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Psychometric Properties of the Two-Minute College Stress Scale

Psychometric Properties of the Two-Minute College Stress Scale. By Halford H. Fairchild & Psych 104 Students Pitzer College, Fall 2009. Introduction. Purpose: To develop a scale to assess “College Stress.” College Stress is hypothesized to affect well-being.

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Psychometric Properties of the Two-Minute College Stress Scale

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  1. Psychometric Properties of the Two-Minute College Stress Scale By Halford H. Fairchild & Psych 104 Students Pitzer College, Fall 2009

  2. Introduction • Purpose: To develop a scale to assess “College Stress.” • College Stress is hypothesized to affect well-being. • College is hypothesized to vary in various subgroups.

  3. Review of Literature • Although College Stress has been studied in numerous contexts (nationally & internationally), studies suffer from: • Lack of representative samples • Weak measures

  4. Weakness of Existing Measures • Limited scope (range of questions) • Not tied to a particular time frame (e.g., stress experienced in the last week or month) • Ease of administration

  5. Scale Development • Brainstorming • Key Informants • Pre-testing

  6. Procedures • IRB Approval (wanting to finesse “informed consent”) - obtained at Pitzer, CMC and Pomona • 20% Random Sample of dorms • Convenience sample • Very high compliance (response) rates (over 95%)

  7. Sample Description • N = 932 (403 in random sample, 529 in convenience sample). • CMC (n=168), Pitzer (n = 405), and Pomona (n = 298). • 433 (47%) male, 489 (53%) female • Year in school: 229 (24.6%), 275 (29.5%), 182 (19.5%), 196 (21%)

  8. Sample Description (cont’d)

  9. Sample Description (cont’d)

  10. Results • Top five stressors: • Homework/workload • Grades and performance • Time management • Course difficulty • Post-graduation plans

  11. Results (cont’d) • Bottom five stressors: • Spirituality or religious issues • Roommate conflicts • Minority status • Fear of pregnancy or STDs • Sexual identity

  12. Results (cont’d) • Scale Reliability • Total sample = .883 • CMC = .886 • Pitzer = .889 • Pomona = .858

  13. Stress Scale Psychometrics • Mean = 1.21, SD = .52 • Skew = .422 (SE = .086) • Kurtosis = -.056 (SE .171)

  14. Shape of the Distribution

  15. Campus DifferencesStress Totals (and SDs) • CMC (1.16, .5) • Pitzer (1.26, .54) • Pomona (1.15, .47) • F(2,274) = 4.46, p < .05

  16. Campus DifferencesSatisfaction Totals (and SDs) • CMC (2.02, .76) • Pitzer (2.28, .86) • Pomona (2.22, .82) • F(2,855) =5.715, p < .01 • (PZ & POM were “equal”; CMC sig. lower than the other two).

  17. Validity Checks • Total stress related to doctor visits (r = .12, p < .01) • Total stress positively related to college satisfaction (r = -.26, p < .001) • More “minority status” and “cultural differences” stress for minority students.

  18. Future Research • Exploring Factor Structure • Queer Experiences • Ethnic Group comparisons • Ethnic-specific analyses • Athletes • International Students • Hong Kong sample • Gender Differences • Campus Differences

  19. Future Research • Comparisons Across Campuses • Comparisons Across Time

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