PSYCHOMETRIC EVALUATION: EXPLORATORY AND CONFIRMATORY FACTOR ANALYSIS OF THE MALAY VERSION OF THE STUDENT STRESS INVENTORY (SSI) FOR UNIVERSITY STUDENTS

Yee Chin Yip, Nurul Ain Chua Abdullah, Nurhasma Muhammad Saad, Wan Moharani Mohammad, Ng Siew Yin

Abstract


Stress as a common experience amongst university students, can significantly affect academic performance despite often being seen as an integral part of personal growth. To gain a deeper understanding of this issue, this study seeks to devise and validate a tool based on the General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS) and Environment Stress Theory (EST), named the Student Stress Inventory (SSI). This tool is designed to assess the frequency or level of stress among university students. A preliminary cross-sectional study was conducted where 169 responses were collected and subjected to an Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). The EFA results recommended the exclusion of four (4) items from the construct. Subsequently, for the primary data collection, the researcher collected 366 responses. These were then subjected to Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) using Analysis of Moment Structures (AMOS). The CFA results showed that the SSI meets the requisite criteria, validating its efficacy in gauging student stress in university settings. The SSI serves as a crucial instrument to identify stress and pressure that could potentially impact students' academic performance. It provides a platform for relevant stakeholders to identify significant stress levels, thereby enabling them to take necessary measures to mitigate these stressors and cultivate a more supportive learning environment within the university.

Keywords


Confirmatory factor analysis, Student Stress, Exploratory factor analysis, Transactional Model of Stress and Coping.

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