Assessment of academic stress: measurement invariance by sex

Context and relevance. In recent years, academic stress among high school students has been regarded as a significant risk factor for their well-being and academic achievement, while in the Russian context there is a noted shortage of modern, psychometrically validated methods for its assessment. Objective. The aim of this study is to validate the Russian version of the LASRS-2 for students in grade 11, including confirmation of its factor structure, assessment of reliability, and evaluation of convergent validity. Hypothesis. The Russian version of the LASRS-2 demonstrates validity, reliability, and measurement invariance by gender for students in grade 11. Methods and materials. The data from 976 eleventh graders were used, aged 16 to 18 years (M = 17, SD = 0,35), 75,7% females. For convergent validity testing, E. Diener's Life Satisfaction Scale and Physical Wellbeing Index were employed. Analysis was conducted using R (version 4.5.1) with the lavaan package. Results. Evidence of validity for the Russian version of the LASRS-2 was obtained, along with strict invariance, allowing comparison between male and female students. Conclusion. The Russian version of the LASRS-2 is a valid tool for measuring affective, cognitive, behavioral, and physiological academic stress among students in grade 11. The instrument can be utilized for research and monitoring purposes.

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