Stress in university students: The DECORE-Student questionnaire (DECORE-S)

Abstract

ABSTRACTAcademic stress has attracted research interest in recent decades due to the similarity found between the occurrence of stress in students and that experienced by workers in organisations. However, tools to assess academic stress are either scarce, general or evaluate the consequences of academic stress. This study aims to validate the psychometric properties of the DECORE-S questionnaire in a sample of students, based on the original 44-item model used in the work context. A cross-sectional design was used in which 1117 university students from different subject areas participated. The results show an adequate fit for the four-factor model (cognitive demands, control, support, and rewards) and internal consistency indices greater than .70 for all scales using 30 items. Students had the highest scores on the cognitive demand scale. Consequently, the use of the DECORE-S questionnaire to assess academic stress is recommended.KEYWORDS: Studentsuniversityacademic stressevaluation AcknowledgmentsThe authors would thank the participation of all the students in this study.Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).Authorship detailsAll authors designed the study. LL and JM collected the data. LL and DV analysed the data. BT and LL prepared the manuscript. All authors approved the final version for submission.Data availability statementThe data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author, BT, upon reasonable request.Additional informationFundingThis work was not supported by agency grants.Notes on contributorsLourdes Luceño-MorenoLourdes Luceño-Moreno is Professor at Complutense University of Madrid. Her research covers the study of psychosocial risk factors in different professional groups.Beatriz Talavera-VelascoBeatriz Talavera-Velasco is Assistant Professor at Complutense University of Madrid. She researches occupational stress in various occupations, such as the police, and is a specialist in the design of personnel selection tools.Daniel VázquezDaniel Vázquez-Estévez is Associate Professor at Complutense University of Madrid. He is a specialist in behavioral science methodology and has collaborated in the design of different evaluation tools.Jesús Martín-GarcíaJesús Martín-García is Professor at Complutense University of Madrid. He is a specialist in work psychology and in the area of evaluation and intervention in organisational contexts.