Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-fscjk Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-24T07:11:38.721Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

The Irritation Scale as an Instrument to Measure Stress among University Students

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 December 2013

Enrique Merino-Tejedor*
Affiliation:
Universidad de Valladolid (Spain)
Joan Boada-Grau
Affiliation:
Universidad Rovira i Virgili (Spain)
José C. Sánchez-García
Affiliation:
Universidad de Salamanca (Spain)
Pedro Miguel Hontangas-Beltrán
Affiliation:
Universidad de Valencia (Spain)
*
*Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Enrique Merino Tejedor. Department of Psychology. Universidad de Valladolid. Campus María Zambrano. Plaza Alto de los Leones, 1. 40005. Segovia (Spain). Phone: +34–921112300. Fax: +34–921112301. E-mail [email protected]

Abstract

The objective of this study was to verify the factor validity and structure of the “Irritation Scale” in a sample of 578 Spanish university students. At the same time, the study aimed to verify the criterion-related validity of the scale, analyzing the results obtained through correlation with other variables, such as general self-efficacy, self-regulation, depression, and certain personality dimensions. The results obtained through the Exploratory Structural Equation Modeling approach (ESEM) using Mplus confirmed the presence of two factors in the Irritation Scale, as observed in other international studies within a workplace setting. The significant correlations obtained between the Irritation Scale and the variables considered in the study confirmed the construct validity and verified that irritation is significantly and positively associated with depression and academic burnout, and is negatively associated with general self-efficacy and self-regulation.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Universidad Complutense de Madrid and Colegio Oficial de Psicólogos de Madrid 2013 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Abouserie, R. (1994). Sources and levels of stress in relation to locus of control and self-esteem in university students. Educational Psychologist, 14, 323330. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/0144341940140306 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Asparouhov, T., & Muthén, B. (2009). Exploratory structural equation modeling. Structural Equation Modeling, 16, 397438. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10705510903008204 Google Scholar
Baessler, J., & Schwarzer, R. (1996). Evaluación de la autoeficacia: Adaptación española de la Escala de Autoeficacia General [The measurement of Self-Efficacy: Spanish adaptation of the General Self-Efficacy Scale]. Ansiedad y Estrés, 2, 18.Google Scholar
Beck, A. T., Ward, C. H., Mendelsohn, M., Mock., J., & Erbaugh, J. (1961). An inventory for measuring depression. Archives of General Psychiatry, 4, 561571. http://dx.doi.org/10.1001/archpsyc.1961.01710120031004 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bentler, P. M. (1995). EQS program manual. Encino, CA: Multivariate Software.Google Scholar
Bentler, P. M., & Wu, E. J. C. (2002). EQS for Windows user’s guide. Encino, CA: Multivariate Software, Inc.Google Scholar
Boada, J., Diego, R., & Agulló, E. (2004). El burnout y las manifestaciones psicosomáticas como consecuentes del clima organizacional y de la motivación laboral [Burnout and psychosomatic manifestations as consequences of organizational climate and labor motivation]. Psicothema, 16, 125131.Google Scholar
Boada-Grau, J., Merino-Tejedor, E., Sánchez-García, J. C., & Vigil-Colet, A. (2011). Escala de Burnout Académico en universitarios: Adaptación y propiedades psicométricas [Scholar Burnout Inventory: Validation and psychometric properties]. Unpublished manuscript. Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Tarragona, Spain.Google Scholar
Byrne, B. M. (2008). Testing for multigroup equivalence of a measuring instrument: A walk through the process. Psicothema, 20, 872882.Google Scholar
Byrne, D. G., Davenport, S. C., & Mazanov, J. (2007). Profiles of adolescent stress: The development of adolescent stress questionnaire (ASQ). Journal of Adolescence, 30, 393416. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2006.04.004 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cooper, C. L. (2005). Handbook of stress, medicine and health. New York, NY: CRC Press.Google Scholar
Costa, P. T. Jr., & McCrae, R. R. (1992). Revised NEO personality inventory and neo five-factor inventory professional manual. Odessa, FL: Psychological Assessment Resources.Google Scholar
Cotton, S. J., Dollard, M. F., & De Jonge, J. (2002). Stress and student job design: Satisfaction, well-being and performance in university students. International Journal of Stress Management, 9, 147162. http://dx.doi.org/10.1023/A:1015515714410 Google Scholar
