THE DEVELOPMENT AND VALIDITY OF THE MEDICAL STUDENT STRESSOR QUESTIONNAIRE (MSSQ)

Objective: To determine the construct validity and the internal consistency of the Medical Student Stressor Questionnaire (MSSQ) among medical students hence in the future it could be used as a valid and reliable instrument to identify stressors among medical students. Methods: The blueprint for the development of MSSQ was developed after a review of literature on the subject and a discussion with experts in the field. It comprised of 40 items with six hypothetical groups. The face validity of the questionnaire was established through discussion with 141 final year medical students whereas content validity was established through discussion with experts from field of Medical Education and Psychiatry. It was administered to a total of 761 medical students. Data was analysed using Statistical Package Social Sciences (SPSS) version 12. Factor analysis was applied to test construct validity of the MSSQ. Reliability analysis (Cronbach’s alpha and item total correlation) was applied to test internal consistency of the MSSQ. Results: The total Cronbach’s alpha value of the MSSQ was 0.95. All the preliminary 40 items were included in the MSSQ as the items had item total correlation value of more than 0.3. The items were loaded nicely into the six pre-determined hypothetical groups as their factor loading values were more than 0.3. Conclusion: This study showed that MSSQ had good psychometric value. It is a valid and reliable instrument in identifying stressors among medical students