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The Recovery-Stress Questionnaires: User Manual

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The Recovery-Stress Questionnaires:
User Manual

K. Wolfgang Kallus, PhD

University of Graz, Austria

Michael Kellmann, PhD

Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Germany
The University of Queensland, Australia

(Eds.)
Dedicated to all people who participated in the development of the Recovery-Stress
Questionnaires.

RESTQ
RECOVERY-STRESS QUESTIONNAIRES: USER MANUAL

Manual
K. W. Kallus & M. Kellmann
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Table of contents

List of tables .........................................................................................12

List of gures ........................................................................................20

Acknowledgments .................................................................................23

Preface ..................................................................................................25

1. Stress and Recovery: An Overview ..................................................27

K. W. Kallus

1.1 General Description ..............................................................................................27

1.2 The Modular Structure of the RESTQ ................................................................30
1.3 The Interesting Area between State and Trait...................................................32
1.4 Demands, Resources, Strain, Stress, and Recovery ..........................................34
1.4.1 Load, Taskload, Workload, Strain, and Stress ..............................................34
1.4.2 Stress and Allostatic ‘Load’ ..........................................................................38
1.4.3 Stress, Resources, and Coping......................................................................39
1.4.4 Recovery........................................................................................................41
1.4.5 Stress and Recovery ......................................................................................43
1.4.6 The Recovery-Stress Balance ........................................................................43
1.5 Methods of Analysis and Structure of the Manual ..........................................46
1.5.1 Exploratory Factor Analysis ........................................................................46
1.5.2 Evaluation of Model Fit in Linear Structural Models .................................47

2. RESTQ-Basic: The General Version of the RESTQ .............................49

K. W. Kallus

2.1 Scope and Application..........................................................................................50

2.2 Facets of Stress and Recovery..............................................................................50
2.2.1 Facets of Stress .............................................................................................50
2.2.2 Resources, Coping, and Recovery .................................................................51
2.2.3 Stress and Recovery ......................................................................................52
2.2.4 Facet of Stress and Recovery in the RESTQ-Basic ......................................53
2.2.5 Stress States, Recovery Demands, and the Recovery-Stress Balance ..........57
 2.3 Versions and Scoring ............................................................................................58
2.4 Interpretation of Results ......................................................................................60
2.5 Reliability and Validity.........................................................................................61
2.5.1 Internal Consistency of the RESTQ-Basic ...................................................62
2.5.2 Time Frames .................................................................................................64
2.5.3 Test-Retest Reliability and Data from Retests .............................................65
2.5.4 Test-Retest Reliabilities ................................................................................65
2.5.5 Latent Structure Measurement Models .......................................................66
2.5.5.1 Measurement Models for Scales .....................................................66
2.5.5.2 Measurement Models with Dimensions ........................................68
2.5.6 Construct Validity ........................................................................................70
2.5.6.1 Scale Intercorrelations ....................................................................70
2.5.6.2 Factorial Structure of the Scales ....................................................71
2.5.7 Structural Modelling....................................................................................72
2.5.8 Convergent and Discriminant Validity ........................................................74
2.5.8.1 Correlations with Actual Condition/State .....................................74
2.5.8.2 Relationship to Stress and Recovery Scales ...................................74
2.5.8.3 Personality Measures .....................................................................76
2.6 Studies on Different Facets of Validity...............................................................78
2.6.1 Psychophysiological Criteria ........................................................................78
2.6.2 Sleep ..............................................................................................................80
2.6.3 Social Criteria ...............................................................................................81
2.6.4 Application Studies ......................................................................................83
2.6.5 Areas of Application .....................................................................................84
2.6.6 Reference Values and Norms ........................................................................85
2.6.7 Summary ......................................................................................................85

