Psychometric properties of a short form of the adolescent stress questionnaire (asq-14) / Propiedades psicométricas de la versión abreviada del Cuestionario de estrés para adolescentes (ASQ-14)

BACKGROUND: Exposure to minor stressors is related to a range of emotional and behavioral problems in adolescents. The purpose of this study was to develop a screening instrument for assessing adolescent stressors. METHOD: The Adolescent Stress Questionnaire (ASQ-14) was tested on a sample of 561 adolescents aged between 12 and 18. We report validity evidence based on its internal structure (confirmatory factor analysis) and on relationships between ASQ-14 scores and other variables (correlational analysis), as well as an estimation of score reliability and differences by sex and stage of adolescence. RESULTS: CFA indicated a one-factor structure with a total score representing a measure of cumulative minor stressors. This structure showed an adequate fit across all age groups (early, middle, and late adolescence). Values of internal consistency (.85) and test-retest reliability (.81) were also satisfactory. Validity evidence based on relationships with other variables showed positive relations with stress manifestations, anxiety, depression, and emotional and behavioral problems, and a negative association with life satisfaction. Finally, girls scored higher than boys, and stress scores increased across stages of adolescence. CONCLUSIONS: These results support the psychometric adequacy of the ASQ-14 and its use as a time-efficient tool in educational, clinical, and research studies

ANTECEDENTES: la exposición a estresores menores en la adolescencia se vincula a diversos problemas emocionales y conductuales. El propósito del estudio fue desarrollar un instrumento de screening para evaluar los estresores en adolescentes. MÉTODO: se presentan evidencias de validez basadas en la estructura interna mediante AFC, estimación de la fiabilidad, evidencias de validez basadas en las relaciones con otras variables mediante correlaciones y diferencias por sexo y etapa de la adolescencia del Cuestionario de Estrés para Adolescentes (ASQ-14) en una muestra de 561 adolescentes de 12 a 18 años. RESULTADOS: el AFC detectó una estructura unifactorial que ofrece una puntuación total de estresores. Esta estructura también se ajustó en la adolescencia temprana, media y tardía. Los valores de consistencia interna (.85) y fiabilidad test-retest (.81) fueron satisfactorios. Las evidencias de validez basadas en la relación con otras variables mostraron relaciones positivas con manifestaciones de estrés, ansiedad, depresión y problemas emocionales y de comportamiento, y una asociación negativa con satisfacción vital. Finalmente, las chicas presentaron mayor puntuación en estrés y este aumentó según la etapa de adolescencia. CONCLUSIONES: estos resultados apoyan las propiedades psicométricas del ASQ-14 y su uso como una herramienta eficiente en estudios educativos, clínicos y de investigación

Psychometric properties of a short form of the Adolescent Stress Questionnaire (ASQ-14).

BACKGROUND: Exposure to minor stressors is related to a range of emotional and behavioral problems in adolescents. The purpose of this study was to develop a screening instrument for assessing adolescent stressors. METHOD: The Adolescent Stress Questionnaire (ASQ-14) was tested on a sample of 561 adolescents aged between 12 and 18. We report validity evidence based on its internal structure (confirmatory factor analysis) and on relationships between ASQ-14 scores and other variables (correlational analysis), as well as an estimation of score reliability and differences by sex and stage of adolescence. RESULTS: CFA indicated a one-factor structure with a total score representing a measure of cumulative minor stressors. This structure showed an adequate fit across all age groups (early, middle, and late adolescence). Values of internal consistency (.85) and test-retest reliability (.81) were also satisfactory. Validity evidence based on relationships with other variables showed positive relations with stress manifestations, anxiety, depression, and emotional and behavioral problems, and a negative association with life satisfaction. Finally, girls scored higher than boys, and stress scores increased across stages of adolescence. CONCLUSIONS: These results support the psychometric adequacy of the ASQ-14 and its use as a time-efficient tool in educational, clinical, and research studies.

The influence of contextual variables on judgments about patients and their pain.

