Assessing stress in disability: developing and piloting the Disability Related Stress Scale.
BACKGROUND
Stress negatively influences health, but few scales capture unique stressors encountered by people with physical disability.


OBJECTIVE
Conduct a pilot study to develop and evaluate the factor structure of a stress measure targeting unique stressors facing people with physical limitations due to impaired movement of the upper and lower extremities.


METHODS
Development of the Disability Related Stress Scale (DRSS) included: (1) obtaining input regarding content and items from focus groups and outside experts and (2) piloting the instrument. Participants recruited from an independent living center attended a focus group or completed the pilot survey. The piloted measure was a 107 item two-part survey. Part 1 assessed stressors encountered over the past week and Part 2 assessed stressors encountered over the past six months. Participants included a convenience sample of 143 adults who experienced a physical limitation; 26 attended focus groups and 117 completed the instrument. Respondents were predominantly women (60%), Caucasian (58%), and unemployed (92%). Respondents were 50.51 ± 14.46 years old and had lived with their disability for 15.64 ± 13.04 years.


RESULTS
Exploratory factor analyses revealed a 4-factor solution for Part 1 and a 2-factor solution for Part 2 of the DRSS. Estimates of internal consistency (Part 1 Cronbach's α = .78-84; Part 2 Cronbach's α = .72) and factor loadings (.40-1.00 for Part 1; .43-.87 for Part 2) indicate adequate reliability for all subscales.


CONCLUSIONS
Preliminary results provide initial support for the instrument's reliability and factor structure although further validation studies are warranted.
EJGH Family Medicine Residency Program, Tulane University School of Medicine, Metairie, LA 70006, USA.
Paula C
PC
Rhode
Katherine
K
Froehlich-Grobe
Jill R
JR
Hockemeyer
Jordan A
JA
Carlson
Jaehoon
J
Lee
D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D006233:Persons with Disabilities / Q000523:psychology*; D005121:Extremities; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005260:Female; D017144:Focus Groups; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D051346:Mobility Limitation; D009068:Movement; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D013315:Stress, Psychological; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires / Q000592:standards*; D055815:Young Adult