AUTHOR=Tito-Betancur Madona , Huayta-Meza Mariné , Chaparro Josué Turpo , Morales-García Wilter C. , Mamani-Benito Oscar TITLE=Adaptation and validation of the financial stress scale in social conflict contexts: a study conducted with small and medium-sized Peruvian entrepreneurs JOURNAL=Frontiers in Psychology VOLUME=14 YEAR=2023 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1241005 DOI=10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1241005 ISSN=1664-1078 ABSTRACT=Introduction

Social conflicts have repercussions on the mental health of the economically active population.

Objective

To adapt and validate the Financial Stress Scale in the context of social conflicts (ESECPS).

Method

An instrumental study involving 2,242 owners of small and medium enterprises (50.9% women), aged between 18 and 74 years old, selected through a non-probabilistic purposive sampling. The participants were recruited across three regions of Peru during periods of protests and strikes against the incumbent Peruvian government. The instrument for adaptation was the financial stress scale EFEmp-Cov19, created in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact.

Results

All items proved to be clear, relevant, and representative (V > 0.70). Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) revealed the existence of one underlying factor across the 11 items (KMO = 0.962, Bartlett = 5434.3; df = 55; p < 0.001). However, for Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA), items 4 and 11 were removed, resulting in support for a unidimensional model with 9 items (χ2 = 262.73, df = 23, p < 0.001; RMR = 0.022; TLI = 0.972; CFI = 0.980; and RMSEA = 0.072). Regarding reliability, a very high value was found (ω = 0.92).

Conclusion

The ESECPS demonstrates adequate psychometric properties, making it a suitable measure to assess financial stress among Peruvian entrepreneurs facing economic instability and financial threats in the context of social conflicts.