Curran, P. J., West, S. G., & Finch, J. F. (1996). The robustness of test statistics to nonnormality and specification error in confirmatory factor analysis. Psychological Methods, 1, 1629. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037//1082-989X.1.1.16 Google Scholar
Dollard, M. F., Winefield, H. R., & Winefield, A. H. (2001). Occupational strain and efficacy in human service workers. Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Kluwer Academic Publishers.Google Scholar
Dormann, C., & Zapf, D. (2002). Social stressors at work, irritation and depressive symptoms: Accounting for unmeasured third variables in a multi-wave study. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 75, 3358. http://dx.doi.org/10.1348/096317902167630 Google Scholar
Escobar, M., Blanca, M. J., Fernández-Baena, J., & Trianes, M. V. (2011). Adaptación española de la Escala de Manifestaciones de Estrés del Student Stress Inventory (SSI-SM) [Spanish adaptation of the Stress Manifestations Scale of the Student Stress Inventory (SSI-SM)]. Psicothema, 23, 475485.Google Scholar
Ferrando, P. J., & Lorenzo-Seva, U. (2000). Unrestricted versus restricted factor analysis of multidimensional test items: Some aspects of the problem and some suggestions. Psicológica, 21, 301323.Google Scholar
Fillian, M. J., Fastenau, P. A., Tashner, J. H., & Cross, A. H. (1989). The measure of classroom stress and burnout among gifted and talented students. Psychology in the Schools, 26, 139153.Google Scholar
Goldberg, D. P., & Hillier, V. F. (1979). A scaled version of the General Health Questionnaire. Psychological Medicine, 9, 139145. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0033291700021644 Google Scholar
Hakanen, J. J., Bakker, A. B., & Schaufeli, W. B. (2006). Burnout and work engagement among teachers. Journal of School Psychology, 43, 495513. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jsp.2005.11.001 Google Scholar
Hu, L., & Bentler, P. M. (1999). Cut-off criteria for fit indices in covariance structure analysis: Conventional criteria versus new alternatives. Structural Equation Modeling, 6, 155. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10705519909540118 Google Scholar
Jackson, D. L., Gillaspy, J. A. Jr., & Purc-Stephenson, R. (2009). Reporting practices in confirmatory factor analysis: An overview and some recommendations. Psychological Methods, 14, 623. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037%2Fa0014694 Google Scholar
Jacobshagen, N., Rigotti, T., Semmer, N. K., & Mohr, G. (2009). Irritation at school: Reasons to initiate strain management earlier. International Journal of Stress Management, 16, 195214. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0016595 Google Scholar
Kahn, R. L., Wolfe, D. M., Quinn, R. P., Snoek, J. D., & Rosenthal, R. A. (1964). Organizational stress: Studies in role conflict and ambiguity. New York, NY: Wiley.Google Scholar
Leymann, H. (1996). The content and development of mobbing at work. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 5, 165184. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13594329608414853 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Luszczynska, A., Diehl, M., Gutiérrez-Doña, B., Kuusinen, P., & Schwarzer, R. (2004). Measuring one component of dispositional self-regulation: Attention control in goal pursuit. Personality and Individual Differences, 37, 555566. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2003.09.026 Google Scholar
Macan, T. H., Shahani, C., Dipboye, R. L., & Phillips, A. P. (1990). College students’ time management: Correlations with academic performance and stress. Journal of Educational Psychology, 82, 760768. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037//0022-0663.82.4.760 Google Scholar
Marsh, H. W., Hau, K. T., & Wen, Z. (2004). In search of golden rules: Comment on hypothesis testing approaches to setting cutoff values for fit indices and dangers in overgeneralising Hu & Bentler’s (1999) findings. Structural Equation Modeling, 11, 320341. http://dx.doi.org/10.1207%2Fs15328007sem1103_2 Google Scholar
Martin, L. L., & Tesser, A. (1996). Some ruminative thoughts. In Wyer, R. S. (Ed.), Ruminative thoughts (pp. 147). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Martín-Albo, J., Núñez, J. L., Navarro, J. G., & Grijalva, F. (2007). The Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale: Translation and validation in university students. The Spanish Journal of Psychology, 10, 458467.Google Scholar
Maslach, C., & Jackson, S. E. (1981). The Maslach Burnout inventory. Manual. (2 nd Ed.) Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologist Press.Google Scholar