3. Recovery-Stress Questionnaire for Athletes ....................................86

M. Kellmann & K. W. Kallus

3.1 Scope and Application..........................................................................................86

3.2 Facets of Stress and Recovery in Sports:
Theory of the Sport-specific Scales .....................................................................88
3.3 Versions, Scoring, and Reference Values of the RESTQ-Sport .......................92
3.3.1 RESTQ-Sport-36 ..........................................................................................93
3.3.2 Instruction ....................................................................................................94
3.3.3 Item Format of the RESTQ-Sport ................................................................94
3.3.4 Scoring ..........................................................................................................95
3.3.5 Reference Values ...........................................................................................96
3.4 Reliability ...............................................................................................................98
 3.4.1 Samples .........................................................................................................98
3.4.2 Classical Reliability Measures....................................................................100
3.4.2.1 Homogeneity ................................................................................100
3.4.2.2 Test-Retest Reliability ..................................................................102
3.4.3 Psychometrics of International Versions ....................................................103
3.5 Construct Validity ...............................................................................................105
3.5.1 Scale Intercorrelations ................................................................................105
3.5.2 Latent Structure Measurement Models .....................................................109
3.5.3 Factorial Structure of the Scales.................................................................110
3.5.4 Structural Modelling..................................................................................112
3.6 Convergent and Discriminant Validity ............................................................113
3.6.1 Correlations with Actual Condition/State .................................................114
3.6.2 Relationships to Motivational Components ...............................................115
3.6.3 Recovery-Stress State Patterns...................................................................116
3.6.4 Changes in the Recovery-Stress State ........................................................117
3.6.4.1 Effects of Vacation ........................................................................117
3.6.4.2 Effects within a Training Camp ...................................................118
3.6.5 Bio-Psychological State Indicators .............................................................119
3.6.6 Injury Prediction ........................................................................................119
3.6.7 Performance Criteria ..................................................................................121
3.7 Individual-specific Diagnostic Case Studies ...................................................122
3.8 Application Areas of the RESTQ-Sport............................................................125
3.9 Summary of the RESTQ-Sport Features ..........................................................126
3.10 Additional Publications dealing with the RESTQ-Sport ................................ 127

4. Recovery-Stress Questionnaire for Coaches ..................................132

M. Kellmann, K. W. Kallus, & S. Altfeld

4.1 Scope and Application........................................................................................132

4.2 Facets of Stress and Recovery in Coaches: Theory of the Coach-specific
Scales .....................................................................................................................133
4.3 Versions and Scoring ..........................................................................................135
4.4 Reference Values .................................................................................................138
4.5 Reliability .............................................................................................................138
4.5.1 Samples .......................................................................................................138
4.5.2 Classical Reliability Measures....................................................................139
4.6 Construct Validity ...............................................................................................141
4.6.1 Scale Intercorrelations ................................................................................141
4.6.2 Latent Structure Measurement Models .....................................................145
 4.6.3 Factor Analysis ...........................................................................................146
4.6.4 Structural Modelling..................................................................................149
4.7 Construct Validity ...............................................................................................150
4.8 Individual-Specific Diagnostic Case Studies ..................................................153
4.9 Application of the Recovery-Stress Questionnaire for Coaches ..................156
4.10 Summary of the RESTQ-Coach Features .........................................................157

