Initial development of a new measure of minor stress for adolescents: The adolescent minor stress inventory

The primary aim of this study was to develop, standardize, and establish initial reliability and validity for the Adolescent Minor Stress Inventory (AMSI), a new measure of minor stress for adolescents. The AMSI improves upon existing adolescent stress measures in a number of important ways in that it does not emphasize school or classroom-based stressors, and includes a method of adjusting for the over- and underreporting of stress. In this investigation, the AMSI was mailed to 1865 adolescents aged 13-17 from which we obtained 720 (39%) usable surveys. Standardized scoring was developed and the results provide initial data supporting the factor structure, reliability, and validity of the AMSI. The AMSI has potential application both in clinical and research settings, particularly during times when school is not in session or with adolescents who do not regularly attend school.