ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Psychol.
Sec. Quantitative Psychology and Measurement
Adapting the Short Digital Stress Scale (SDSS) into Turkish: Validation and Psychometric Evaluation in Adults
Provisionally accepted
- 1Lund University, Lund, Sweden
- 2Manisa Celal Bayar Universitesi, Manisa, Türkiye
- 3Dokuz Eylul Universitesi, Alsancak, Türkiye
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This study aimed to adapt the Short Digital Stress Scale (SDSS) into Turkish and evaluate its psychometric properties in an adult sample. A total of 276 participants (72.8% female, 27.2% male; mean age = 27.34, SD = 9.84) completed the SDSS along with established psychological instruments, including the Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale, the Short-Form UCLA Loneliness Scale, the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale, and the Beck Depression Inventory-II. Confirmatory factor analysis supported the original five-factor structure of the SDSS—availability stress, approval anxiety, fear of missing out, connection overload, and online vigilance. Model fit indices indicated good construct validity (χ²/df = 1.32, GFI = .99, SRMR = .03, RMSEA = .03, AGFI = .98, CFI = .99). Factor loadings ranged from .36 to .93 (p < .001). Composite Reliability (CR) and Average Variance Extracted (AVE) values provided evidence of convergent validity, except for the connection overload factor. Concurrent validity was established through significant correlations between digital stress and social media addiction, loneliness, social anxiety, and depression. Internal consistency reliability was acceptable (Cronbach’s α = .77), with subdimension values ranging from .67 to .85. These findings demonstrate that the Turkish adaptation of the SDSS is a valid and reliable instrument for assessing digital stress among adults. The scale provides a concise, contextually appropriate tool for researchers and practitioners seeking to examine the psychological impact of digital engagement in Turkish society.
Keywords: digital stress, Short Digital Stress Scale, psychometric properties, Turkish adaptation, Mental Health
Received: 08 Sep 2025; Accepted: 01 Dec 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Geris, Esen and Soylu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Ali Geris
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