DSI Differential Stress Inventory

The Differential Stress Inventory makes it possible to analyse and differentiate stress behaviour and allocate to types of stress experience.

Application
The Differential Stress Inventory makes it possible to measure and differentiate between stress triggers, symptoms of stress, available coping strategies and risks of stress stabilisation.   Both the extent and the cause of stress are identified. 

Theoretical background
The idea of developing the Differential Stress Inventory arose from the need to create a tool which would identify the way in which an individual deals with stress and which would do justice to the multi-dimensionality of the construct. 
In view of the practical implications for counselling and therapy, a behaviour-theory model was considered to be the best basis for the construction of a stress questionnaire. 
The theoretical basis of the construction of the Differential Stress Inventory was the concept of the diagnosis of achievement anxiety put forward by Rost and Schermer (1987). 
The similarity between anxiety and stress which has often been remarked upon in the literature does indeed make such an approach seem appropriate.
The tool is made up of 9 dimensions which have been obtained by factor analysis and which measure different aspects of the causes and symptoms of stress, coping strategies and stress stabilisation.  
It is also possible to assign subjects to one of five stress types, depending on how they experience and respond to stress: normal, overstressed, stress resistant, low stress – successful coping, high stress – successful coping. 

Administration
After instructions have been given the items are presented sequentially on the screen.  The subject indicates his responses on a four-point verbally-marked scale (from is almost always true to is almost never true).  It is not possible to omit items.  The item immediately preceding the current one can be corrected once. 
 
Test forms
There are two test forms (S1 – for employed persons/adults and S2 – for school-age students/young people). Each form contains 124 items relating to four aspects of stress: causes of stress, symptoms of stress, coping and stress stabilisation.

Scoring
The raw scores on the scales and the response times for each item are measured.  
Output is provided in the form of a results table with raw scores and percentiles for all the scales together with the individual test profile.

The following normed variables are covered
Causes of stress: everyday events; interaction with others; anxieties about life circumstances. 
Symptoms of stress: physical; emotional/cognitive. 
Coping: palliative; instrumental.
Stress stabilisation: external; internal.

In addition, classification probabilities are calculated which identify the extent to which an individual’s profile resembles five different reference profiles.  

Reliability
All scales of the DSI have a high degree of internal consistency (Cronbach’s Alpha between .70 and .94).

Validity
Since the scales of the DSI have been obtained by factor analysis, construct validity as understood in classical test theory can be regarded as given. 

Norms
Norms for S1 were obtained for a representative sample of n = 378 individuals (177 men, 201 women) in Austria in 2003 and 2004.  Norms are also available differentiated by gender, educational background and age. 

The norms for S2 were drawn up from a sample of N=606 children and young people (232 boys, 374 girls) in Germany in 2007.  The norms are also available differentiated by gender and age.