Validation of Bengali perceived stress scale among LGBT population

BACKGROUND: Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) population encounter more stressful life circumstances compared to general population. Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) can be a useful tool for measuring their stress. However, psychometric properties of PSS have never been tested on LGBT population. METHODS: This cross sectional study employed a two-stage sampling strategy to collect data from 296 LGBT participants from six divisional districts of Bangladesh. Exploratory (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) were carried out on PSS 10 along with analysis of reliability and validity. RESULTS: EFA revealed a two-factor structure of PSS for LGBT population explaining 43.55% - 51.45% of total variance. This measurement model was supported by multiple fit indices during CFA. Acceptable Cronbach’s alpha indicated internal consistency reliability and high correlations with Self Reporting Questionnaire 20 demonstrated construct validity of PSS 10 for LGBT population. CONCLUSION: This study provided evidence of satisfactory psychometric properties of Bengali PSS 10 in terms of factor structure, internal consistency and validity among LGBT population. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1186/s12888-017-1482-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.