OBJECTIVE: Professional judgments about persistent pain are influenced by contextual variables, which are features relating to the patient, the assessor, or the broader situation. Such judgments directly inform assessment and treatment and therefore represent an important area of research. While current formulations of persistent pain adopt a biopsychosocial framework, contextual variables relating to psychosocial information have not been well examined in the literature. DESIGN: We employed a within-subjects experimental vignette paradigm to investigate the influence of four contextual variables, 2 (medical evidence: present vs absent) × 2 (pain behavior: present vs absent) × 2 (referral to a psychologist: yes vs no) × 2 (responsibility: onset controllable vs onset uncontrollable), on perceptions of pain. Judgments about patients with chronic low back pain were made across several dimensions. SUBJECTS: One hundred sixteen medical and nursing students. RESULTS: Main findings revealed that identifiable pain pathology led to increased ratings of pain intensity and emotional distress, and decreased perceived likelihood of malingering. Pain behavior and referral to a psychologist were also found to increase ratings of pain intensity and emotional distress. Encouragingly, psychological referral was not found to increase the perceived likelihood of malingering. Responsibility for the initial injury was found to influence judgments, but this occurred in interaction with medical evidence as well as pain behavior. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that contextual variables have an important influence on medical and nursing students' perceptions of patients and their pain. Theoretical and practical implications for provider training and community education are discussed.

Internalized stigma in people living with chronic pain.

UNLABELLED: Although persistent pain occurs in a sociocultural context, the influence of personal devaluation and invalidation is often neglected. As such, the present study sought to consider whether individuals' experience, perception, or anticipation of negative social reactions to their pain may become internalized and affect the self. To examine this issue, 92 adults with chronic pain responded to a questionnaire exploring the presence of internalized stigma and its association with a range of psychological consequences. As predicted, a large percentage of people with chronic pain (38%) endorsed the experience of internalized stigma. The results showed that internalized stigma has a negative relationship with self-esteem and pain self-efficacy, after controlling for depression. Internalized stigma was also associated with cognitive functioning in relation to pain, in terms of a greater tendency to catastrophize about pain and a reduced sense of personal control over pain. Overall, this study presents a new finding regarding the application of internalized stigma to a chronic pain population. It offers a means of extending our understanding of chronic pain's psychosocial domain. Implications are discussed in terms of the potential to inform clinical treatment and resiliency into the future. PERSPECTIVE: This article presents a novel finding regarding the presence of internalized stigma among people living with chronic pain. Internalized stigma is strongly associated with indicators of patient outcome. It presents an area for future work with the aim to improve our understanding and treatment of people living with pain.

The lifestyle of our kids (LOOK) project: outline of methods.

This methods paper outlines the overall design of a community-based multidisciplinary longitudinal study with the intent to stimulate interest and communication from scientists and practitioners studying the role of physical activity in preventive medicine. In adults, lack of regular exercise is a major risk factor in the development of chronic degenerative diseases and is a major contributor to obesity, and now we have evidence that many of our children are not sufficiently active to prevent early symptoms of chronic disease. The lifestyle of our kids (LOOK) study investigates how early physical activity contributes to health and development, utilizing a longitudinal design and a cohort of eight hundred and thirty 7-8-year-old (grade 2) school children followed to age 11-12 years (grade 6), their average family income being very close to that of Australia. We will test two hypotheses, that (a) the quantity and quality of physical activity undertaken by primary school children will influence their psychological and physical health and development; (b) compared with existing practices in primary schools, a physical education program administered by visiting specialists will enhance health and development, and lead to a more positive perception of physical activity. To test the first hypothesis we will monitor all children longitudinally over the 4 years. To test the second we will involve an intervention group of 430 children who receive two 50min physical education classes every week from visiting specialists and a control group of 400 who continue with their usual primary school physical education with their class-room teachers. At the end of grades 2, 4, and 6 we will measure several areas of health and development including blood risk factors for chronic disease, cardiovascular structure and function, physical fitness, psychological characteristics and perceptions of physical activity, bone structure and strength, motor control, body composition, nutritional intake, influence of teachers and family, and academic performance.