Uncertainty Response Scale: The Assessment Tool for Adolescent Interaction with Multidimensional Stress

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Abstract

The adaptation of the Uncertainty Response Scale (URS) aimed at studying the ways in which adolescents interact with uncertainty stress situations is described. The scale contains 25 questions and includes three subscales: “Emotional uncertainty,” “Cognitive uncertainty,” and “Desire for change”. The questionnaire has good internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha for scales 0.85-0.93; CFI=0.93; TLI=0.92; RMSEA=0.060 [0.057; 0.062]; SRMR=0.06) in a sample of adolescents from different regions of the Russian Federation (N=1718; age from 12 to 18 years; average age 14±1 years; 53.8% female). The URS validity is confirmed by the expected correlations with the scales of the “Multidimensional Students’ Life Satisfaction Scale” and “Multidimensional School Engagement Scale”. The validity is also supported by the fact that the URS allows to differentiate respondents in different stressful situations: if a teenager finds himself in a maximally stressful situation, emotional reactions to uncertainty increase, while cognitive reactions to uncertainty are quite stable, and readiness for change decreases. The “Response to Uncertainty Scale” can be used to conduct large-scale longitudinal studies, studies of adolescents from different groups, including vulnerable groups, as well as individual studies to build subsequent practice of psychological assistance.

General Information

Keywords: uncertainty, Uncertainty Response Scale (URS), stress, adolescence, “Multidimensional Students’ Life Satisfaction Scale”, “Multidimensional School Engagement Scale”

Journal rubric: Methods and Techniques

Article type: scientific article

DOI: https://doi.org/10.17759/cpse.2024130207

Funding. The study was carried out within the framework of the state assignment of the Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation dated 02/09/2024 No. 073-00037-24-01 “Development of a standardized psychodiagnostic tools package in digital format for assessing the individual psychological characteristics of students at different levels of education”.

Acknowledgements. The authors are grateful to O.I. Leonova, the Head of the Federal Center for Scientific and Methodological Support of the Pedagogical Staff, and L.M. Prokopyeva, the Head of the Professional Education Quality Monitoring Department, for assistance in collecting data.

Received: 12.02.2024

Accepted:

For citation: Odintsova M.A., Radchikova N.P., Sorokova M.G. Uncertainty Response Scale: The Assessment Tool for Adolescent Interaction with Multidimensional Stress [Elektronnyi resurs]. Klinicheskaia i spetsial'naia psikhologiia = Clinical Psychology and Special Education, 2024. Vol. 13, no. 2, pp. 106–128. DOI: 10.17759/cpse.2024130207. (In Russ., аbstr. in Engl.)

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Information About the Authors

Maria A. Odintsova, PhD in Psychology, Docent, Head of the Department of Psychology and Pedagogy of Distance Learning, Faculty of Distance Learning, Moscow State University of Psychology & Education, Moscow, Russia, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3106-4616, e-mail: mari505@mail.ru

Nataly P. Radchikova, PhD in Psychology, Leading Researcher of Scientific and Practical Center for Comprehensive Support of Psychological Research «PsyDATA», Moscow State University of Psychology & Education, Chief Specialist of the Laboratory of Biophysics of Excitable Media, Institute of Theoretical and Experimental Biophysics, Russian Academy of Sciences, Pushchino;, Moscow, Russia, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5139-8288, e-mail: nataly.radchikova@gmail.com

Marina G. Sorokova, Doctor of Education, PhD in Physics and Matematics, docent, Head of Scientific and Practical Center for Comprehensive Support of Psychological Research "PsyDATA", Head of the Department of Digital Education, Moscow State University of Psychology and Education, Moscow, Russia, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1000-6487, e-mail: sorokovamg@mgppu.ru

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