284P
Chronic Stress in Urban Adolescents: Continued Validation of the Urban Hassles Index
The Urban Hassles Index (UHI) is a 31-item instrument developed to measure the unique chronic stressors of adolescents residing in high risk urban settings. The stressors identified in the UHI differ conceptually and substantively from the more acute life events indexes typically employed adolescent stress research. The UHI is unique in the field of adolescent stress research in that it was developed and standardized with ethnic minority youth residing in high risk urban settings. The UHI has been revised and expanded to measure the severity of each hassle. This paper focuses on the continued development of the UHI and its utility in assessing chronic stressors in the lives of urban adolescents.
Method:
The present study is based on a sample of adolescents who were born to drug-addicted mothers (N=348). Respondents self-reported the frequency of exposure to each hassle and how much it affected them as well as how they responded to stressful events as part of a follow-up survey in larger longitudinal study. Exploratory factor analysis was used to identify the underlying factor structure of the UHI. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to define the relationship between the latent factors and the observed variables and to test, (a priori), the hypothesis that responses to the UHI could be explained by four first order factors and one second order factor.
Results:
Mean age of the respondents was 15.6 with females making up 54% of the sample. Cronbach’s alpha for the UHI was .84 while the alpha for hassle severity was .83. Significant and positive correlations between level of hassles and coping behaviors were found; hassles and disengaged coping (r=.475, p=.000); emotional numbing (r=.367, p=.000); and intrusive thoughts (r=.433, p=000). The underlying factor structure of the UHI was found to consist of four factors (harassment, anxiety, social disorganization, and coercion). The (a priori) hypothesis that responses to the UHI could be explained by four first order factors and one second order factor was confirmed and resulted in a model well-fitted to the data. That is each index of model fit (Goodness of Fit, Comparative Fit, Tucker-Lewis) yielded a value greater than .95, statistical significance was greater than .05, and both the Root Mean Square Error of Approximation (RMSEA) and Standardized Root Mean Residual (SRMR) yielded values greater than .05 as well.
Conclusions & Implications:
The UHI continues to capture the unique chronic stressors of the urban environment while maintaining strong reliability. The UHI can be used as a Rapid Assessment Instrument by practitioners working with adolescents living in urban settings. As for researchers exploring stress in adolescents, the UHI provides a measure to assess the unique contextual circumstances of the urban environment. The results of the severity component’s reliability suggest that the effects of the hassles on functioning may be ascertained in order to develop possible intervention approaches.