Frustration Intolerance Scale for Students

Background: Frustration intolerance (FI) is the belief that reality should meet our desires for ease, pleasure and comfort. Although extensively studied in adults, tools for measuring FI in children and adolescents are scarce. The Frustration Intolerance Scale for Students (FISS) was developed to fill this gap. This study aimed to evaluate the FISS's structure and, through a longitudinal design, assess its psychometric properties, including reliability and validity.

Methods: Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was conducted with a sample of 780 participants (46.30% female, Age_mean = 11.80 years). A retest was administered after 5 months to 611 participants (48.6% female, Age_mean = 12.24 years). Both testing moments assessed FI, along with externalized and internalized anger, anger duration, empathy, academic interest and self-efficacy.

Results: Confirmatory factor analyses revealed that the eight-plus-one model is the optimal structure for the FISS, allowing for scores on each FI component, frustration tolerance (FT) and a general irrationality FI factor. The eight subscales and the irrationality FI factor showed good internal consistency, whereas test-retest reliability was fair, indicating some variability between administrations. Regarding convergent evidence, significant longitudinal correlations were found between internalized and externalized anger, the degree of anger and all dimensions of FI. FT was positively associated with empathy, and this pattern remained consistent over time. The scale demonstrated discriminant validity by effectively differentiating between students with low and high levels of academic interest and self-efficacy.

Conclusions: The FISS is a valid and reliable tool for assessing various dimensions of frustration intolerance in children and adolescents.