Translation and Validation of the Malay Perceived Stress Scale Modified for COVID-19

Norhayati Ibrahim; Andrea Wong; Choy Qing Cham; Sin Yee Chu; Clarisse Roswini Kalaman; Ching Sin Siau

doi:10.21315/mjms2023.30.2.15

Translation and Validation of the Malay Perceived Stress Scale Modified for COVID-19

Malays J Med Sci. 2023 Apr;30(2):161-171. doi: 10.21315/mjms2023.30.2.15. Epub 2023 Apr 18.

Authors

Norhayati Ibrahim^{1

2}, Andrea Wong¹, Choy Qing Cham¹, Sin Yee Chu¹, Clarisse Roswini Kalaman¹, Ching Sin Siau³

Affiliations

¹ Centre for Healthy Aging and Wellness (H-Care), Faculty of Health Sciences, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
² Institute of Islam Hadhari, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Selangor, Malaysia.
³ Centre for Community Health Studies (ReaCH), Faculty of Health Sciences, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Abstract

Background: Stress amidst the COVID-19 pandemic is becoming more prevalent. This paper aimed to describe the validation process of the Malay Perceived Stress Scale modified for COVID-19 (PSS-10-C) amongst Malaysian youths.

Methods: The cross-sectional validation study design was employed in this study. In Phase I, the scale was translated into Malay by using the forward-backward method. In Phase 2, principal axis factoring and confirmatory factor analysis were conducted in Study 1 (n = 267) and Study 2 (n = 324), respectively.

Results: A two-factor solution, comprising 'distress' and 'coping' domains was derived (cumulative variance = 65.2%) in Phase 2. Concurrent validity evaluated via the Beck Hopelessness Scale revealed a moderate positive correlation (0.528). In Study 2 (n = 324), the confirmatory factor analysis showed that the two-factor model achieved acceptable model fit indices, including χ²/df ratio = 2.57; root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) = 0.07; 95% CI = 0.05, 0.09; Tucker-Lewis Index (TLI) = 0.95 and Normed Fit Index (NFI) = 0.94. The Cronbach's alpha scale score was 0.855 for the study samples.

Conclusion: The Malay PSS-10-C is a valid and reliable scale to be used amongst Malaysian youths.

Keywords: COVID-19; Malaysia; Perceived Stress Scale modified for COVID-19; perceived stress; validation.