5. Recovery-Stress Questionnaire for Work .......................................158

P. Jiménez, A. Dunkl, & K. W. Kallus

5.1 Scope and Application........................................................................................158

5.2 Facets of Stress and Recovery in Work and Organizational
Psychology: Theory of the Work-specific Scales ............................................159
5.2.1 Role of Resources in Work ..........................................................................159
5.2.2 Work-specific Sub-dimensions in the RESTQ-Work .................................160
5.3 Versions, Scoring, and Norms ...........................................................................161
5.3.1 Versions and Scoring ..................................................................................161
5.3.2 Versions and ISO Norm Requirements for Work- and Organisational
Psychology ..................................................................................................161
5.4 Reliability .............................................................................................................163
5.4.1 Samples .......................................................................................................163
5.4.2 Analysis ......................................................................................................164
5.4.3 Classical Reliability Measures....................................................................164
5.4.4 Latent Structure Measurement Models .....................................................166
5.4.5 Additional Results on the RESTQ-Work ...................................................169
5.5 Construct Validity ...............................................................................................170
5.5.1 Factor Analysis ...........................................................................................170
5.5.2 Structural Modelling..................................................................................173
5.5.3 Convergent and Discriminant Validity ......................................................176
5.6 Studies on Different Facets of Validity.............................................................178
5.6.1 Psychophysiological Criteria ......................................................................178
5.6.2 Psychological Measures ..............................................................................178
5.6.3 Social Criteria .............................................................................................181
5.6.4 Other Measures ..........................................................................................183
5.6.5 Individual-specific Diagnostic Case Study ................................................183
5.6.6 Application of the RESTQ-Work ...............................................................185
5.7 Summary of the RESTQ-Work Features ..........................................................187
6. Recovery-Stress Questionnaire for Children and Adolescents ........188
P. Hampel & K. W. Kallus

6.1 Scope and Application........................................................................................188

6.2 Facets of Stress and Recovery among Adolescents: Theory of the
Age-adapted Modifications ...............................................................................188
6.2.1 Coping ........................................................................................................189
6.2.2 Recovery Competence .................................................................................190
6.2.3 Self-Efficacy ................................................................................................190
6.3 Scale and Item Construction..............................................................................191
6.3.1 Samples GA1 and GA2: Characteristics, Design, Reliability, and
Validity .......................................................................................................192
6.3.1.1 Methods ........................................................................................192
6.3.1.2 Item and Scale Statistics: Reliability ............................................192
6.3.1.3 Further Results on Criterion-oriented Validity: Intervention
Effects ...........................................................................................193
6.3.1.4 Further Results on Construct Validity: Discriminant Validity
with Respect to Coping Measures and Effects of Gender and
Age................................................................................................193
6.3.2 Sample GA3: Sample Characteristics, Design, Reliability, and
Validity .......................................................................................................194
6.3.2.1 Methods ........................................................................................194
6.3.2.2 Item and Scale Statistics: Reliability ............................................194
6.3.2.3 Further Results on Criterion-oriented Validity: Intervention
Effects ...........................................................................................195
6.4 Reliability and Validity of the RESTQ-CA-40 .................................................195
6.4.1 Sample and Designs ...................................................................................195
6.4.2 Scores ..........................................................................................................195
6.4.3 Reference Values .........................................................................................197
6.4.4 Analysis ......................................................................................................197
6.4.5 Reliability Measures: Item and Scale Statistics .........................................197
6.5 Construct Validity of the RESTQ-CA-40..........................................................198
6.5.1 Correlative Validity: Scale Intercorrelations ..............................................198
6.5.2 Factorial Validity: Factor Analysis for Scales ............................................199
6.5.3 Convergent and Discriminant Validity: Correlations with Coping and
Self-Efficacy ................................................................................................200
6.5.4 Effects of Gender and Age ..........................................................................201
6.6 Criterion-oriented Validity ................................................................................202
6.7 Summary of the Results of the RESTQ-CA-40 ................................................203
7. Recovery-Stress Questionnaire in Clinical Settings ........................204
T. Uhlig & K. W. Kallus

