Title

Stress Reactivity Questionnaire (SRQ)

Copyright Information

Not a copyrighted scale

Primary Reference

Usala, P. D., & Hertzog, C. (1989). Measurement of affective states in adults. Evaluation of an adjective rating scale instrument. Research on Aging, 11, 403-426.

Purpose

To assess the extent to which participants experience positive and negative emotions during a laboratory stressor.

Type of Measure

Modified.  The SRQ is based on the 22-item State Adjective Questionnaire (StAQ), which assesses levels of positive and negative affect during the past 24 hours.

Description

Participants use a 5-point rating scale to indicate the extent to which each of 14 mood-related adjectives describe how they had been feeling during the most recently completed component of the reactivity protocol.  The SRQ was administered on 3 separate occasions during the course of each of the 2 reactivity sessions.  The timing of each administration and the specific instructions for reporting that were given prior to each assessment are presented in Table 1, below.

Scaling

0 = Not at all, 1 = A little, 2 = Some, 3 = Quite a bit, 4 = A lot

Number of Items

14

Scoring/Variables and Psychometrics

Table 2 displays SRQ subscales and component items, and test-retest reliabilities over 4 to 8 weeks.  Subscale scores are computed by summing their component items, and total positive and negative affect by summing their component subscale scores.  As indicated in the bottom two rows of the table, two total negative affect variables were computed that differed based on inclusion of the fatigue subscale.  Internal consistencies (Cronbach’s α) for total positive affect, total negative affect, and total negative affect + fatigue are displayed in Table 3.

Title

Emotional Response to Stress Questionnaire (ERSQ)

Purpose

To determine the effort participants put forth in completing an induced stressful situation.  In PCS3, the ERSQ was used as a manipulation check.

Type of Measure

Created for study

Description

Using a 7-pt scale (1 = not at all; 7 = extremely) respondents rate their level of nervousness during the laboratory task, and the extent to which they felt the task was difficult, challenging, and upsetting.  Respondents also rate the level of effort they put into the task on a scale ranging from 1 (didn’t try at all) to 7 (tried as hard as I could).

The ERSQ was administered once during each of the 2 reactivity sessions.  The assessment took place 10 minutes into the 50-minute recovery session, and participants were instructed to focus on the time during which they were engaging in the task (i.e., giving the speech and performing mental arithmetic).

Psychometrics

Item test-retest reliabilities (4 to 8 weeks):

• Effort put into task, r = 0.64
• Nervous during task, r = 0.62
• Difficulty of task, r = 0.48
• Upset during task, r = 0.59
• Task level of challenge, r = 0.64

Scoring/Variables

Each item is examined separately

Title

Rumination Measure (RM)

Purpose

To determine the extent of rumination about an induced stressful situation.  In PCS3, this measure is used to assess rumination about the laboratory stressor.

Type of Measure

Created for study

Description

Using a 7-pt scale (1= not at all, 7 = all the time), respondents indicate the extent to which they…

• thought about the laboratory tasks after having completed them
• criticized themselves about not performing well
• thought about other past experiences of being evaluated
• thought about the anxiety they felt during the tasks

Also using a 7-pt scale (1 = positive, 4 = neutral, 7 = negative), respondents rate the valence of their thoughts about the laboratory task.

The RM was administered once during each of the 2 reactivity sessions.  The assessment took place at the end of the 50-minute recovery session, and participants were instructed to focus on the time they had just spent resting.

Number of Items

5

Psychometrics

Internal consistency, Cronbach’s α:

• Session 1, α = 0.76
• Session 2, α = 0.81

Test-retest reliability (4 to 8 weeks):  r = 0.59

Scoring

Total rumination score = sum of all 5 items