Analysis of the Inventory of College Students' Recent Life Experiences

International undergraduate students attending U.S. colleges completed a common “hassles” assessment, the Inventory of College Students’ Recent Life Experiences (ICSRLE). Previous structure and validation studies with this measure have been limited to North American students. Using exploratory and confirmatory analyses, a distinct structure of 6 factors using 35 items presented a better fit for the international student population than the original factor structure. The dimensions include relationship problems, social alienation, system negotiation, time demands, disappointment, and academic discord. We discuss implications for future use of the ICSRLE for both research and counseling with international students. Key Terms: College Students; Stress; Foreign Student; Measurement; Factor Analysis Assessing the stress level among college students has been a helpful addition to the understanding of student experiences and development. High levels of stress are related to unhealthy eating and exercise patterns and low levels of self-esteem among college students, and with suicide ideation, smoking, and drinking behaviors in adolescents (Hudd et al., 2000). Professionals use a variety of inventories to study stress levels, or hassles. Using them beyond the limit of generalizable population can be problematic. The American Educational Research Association, American Psychological Association and the National Council on Measurement in Education have published standards advocating for ongoing validation of educational and psychological assessments that include establishing usefulness and appropriateness with specific populations (1999). Not until 2005, however, did subscales of gender or race and ethnicity appear in an assessment of student hassles (Pett & Johnson, 2005). The purpose of this study was to examine the use of a commonly used stress level inventory with the population of international students attending college in the U.S. The Inventory of College Students’ Recent Life Experiences (ICSRLE) was developed in 1990 with a Canadian student population (Kohn, Lafreniere & Gurevich, 1990). The inventory includes 49 items, to which respondents indicate their extent of experience with each during the past month using responses of: (1) not at all part of my life, (2) only slightly part of my life, (3) distinctly part of my life, or (4) very much part of my life. Kohn et al. proposed a factorial structure with 7-factors using 37 of those items. A validation study on this factorial structure conducted with an American (U.S.) student population in 1994 (Osman, Barrios, Longnecker & Osman, 1994) found that the measures and structure of the ICSRLE constructs can be validly used for U.S. undergraduate college students. Kohn et al. (1990) and Osman et al.’s (1994) major findings were that the full 49-item scale total score can be used to measure a single construct, called ‘hassles’, and 37 of the items have a structure of seven factors to measure subscales. The subscales are labeled developmental challenge, time pressure, academic alienation, romantic problems, assorted annoyances, general social mistreatment, and friendship problems. Twelve of the items did not contribute to any of the subscales. Reliability and validity are adequate based on comparison with other stress scales and cross-replication within the sample. In the original Canadian sample, the full scale alpha reliability was .88 for males (n=50) and .89 for females (n=156). The alpha coefficients for six of the seven subscales were between .68 .80, the subscale labeled assorted annoyances was less consistent with an alpha of .47 (Kohn et al.). In a follow-up study with a U.S. college sample, a confirmatory factor Bodenhorn, Miyazaki, Ng, & Zalaquett 66 analysis (CFA) supported the seven factor structure. Additionally, the ICSRLE subscales correlated significantly with other stress measures even after controlling for emotional adjustment (Osman et al.). Slight differences were exhibited in the results between the samples of U.S. students and the Canadian students, which might have been a result of the different statistical measures used (Osman et al., 1994), or a reflection of cultural influences. Specifically, the items contributing to the differences between male and female scores were different in the two samples, although both samples resulted in higher scores for females than for males (Kohn et al., 1990; Osman et al.). Since its development and validation, the ICSRLE has been used in a variety of different studies with a variety of different populations. Examples include studies using the ICSRLE score in multiple regression models and path analyses to predict or control for effects of stress on U.S. and Canadian college students (Fenzel, 2005; Kohn, Lafreniere & Gurevich, 1991; Kohn, O’Brien & Pickering, 1997; Swickert, Rosentreter, Hittner & Mushbrush, 2002; Vickers & Vogeltanz, 2000, Volkmann & Weekes, 2006). Additionally, D’Angelo and Wierzbicki (2003) used both the total and subscale scores of the ICSRLE in a U.S. study correlating high levels of hassles experienced with high levels of anxiety and depression; Lai (1995) used the scale (total score only) in a Hong Kong study examining optimism as a moderating effect between hassles and somatic complaints; Jordyn and Byrd (2003) used the subscale scores in a New Zealand study examining the relationship between living arrangements and identity development; and Hussong (2003) used the subscale scores to examine a model relating stress and coping strategies including alcohol involvement among a U.S. population. The last study included a factor analysis of the ICSRLE results, which found four subscales: life management, social relationships, school, and general social adjustment. Other studies have used individual items or adapted the scale in other ways to assess stress levels among college students. Interestingly, most of these studies have been conducted in countries other than the United States. Vollrath (2000) conducted a longitudinal study in Switzerland using 18 of the 49 ICSRLE items. Lay and Safdar (2003) conducted a study in England relating hassles and distress to immigrant status using some items from a scale that had been adapted from the ICSRLE. Gan, Liu & Zhang (2004) used some items from the ICSLRE and other items from two other scales to develop their own scale in a Chinese study on coping responses to severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and daily hassles. Similarly, Lepore, Miles, and Levy (1997) used some of the ICSRLE items and items from two other scales in a U.S. study relating chronic and episodic stressors to psychological and health problems. Cheng (2003), in a Hong Kong study, used the stressful events from the ICSRLE but varied the instructions to indicate the level of control that students felt over the events. Apparently, many researchers who for some reason do not want to use the ICSRLE intact still refer to the scale when conducting research on levels of stress among college students. International students represent 4.3% of the college students attending U.S. universities (IIE, 2004). International students traditionally are reluctant to use campus counseling services (Boyer & Sedlacek, 1989; Hyun, Quinn, Madon & Lustig, 2006; Yoon & Portman, 2004). Using assessments developed within one culture has presented a challenge for counselors and researchers working with international students (Guindon & Sobhany, 2001; Pedersen, 1991; Yoon & Portman, 2004). One possible avenue to increase the appropriateness of practice, research, and services is to increase counselor’s understanding of the stresses experienced by international students through appropriate use of assessments. Having a valid and reliable hassles scale for use with international students would be important for International Student Advisors and College Counselors, as well as for researchers studying this population. Multicultural Learning and Teaching (2007), 2(2), 65-77