Construction and Validation of Academic Stress Scale for University Students

Abstract

Present study aimed to construct and validate an instrument to measure the academic stress among university students of Pakistan. Item construction of this instrument was based on literature review, interviews from university students and expert’s opinion. After pilot study exploratory factor analysis was performed on a sample of477 student (226men and 251 women), recruited from different departments of University of Sargodha, Pakistan. 26 items were retained after exploratory factor analysis with three well defined factors(1, Personal, Parental and Teachers’ attitude, 2. Perception of workload and examinations, 3. Concerns about education system and management)Range of Alpha coefficients for scale and its subscales was .72 to .87.Results of Confirmatory factor analysis performed on an independent sample revealed excellent model fit to present data. Three factor structure of Academic stress scale was confirmed by CFA. Convergent validity of Academic Stress Scale was proved by finding its positive correlation with UCLA Loneliness scale, Depression scale and Brief Fear of Negative Evaluation Scale. Excellent reliability and validity evidences proved this scale as a promising measure of academic stress.