Overview

This is a scale on perceived time stress that was developed as part of a larger survey of maternal capabilities among women participating in research on nutrition and water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) interventions. Items were developed for this research, as no pre-existing measures of time stress were identified. The scale consisted of five questions with 5-point Likert scale responses.

Scoring and Interpretation

Scored using a Likert-type scale: 1 = low levels of stress and 5 = high levels of stress. Overall score is calculated as a mean of five responses. Scores range from 1–5, with higher scores indicating higher perceived levels of time stress.

Citation

Matare, Cynthia R., Mduduzi NN Mbuya, Gretel Pelto, Katherine L. Dickin, and Rebecca J. Stoltzfus. 2015. "Assessing Maternal Capabilities in the SHINE Trial: Highlighting a Hidden Link in the Causal Pathway to Child Health." Clinical Infectious Diseases 61(suppl_7): S745-S751.

Context and Applications to Child Nutrition

Zimbabwe

Matare, Cynthia R., Mduduzi NN Mbuya, Katherine L. Dickin, Mark A. Constas, Gretel Pelto, Bernard Chasekwa, Jean H. Humphrey et al. 2021. "Maternal Capabilities Are Associated with Child Caregiving Behaviors among Women in Rural Zimbabwe." The Journal of Nutrition. 151(3): 685-694.

Tome, Joice, Mduduzi NN Mbuya, Rachel R. Makasi, Robert Ntozini, Andrew J. Prendergast, Katherine L. Dickin, Gretel H. Pelto et al. 2021. "Maternal Caregiving Capabilities Are Associated with Child Linear Growth in Rural Zimbabwe." Maternal & Child Nutrition 17(2): e13122.

Adaptations

N/A (Author-developed for baselines, and the two papers cited above that used it, were follow-ups of the baseline, so no changes were made to the measure.)

Formative Research

Items were developed using qualitative methods. Then cognitive testing was conducted to ensure comprehension in the study setting, and the tool was pilot-tested as part of the larger survey.