Exposure to severe stress in the context of protracted armed conflict : scale development and validation Jean S. Taypa

Thesis (Master of Arts in Counseling Psychology) -- Ateneo de Manila University, December 2018.

Despite being exposed to protracted armed conflict in the last four decades, there is no scale measuring exposure to severe stress of civilians in Mindanao. A brief and validated scale that measure their exposure to severe stress will help provide a systematic way of identifying sources of distress. Using expert method, the researcher developed a 13-item scale measuring exposure to severe stress. This paper presents the psychometric properties of Armed Conflict Exposure Scale (ACES). The psychometric properties of the ACES were evaluated across three independent samples of an armed conflict-exposed civilians (combined N= 1,647). Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA), Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA), and moderation analysis were used to evaluate the factor structure of the scale. Results of studies 1 and 2 showed that the scale has sound psychometric properties. Study 3 provided support for the validity of the ACES by exhibiting support for the ethos of conflict as a moderator between exposure to severe stress and psychological distress. This is the first study that addressed the lack of literature on what constitutes exposure to severe stress of civilians in Mindanao. The results showed that the ACES is a reliable, valid and brief scale that measures exposure to severe stress in protracted conflict and can be utilized in community and research settings. The researcher discussed the limitations that might have affected the results of the study.