1. COVID-19 Student Stress Questionnaire: Development and Validation of a Questionnaire to Evaluate Students’ Stressors Related to the Coronavirus Pandemic Lockdown
- Author
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Maria Clelia Zurlo, Maria Francesca Cattaneo Della Volta, Federica Vallone, Zurlo, M. C., Cattaneo Della Volta, M. F., and Vallone, F.
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lcsh:BF1-990 ,050105 experimental psychology ,Structural equation modeling ,03 medical and health sciences ,0302 clinical medicine ,Cronbach's alpha ,health psychology ,medicine ,Psychology ,0501 psychology and cognitive sciences ,Social isolation ,university students ,General Psychology ,Original Research ,validation ,university student ,05 social sciences ,Stressor ,Discriminant validity ,pandemic lockdown ,COVID-19 ,Confirmatory factor analysis ,Exploratory factor analysis ,Health psychology ,lcsh:Psychology ,medicine.symptom ,030217 neurology & neurosurgery ,Clinical psychology - Abstract
Clinical observations suggest that during times of COVID-19 pandemic lockdown university students exhibit stress-related responses to fear of contagion and to limitations of personal and relational life. The study aims to describe the development and validation of the 7-item COVID-19 Student Stress Questionnaire (CSSQ), a measurement tool to assess COVID-19-related sources of stress among university students. The CSSQ was developed and validated with 514 Italian university students. Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) was conducted with one split-half sub-sample to investigate the underlining dimensional structure, suggesting a three-component solution, which was confirmed by the Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) with the second one split-half sub-sample (CFI = 0.95; TLI = 0.95; RMSEA = 0.06). The CSSQ three subscales measure COVID-19 students’ stressors related to (1) Relationships and Academic Life (i.e., relationships with relatives, colleagues, professors, and academic studying); (2) Isolation (i.e., social isolation and couple’s relationship, intimacy and sexual life); (3) Fear of Contagion. A Global Stress score was also provided. The questionnaire revealed a satisfactory internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.71; McDonald’s omega = 0.71). Evidence was also provided for convergent and discriminant validity. The study provided a brief, valid and reliable measure to assess perceived stress to be used for understanding the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown among university students and for developing tailored interventions fostering their wellbeing.
- Published
- 2020
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