The Validity and Reliability of the Short Form of the Adolescent Stress Questionnaire (ASQ-14) Among Greek Adolescents Aged 15–18

TL;DR

The study confirms that the Greek version of the ASQ-14 is a reliable and valid tool for measuring stress in adolescents aged 15–18.

Contribution

The paper validates the psychometric properties of the Greek version of the ASQ-14 for adolescent stress assessment.

Findings

The Greek ASQ-14 showed acceptable reliability and two distinct stress factors: external pressures and internal uncertainty.

Adolescents with higher socio-economic status scored higher in external stress and lower in internal stress.

Female adolescents scored higher in both stress scales compared to male adolescents.

Abstract

What are the main findings?

The Greek ASQ-14 demonstrated acceptable reliability. Greek adolescents with high perceived socio-economic status had significantly greater scores in external stress factors and significantly lower scores in internal ones.

Female adolescents had significantly greater scores in ASQ.

What is the implication of the main finding?

The Greek ASQ-14 responds to the necessity of more viable, concise, and user-friendly stress-assessing instruments for Greek adolescents.

Background: Stress has devastating consequences for adolescents’ physical and mental health. Therefore, having the tools to accurately measure it is of critical importance. This paper seeks to evaluate the psychometric characteristics of the Greek version of the 14-item Adolescent Stress Questionnaire (ASQ-14), which measures adolescents’ daily experience of common stressors. Methods: The study questionnaire was administered to 176 male and female 15- to 18-year-old students, coming from several regions of Greece. The psychometric characteristics of the Greek ASQ-14 were investigated by confirmatory factor analysis(CFA) and exploratory factor analysis (EFA). The Kaiser–Meyer–Olkin (KMO) procedure was applied for measuring sample adequacy. Principal axis factoring (PAF) was chosen as the extraction method and Varimax rotation was used. Internal consistency was evaluated using Cronbach’s alpha coefficient. Scale intercorrelations were evaluated via Pearson’s r correlation coefficient. The discriminant construct validity was evaluated by analyzing the differences in the ASQ-14 scales between girls and boys, using Student’s t-tests. Results: Two factors emerged: External Pressures and Constraints and Internal Stress and Uncertainty explained 18.5% and 14.5% of the variance, respectively. The Greek ASQ-14 demonstrated acceptable reliability. Concerning discriminant validity, participants with high perceived socioeconomic status had significantly greater scores in “External Pressures & Constraints” and significantly lower scores in “Internal Stress & Uncertainty, while girls had significantly greater scores in both scales and greater total scores than boys. Conclusions: The Greek ASQ-14 emerges as a psychometrically sound tool for screening stress among Greek adolescents.

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