McCrae, R. R., & Costa, P. T. (1987). Validation of the five factor model across instruments and observers. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 52, 8190. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037//0022-3514.52.1.81 Google Scholar
Merino, E., Carbonero, M. A., Moreno, B., & Morante, M. E. (2006). La Escala de Irritación como instrumento de evaluación del estrés laboral [The Irritation Scale as an instrument to assess stress at work]. Psicothema, 18, 419424.Google Scholar
Messick, S. (1995). Validity of psychological assessment: Validation of inferences from persons’ responses and performances as scientific inquiry into score meaning. American Psychologist, 50, 741749. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.50.9.741 Google Scholar
Mohr, G. (1986). Die Erfassung psychischer befindensbeeinträchtigungen bei industriearbeitern. europäische hochschulschriften [The assessment of mental strain of industrial workers] . Frankfurt, Germany: Lang.Google Scholar
Mohr, G. (1991). Fünf Subkonstrukte psychischen Befindensbeeinträchtigungen bei Industriearbeitern: Auswahl und Entwicklung [Five subconstructs of mental deterioration among blue collar workers: Selection and development]. In Greif, S., Bamberg, E. & Semmer, N. (Hrsg) Psychischer streß am arbeitsplatz [Mental stress at work] . (pp. 91119) Göttingen, Germany: Hogrefe.Google Scholar
Mohr, G., Müller, A., & Rigotti, T. (2005). Normwerte der Skala Irritation: Zwei dimensionen psychischer beanspruchung [Standarisation data of the Irritation Scale: Two dimensions of mental strain]. Diagnostica, 51, 1220. http://dx.doi.org/10.1026/0012-1924.51.1.12 Google Scholar
Mohr, G., Müller, A., Rigotti, T., Aycan, Z., & Tschan, F. (2006). The assessment of psychological strain in work contexts: Concerning the structural equivalency of nine language adaptations of the irritation scale. European Journal of Psychological Assessment, 22, 198206. http://dx.doi.org/10.1027/1015-5759.22.3.198 Google Scholar
Mohr, G., Rigotti, T., & Müller, A. (2005). Irritation: Ein instrument zur erfassung psychischer befindensbeeinträchtigungen im Arbeitskontext. Skalen-und Itemparameter aus 15 Studien [Irritation: An instrument assessing mental strain in working contexts. Scale and item parameters from 15 studies]. Zeitschrift für Arbeits-und Organizationspsychologie, 49, 4448.Google Scholar
Muhonen, T., & Torkelson, E. (2004). Work locus of control and its relationship to health and job satisfaction from a gender perspective. Stress and Health, 20, 2128. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/smi.994 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Muthén, L. K., & Muthén, B. O. (1998–2010). Mplus User’s guide. (6 th Ed.). Los Angeles, CA: Muthén & Muthén.Google Scholar
Otto, K., & Schmidt, S. (2007). Dealing with stress in the workplace. Compensatory effects of belief in a just world. European Psychologist, 12, 272282. http://dx.doi.org/10.1027/1016-9040.12.4.272 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rosenberg, M. (1965). Society and the adolescent self-image. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Salmela-Aro, K., Kiuru, N., Leskinen, E., & Nurmi, J. E. (2009). School Burnout Inventory. Reliability and validity. Journal of Psychological Assessment, 25, 4857. http://dx.doi.org/10.1027/1015-5759.25.1.48 Google Scholar
Schaufeli, W. B., Martínez, I., Pinto, A. M., Salanova, M., & Bakker, A. (2002). Burnout and engagement in university students: A cross-national study. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 33, 464481. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0022022102033005003 Google Scholar
Scholz, U., Gutiérrez-Doña, B., Sud, S., & Schwarzer, R. (2002). Is general self-efficacy a universal construct? European Journal of Psychological Assessment, 18, 242251. http://dx.doi.org/10.1027//1015-5759.18.3.242 Google Scholar
Sonnentag, S., & Bayer, U. V. (2005). Switching off mentally: Predictors and consequences of psychological detachment from work during off-job time. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 10, 393414. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/1076-8998.10.4.393 Google Scholar
Swick, K. J. (1987). Student stress: A classroom management system. Washington DC: National Education Association.Google Scholar
Travers, C. (2011). Unveiling a reflective diary methodology for exploring the lived experiences of stress and coping. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 79, 204216. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2010.11.007 Google Scholar
Vigil-Colet, A., Morales-Vives, F., Camps, E., Tous, J., & Lorenzo-Seva, U. (2013). Development and validation of the Overall Personality Assessment Scale (OPERAS). Psicothema, 25, 100106. http://dx.doi.org/10.7334/psicothema2011.411 Google Scholar