized solution) in nonclinical and clinical subjects; statistical indices from nonclinical subjects are shown in brackets. Factor loadings are shown above the arrows, communalities are shown next to the Items. Items 4, 5, 7 and 8 are reverse-scored (R). Items 2 and 8R served as marker variables. Residuals of items 1/3 and items 1/9 were freed to correlate.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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