Background and purpose: Measuring stress in Hispanic Americans, the fastest growing U.S. minority, is problematic. The Life Events Inventory (LEI) and the Daily Hassles Scale (DHS), widely used stress instruments, are not available in Spanish.
Purpose: To test the psychometric properties of the translated Spanish versions of the LEI and DHS.
Methods: A convenience sample of 63 Hispanic women completed both instruments in Spanish and English 2 weeks apart.
Results: Internal consistency reliability and stability were strong for both instruments (.85-.97). Reliability and validity evidence for the translated Spanish versions were strong and similar to the English version.
Conclusions: Psychometric findings suggest that the newly translated Spanish versions are good representations of the English versions and that these newly translated instruments are ready for use.