Measuring perceived stress in adolescents: a cross validation

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Adolescent Psychology
• Stress and Coping

Background:

• Adolescence is a critical developmental period marked by significant life changes.
• Accurate measurement of life event stress is crucial for understanding adolescent well-being.
• Existing measures may require adaptation for specific research contexts.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the psychometric properties of a brief, 24-item version of the Adolescent Life Change Event Scale (ALCES).
• To determine the reliability and validity of the ALCES for assessing perceived stressfulness of life events in adolescents.
• To support the use of the ALCES in future adolescent stress research.

Main Methods:

• A brief (24-item) version of the Adolescent Life Change Event Scale (ALCES) was administered.
• The study included 94 student participants aged 12 to 29 years.
• Rank order correlation coefficients were calculated to compare current ratings with original sample data.

Main Results:

• Rank order coefficients between the current and original samples exceeded .90.
• This high correlation indicates strong agreement in perceived stressfulness ratings.
• The findings suggest robust test-retest or inter-rater reliability for the ALCES.

Conclusions:

• The brief 24-item Adolescent Life Change Event Scale (ALCES) demonstrates strong validity.
• The ALCES is a reliable instrument for assessing life event stress in adolescent populations.
• This validated scale can be effectively utilized in future research on adolescent stress and mental health.