title: Evaluation of psychometric properties of the malay version perceived stress scale in two occupational settings in malaysia.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The 10-item version of Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10) is a widely used tool to measure stress. The Malay version of the PSS-10 has been validated among Malaysian Medical Students. However, studies have not been conducted to assess its validity in occupational settings.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study is to assess the psychometric properties of the Malay version of the PSS-10 in two occupational setting in Malaysia.
  
  
  METHODS
  This study was conducted among 191 medical residents and 513 railway workers. An exploratory factor analysis was performed using the principal component method with varimax rotation. Correlation analyses, Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin, Bartlett's test of Sphericity and Cronbach's alpha were obtained. Statistical analysis was carried out using statistical package for the social sciences version 16 (SPSS, Chicago, IL, USA) software.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Analysis yielded two factor structure of the Malay version of PSS-10 in both occupational groups. The two factors accounted for 59.2% and 64.8% of the variance in the medical residents and the railway workers respectively. Factor loadings were greater than 0.59 in both occupational groups. Cronbach's alpha co-efficient was 0.70 for medical residents and 0.71 for railway workers.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The Malay version of PSS-10 had adequate psychometric properties and can be used to measure stress among occupational settings in Malaysia.
authors.affiliation: Department of Community Medicine, International Medical University, No. 126, Jln Jalil Perkasa 19, Bukit Jalil, 57000 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Sar
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Al-Dubai
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical, Tengku Ampuan Rahimah Hospital, Jalan Langat, Klang, 41200 Selangor, Malaysia.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ganasegeran
authors.affiliation: International Medical School, Management and Science University, University Drive, Off Persiaran Olahraga, Section 13, 40100 Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Barua
authors.affiliation: Department of Community Health, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Jalan Yaacob Latiff, Cheras, 56000 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Am
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rizal
authors.affiliation: Perdana University Graduate School of Medicine, Perdana University, MAEPS Building, MARDI Complex, 43400 Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Kg
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Rampal
keywords: Factor structure; Malaysia; Occupational; Perceived stress scale; Psychometric properties; Validity