title: Dimensionality of stress experiences: Factorial structure of the Perceived Stress Questionnaire (PSQ) in a population-based Swedish sample.
abstract: We investigated the factorial structure of the Perceived Stress Questionnaire (PSQ-recent; Levenstein, Prantera, Varvo et al., 1993) in a large (N = 1516; 35-95 years) population-based Swedish sample (Nilsson, Adolfsson, Bäckman et al., 2004; Nilsson, Bäckman, Erngrund et al., 1997). Exploratory principal components analysis (PCA) was conducted on a first, randomly drawn subsample (n = 506). Next, the model based on the PCA was tested in a second sample (n = 505). Finally, a third sample (n = 505) was used to cross-validate the model. Five components were extracted in the PCA (eigenvalue > 1) and labeled "Demands," "Worries/Tension," "Lack of joy," "Conflict," and "Fatigue," respectively. Twenty-one out of the 30 original PSQ items were retained in a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) model that included the five (first-order) factors and, additionally, a general (second-order) stress factor, not considered in prior models. The model showed reasonable goodness of fit [χ(2)(184) = 511.2, p < 0.001; CFI = 0.904; RMSEA = 0.059; and SRMR = 0.063]. Multigroup confirmatory factor analyses supported the validity of the established model. The results are discussed in relation to prior investigations of the factorial structure of the PSQ.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Umeå University, Sweden.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rönnlund
authors.affiliation: Department of Science and Mathematics Education, Umeå University, Sweden.|Umeå Center for Functional Brain Imaging, Umeå University, Sweden.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Vestergren
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Umeå University, Sweden.
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Stenling
authors.affiliation: Umeå Center for Functional Brain Imaging, Umeå University, Sweden.|Aging Research Center, Karolinska Institutet, Sweden.
authors.forename: Lars-Göran
authors.initials: LG
authors.lastname: Nilsson
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Dentistry, Faculty of Health Sciences, UiT The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway.
authors.forename: Maud
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bergdahl
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Umeå University, Sweden.|Department of Clinical Dentistry, Faculty of Health Sciences, UiT The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway.
authors.forename: Jan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bergdahl
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000175:diagnosis*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires / Q000592:standards*; D013548:Sweden
keywords: Perceived stress; confirmatory factor analysis; multigroup analysis