title: The negative event scale: measuring frequency and intensity of adult hassles.
abstract: This study examined the structure, concurrent validity, and reliability of a hassle measure for middle-aged adults in both event frequency and intensity recordings. The measure included a range of interpersonal day-to-day events and re-examined aspects of the primary appraisal confounding debate between Lazarus and colleagues (Lazarus, Delongis, Folkman, & Gruen, 1985) and Dohrenwend and Shrout (1985). Of the 373 participants, 73% were female, 72% were in paid work, 69% were in permanent relationships and 62% had children. Principal component analyses of separate hassle frequency and intensity scores highlighted components consistent with previous research. There were seven interpersonal and four non-interpersonal subscales associated with negative events with family and friends, work, health, money, and household. The subscales had very good reliability and concurrent validity and there were generally strong correlations (i.e. up .84) between frequency and intensity scores for each subscale. Given some important sampling limitations (e.g. female overrepresentation) the findings show a psychometrically sound hassle scale for adults.
authors.affiliation: Charles Sturt University, NSW, Australia. dmaybery@csu.edu.au
authors.forename: D J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Maybery
authors.forename: Jason
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Neale
authors.forename: Alex
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Arentz
authors.forename: Jenny
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Jones-Ellis
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006802:Human Activities / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology; D010549:Personal Satisfaction; D025341:Principal Component Analysis; D011581:Psychological Tests; D011594:Psychometrics; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D013647:Task Performance and Analysis; D014739:Victoria; D014937:Work / Q000523:psychology