Xinlei Qu,1,2 Yu Luo,1,2 Yuanyi Liu,1 Xiangcai He,3 Yu Zhang1,2 

1School of Psychology, Guizhou Normal University, Guiyang, Guizhou, 550025, People’s Republic of China; 2Key Laboratory of Brain Function and Brain Disease Prevention and Treatment of Guizhou Province, Guizhou Normal University, Guiyang, Guizhou, 550025, People’s Republic of China; 3School of Psychology, Chengdu Medical College, Chengdu, Sichuan, 610500, People’s Republic of China

Correspondence: Yu Luo, Email yuluo@gznu.edu.cn

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the cultural adaptation and psychometric properties of the Perceived Stress Reactivity Scale (PSRS) in the Chinese population.
Methods: A total of 3560 Chinese participants aged 18– 60 years from various provinces and cities in mainland China were included. Sample 1 (n = 3316) was used for CFA, MI, internal consistency, convergent, criterion-related validity, and difference analysis. Sample 2 (n = 244) was employed to evaluate test–retest reliability over a four-week interval.
Results: The study validated a robust 23-item, five-factor structure for the Chinese PSRS, demonstrating strong reliability with a Cronbach’s α of 0.90 and a test–retest reliability of 0.83. The PSRS and its subscales were significantly correlated with measures of depression, stress, anxiety, and self-efficacy. Strict invariance was observed across gender and age groups (18– 40 and 41– 60 years). Women and young adults scored higher on the overall scale and most subscales compared with their counterparts.
Conclusion: The PSRS is a reliable instrument for assessing perceived stress reactivity within the Chinese population. By validating its cultural adaptation and psychometric properties, this study lays a foundation for its cross-cultural application. The findings contribute to a deeper understanding of perceived stress reactivity differences across gender and age groups and provide practical insights for future interventions and stress management research in the Chinese population.

Keywords: perceived stress reactivity, individual differences, gender, age, measurement invariance, psychometrics