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Psychometric Evaluation of the Turkish Adolescent Version of the Multidimensional Digital Stress Scale: A Cross-Sectional Validation Study

Geckalan D, Eliaçık K

2026

402 participants

Abstract

Abstract Background Digital technologies create psychosocial demands that are not fully captured by measures of screen time or problematic internet use. This study evaluated the structural validity and internal consistency of the Turkish adolescent version of the Multidimensional Digital Stress Scale (DSS). Methods In this cross-sectional methodological study, 402 adolescents aged 12–18 years completed the 24-item DSS during sports examinations at a tertiary paediatric outpatient clinic. Construct validity was examined using exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis, and reliability was evaluated with Cronbach’s alpha, McDonald’s omega and corrected item–subscale correlations. Results Exploratory factor analysis reproduced the five-factor structure and explained 77.41% of the variance. The modified confirmatory model showed good fit (χ²/df = 2.00, RMSEA = 0.050, SRMR = 0.039, CFI = 0.999, IFI = 0.999 and TLI = 0.999). Total-scale alpha and omega were both 0.960; subscale alpha coefficients ranged from 0.866 to 0.948, and corrected item–subscale correlations ranged from 0.627 to 0.908. Online Vigilance had the highest score and Fear of Missing Out the lowest. Conclusions The Turkish adolescent DSS provides evidence of factorial validity and internal consistency for research and child-health contexts. Independent validation, test–retest reliability and criterion validity remain necessary.

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