title: Cross-cultural invariance of the Academic Expectations Stress Inventory: adolescent samples from Canada and Singapore.
abstract: We provide further evidence for the two-factor structure of the 9-item Academic Expectations Stress Inventory (AESI) using confirmatory factor analysis on a sample of 289 Canadian adolescents and 310 Singaporean adolescents. Examination of measurement invariance tests the assumption that the model underlying a set of scores is directly comparable across groups. This study also examined the cross-cultural validity of the AESI using multigroup confirmatory factor analysis across both the Canadian and Singaporean adolescent samples. The results suggested cross-cultural invariance of form, factor loadings, and factor variances and covariances of the AESI across both samples. Evidence of AESI's convergent and discriminant validity was also reported. Findings from t-tests revealed that Singaporean adolescents reported a significantly higher level of academic stress arising from self expectations, other expectations, and overall academic stress, compared to Canadian adolescents. Also, a larger cross-cultural effect was associated with academic stress arising from other expectations compared with academic stress arising from self expectations.
authors.affiliation: Division of Psychology, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 639798, Singapore. rpang@ntu.edu.sg
authors.forename: Rebecca P
authors.initials: RP
authors.lastname: Ang
authors.forename: Robert M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Klassen
authors.forename: Wan Har
authors.initials: WH
authors.lastname: Chong
authors.forename: Vivien S
authors.initials: VS
authors.lastname: Huan
authors.forename: Isabella Y F
authors.initials: IY
authors.lastname: Wong
authors.forename: Lay See
authors.initials: LS
authors.lastname: Yeo
authors.forename: Lindsey L
authors.initials: LL
authors.lastname: Krawchuk
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002170:Canada; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D004493:Education; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D012574:Schools; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012846:Singapore; D013315:Stress, Psychological; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult