Psychometric Assessment of Perceived Stress Among University Students
Summary
University students encounter multifaceted stressors ranging from academic demands to social integration, making reliable measurement of perceived stress crucial for both research and intervention. Psychometric assessment in this context centres on evaluating instruments such as the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) and the Perceived Stress Questionnaire (PSQ) for their reliability, factor structure and sensitivity to change. Studies have highlighted challenges including response bias stemming from item phrasing, the need for unidimensional constructs and the importance of longitudinal measurement models that capture stress variability over the academic year. Advances in confirmatory factor analysis and Rasch modelling have refined our understanding of scale dimensionality and precision, facilitating more accurate identification of at‐risk student groups and informing targeted mental health support across diverse educational settings.
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Psychometric Assessment of Perceived Stress Among University Students publication trend
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Technical terms
Psychometric assessment: Evaluation of a measurement instrument’s reliability and validity in capturing a psychological construct.
Perceived Stress Scale (PSS): A self-report questionnaire widely used to assess the degree to which situations in one’s life are appraised as stressful.
Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA): A statistical technique testing whether data fit a hypothesised factor structure.
Rasch analysis: A form of item response theory modelling that evaluates the performance of individual items and the scale’s measurement precision.
References
- The dimensionality of the Perceived Stress Scale: The presence of opposing items is a source of measurement error. Journal of Affective Disorders (2023).
- Stressors in university life and anxiety symptoms among international students: a sequential mediation model. BMC Psychiatry (2023).
- Enrollment to exams: Perceived stress dynamics among first-year physics students. Physical Review Physics Education Research (2024).
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