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

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 χ(2)/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.