Psychometric properties of an English short version of the Trier Inventory for chronic Stress

Abstract

Abstract Background Although a variety of instruments are available that capture stress experience, the assessment of chronic stress has been hindered by the lack of economical screening instruments. Recently, an English-language version of the Trier Inventory for Chronic Stress (TICS-EN) consisting of 57 items according to a systemic-requirement-resource model of health in nine subdomains of the chronic stress experience has been introduced. Methods We constructed a new 9-item short version of the TICS covering all nine subdomains and evaluated it in two samples (total N = 685). We then used confirmatory factor analysis to check factorial validity. Results This version showed a highly satisfactory model fit, was invariant across participant gender, demonstrated a very high correlation with the original TICS (r = .94), and showed a moderate correlation (r = .58) with a measure of perceived stress in the past month. Conclusions Therefore, this theoretically driven instrument can be recommended as a short version of the TICS in English language.

Keywords

• Chronic stress
• Screening questionnaire
• Factor analysis
• Measurement invariance
• Trier inventory for chronic stress