Stress Scale in the Context of Online Learning among Junior High School
Students (ages 11-17): Development, Validity, and Reliability
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic has prompted an unprecedented shift from
face-to-face to online learning. Considering the impact of this
transition, the researchers developed a scale measuring the stress
levels of 319 junior high school students. Based on the evaluation of
experts, the item content validity index (I-CVI) proved the validity of
each item. From the original 32, 20 items were retained after conducting
exploratory factor analysis (EFA). A new clustering was derived from the
results, namely: (1) physical health, (2) task management, (3) valuing,
and (4) relating to oneself and others. The final 20-item scale was
proven to have internal consistency among items with Cronbach’s alpha of
0.923. The results of measurement invariance (MI) tests indicate that
the newly developed four-factor stress scale in the context of online
learning measure the same underlying constructs across sex, grade level,
and age groups. Consequently, the differences in stress levels among the
groups were also determined.