A sample validation of the Adolescent Stress Questionnaire (ASQ) in New Zealand

Abstract

The Adolescent Stress Questionnaire (ASQ) is a 56-item scale measuring stress in 10 domains. The scale has been tested in a number of countries worldwide with mixed support. The current study tested the factor structure, construct validity, and reliability in a sample (n = 1,601) comprising a general population of adolescents in New Zealand. Support was found for the 10-factor structure with adequate internal consistency as well as strong factorial invariance between male and female participants. Significant inverse correlations were found between all ASQ domains and both life satisfaction and perceived academic achievement. Most ASQ domains revealed gender differences, with female participants reporting greater stress than males. Toward a nonbinary perspective of gender, gender-neutral participants reported greater stress than males and females in certain stress domains. Results based on regression analyses indicate that nonacademic ASQ domains were generally related to life satisfaction whereas academic ASQ domains were related to perceived academic achievement. Positive and negative interaction effects were observed between gender and ASQ domains on life satisfaction and academic achievement. Overall, the current results indicate that the ASQ appears to be a reliable, valid instrument for adolescent stress in New Zealand with relevance to perceived life satisfaction and achievement.

A Cross-National Validation of the Shortened Version of the Adolescent Stress Questionnaire (ASQ-S) Among Adolescents From Switzerland, Germany, and Greece

“…Thus, it is plausible that cultural differences explain the reported results. Similar problems with the scale of Stress of Romantic Relationship were also demonstrated in another validation study by Sotardi and Watson (2019) for the 56-item version of the ASQ from New Zealand. Moreover, these authors also reported cross-loadings of items from scales of School Performance, Teacher Interaction, and School Attendance which underline the plausibility that sources of stress experienced by adolescents in different school domains are closely related to each other.…”

“…The results regarding the psychometric properties are mixed. While studies from Australia (Byrne et al, 2007), Greece (Darviri et al, 2014), New Zealand (Sotardi and Watson, 2019), Spain (Lima et al, 2017), and Turkey (Tanış, 2019) were able to show that the factor structure fits well for the long version, there are other studies that raise remarkable concerns regarding the structural validity and internal consistency (Moksnes and Espnes, 2011), test-retest reliability (De Vriendt et al, 2011), and problematic factor loadings of the ASQ (McKay et al, 2016). However, the majority of the previous work describes it as a valid and reliable instrument of stress measurement, and one which also seems to work in different cultures.…”

Adolescent stress, help‐seeking intentions, subjective achievement and life satisfaction in New Zealand: Tests of mediation, moderated mediation and moderation

“…-653 of you'). Full details about measurement validation for the ASQ with a New Zealand population are reported elsewhere (Sotardi & Watson, 2019).…”

Development and validation of an inventory to measure stressful events: Findings from a population-based survey

“…Furthermore, such tool should consider the modern factors of stress, such as job migration, isolation and loneliness, declining social trust, addiction to industrial drugs, neighborhood problems, and economic crisis. In addition, the necessity for making a tool to measure stressful events in our country comes from the fact that existing tools that are mainly developed in Western societies (15)(16)(17)(18)(19) are tailored to meet the needs of those societies. However, the tool in our study was developed by investigating other tools and solving their deficiencies, and also by paying attention to the structure and socio-economic status of Tehran metropolis.…”

“…Valerie et al (18) and McKay ( 22) examined the reliability and validity of the Adolescent Stress Questionnaire (ASQ). Their results showed that the ASQ was a reliable, valid instrument for adolescent stress.…”