Biopsychology and Cognitive Neuroscience, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany.
Neuro-Cognitive Psychology and Center of Cognitive Interaction Technology (CITEC), Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany.
Sci Rep. 2022 Sep 29;12(1):16341. doi: 10.1038/s41598-022-20524-w.
Stress is ubiquitous in everyday life and hazardous for mental and physical health. To prevent or ameliorate stress-related disease, relaxation exercises aim to counteract stress by inducing short-lasting states of relaxation on a regular basis. Critically, current assessments capture the mid- and long-term consequences of relaxation, however, cannot measure its short-term effects on an individual's momentary psychological state. To address this problem, we developed the Relaxation State Questionnaire (RSQ). We assessed the psychometric quality of the questionnaire by investigating its item properties, reliability, and validity in an online study with 92 participants. Construct validity was examined through correlations with the Perceived Stress Questionnaire (PSQ; Fliege in https://doi.org/10.23668/PSYCHARCHIVES.2889 , 2009). An exploratory factor analysis revealed four factors capturing the momentary state of muscle tension, sleepiness, cardiovascular activity, and general relaxation. In a second online study with 99 participants, we conducted a confirmatory factor analysis. Results revealed high item loadings (0.70-0.91), excellent reliability (α = 0.86) and excellent fit indices, and a good construct validity of the RSQ. These findings establish the RSQ as a tool to measure momentary states of relaxation. As such, the RSQ opens up research of the immediate subjective effects and the effectiveness of relaxation exercises.
压力在日常生活中无处不在，对身心健康有害。为了预防或改善与压力相关的疾病，放松练习旨在通过定期产生短暂的放松状态来对抗压力。关键的是，目前的评估方法捕捉了放松的中长期后果，但无法衡量其对个体即时心理状态的短期影响。为了解决这个问题，我们开发了放松状态问卷（RSQ）。我们通过在一项有 92 名参与者的在线研究中调查问卷的项目特性、可靠性和有效性，评估了问卷的心理测量质量。通过与感知压力问卷（PSQ；Fliege in https://doi.org/10.23668/PSYCHARCHIVES.2889, 2009）的相关性来检验结构有效性。探索性因素分析显示，有四个因素可以捕捉肌肉紧张、嗜睡、心血管活动和整体放松的即时状态。在第二项有 99 名参与者的在线研究中，我们进行了验证性因素分析。结果显示，项目的负荷很高（0.70-0.91），可靠性（α=0.86）极好，拟合指数也很好，并且 RSQ 的结构有效性也很好。这些发现确立了 RSQ 作为衡量即时放松状态的工具。因此，RSQ 为研究放松练习的即时主观效果和有效性开辟了道路。
