The status-related stress scale (SRSS): Measuring opportunity constraints and precarity among Asian adults in the United States with F-1, J-1, or H-1B status

Abstract

The aim of this study was to develop and validate a scale to measure stress associated with maintaining temporary nonimmigrant study or employment status (e.g., F-1, J-1, or H-1B status) among Asian adults in the United States. Items were developed following a combination of both deductive and inductive reasoning and refined through a systematic item generation process involving target population members and expert panels. We recruited a sample of 320 Asian individuals living across the United States on temporary statuses. The sample was randomly divided into exploratory (n = 153) and confirmatory (n = 167) subsamples to validate the scale using a two-step factor analytic process. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses identified and confirmed two distinct but interrelated factors: Opportunity constraints (four items) and Precarity (four items). Internal consistency was McDonald's Ω = .76 for Opportunity Constraints, McDonald's Ω = .70 for Precarity, and McDonald's Ω = .79 for the full scale score—namely Status-Related Stress Scale (SRSS). SRSS scores achieved full configural, metric, and scalar invariance across gender and visa type, and showed consistent, theoretically meaningful associations with external constructs (i.e., financial strain, anxiety, loneliness, life satisfaction, hope, negative context of reception, desire to stay permanently, and worry about policy changes). The SRSS is the first scale specifically designed to assess stress associated with maintaining temporary, nonimmigrant status among individuals living in the United States. This tool has important implications for policy, social, political, behavioral, and public health assessment, especially in the context of rapidly changing policy and associated distress among temporary migrants as well as permanent residents