7.1 Scope and Application........................................................................................204

7.2 Facets of Stress and Recovery in Clinical Settings:
The Role of Coping and Anxiety ......................................................................205
7.3 Development of the RESTQ-Risco ....................................................................206
7.3.1 Samples .......................................................................................................206
7.3.2 Analysis ......................................................................................................206
7.3.2.1 Building of Types and Categories ................................................206
7.3.2.2 Additional Aspects: Coping and Anxiety.....................................208
7.4. First Conceptualization of the RESTQ-Risco ..................................................210
7.4.1. Items of the RESTQ-Risco..........................................................................210
7.4.2 Reliability Measures ...................................................................................211
7.4.3 Construct Validity/Factor Analysis............................................................214
7.4.4 Distribution of RESTQ-Risco Patients ......................................................214
7.4.5 Validity with Respect to Physical Complaints ...........................................216
7.5 Studies on Different Facets of Validity.............................................................216
7.5.1 Development of a Brief Measure of the RESTQ-Risco ...............................216
7.5.2 Additional Facets of Validity ......................................................................217
7.5.2.1 Prediction of Postoperative Parameters........................................217
7.5.2.2 Additional Effects of Age and Gender ..........................................218
7.6 Summary ..............................................................................................................219

8. The Recovery-Stress Questionnaires: Overall Summary and Hints

for Application ...............................................................................222
V. Wagner, K. W. Kallus, P. Jiménez, & M. Kellmann

8.1 Interpretation of Results ....................................................................................222

8.2 Structural Equation Modelling .........................................................................223
8.2.1 Measurement Models – Validation with Different Samples ......................223
8.2.2 Measurement Models for Sub-dimensions of the RESTQ-Basic – Vali-
dation with Different Samples....................................................................224
8.2.3 RESTQ-Basic: Structural Equation Model – Validation with Different
Samples .......................................................................................................228
8.2.4 Combined Structural Equation: RESTQ-Basic and Specific Modules .....229
8.3 Validity of the RESTQ.........................................................................................231
8.4 Monitoring of Recovery-Stress States ..............................................................232
8.5 Additional Areas of Application .......................................................................233
8.5.1 RESTQ-Student .........................................................................................233
8.5.2 RESTQ with Social Capital Dimensions ...................................................235
 8.5.3 RESTQ-Rehabilitation ...............................................................................237
8.6 The Application for Individuals or Groups ....................................................237
8.7 Final Remarks ......................................................................................................239

References ..........................................................................................241

About the Authors ...............................................................................266

Appendix A ..........................................................................................269

Appendix A.A
Tables for the RESTQ-Basic .........................................................................................269
Appendix A.B
Tables for the RESTQ-Sport ........................................................................................284
Appendix A.C
Tables for the RESTQ-Coach .......................................................................................309
Appendix A.D
Tables for the RESTQ-Work ........................................................................................327
Appendix A.E
Tables for the RESTQ-CA ............................................................................................347
Appendix A.F
Tables for the RESTQ-Risco.........................................................................................355
Appendix A.G
Tables for the summarizing chapter ..........................................................................357
List of tables

Table 1.1: Versions, item numbers, and standard time frame of the
Recovery-Stress Questionnaires ...........................................................31
Table 1.2: Terminology of scales and dimensions ................................................32
Table 1.3: Consistency (Con) and specificity (Spe) of the RESTQ with
different time frames from Latent State-Trait-Models
(N = 131; Wagner, 2000) ..........................................................................33
Table 1.4: Characteristics of recovery according to Kallus and Kellmann
(2000, p. 210) ............................................................................................42
Table 1.5: Prototypical recovery-stress patterns...................................................44
Table 1.6: Fit indices to evaluate the model fit in structural equation
modelling .................................................................................................47
Table 2.1: Scales of the basic Recovery-Stress Questionnaire.............................55
Table 2.2: Sample item and answer mode of the RESTQ-Basic .........................59
Table 2.3: Research samples used to test validity and reliability ......................61
Table 2.4: Estimation of reliability (Cronbach’s ) for the RESTQ-Basic
for German samples (GB1, GB2, GB3, GB4), the RESTQ-Sport
(ES1), the RESTQ-Work (EW1), and the RESTQ-Coach (EC1)
samples .....................................................................................................63
Table 2.5: Test-retest reliability of the RESTQ-48/3 in various time spans
for the German RESTQ-Sport sample R5 (N = 58, see also table
3.6), last column reproduces the 24-hrs stability from sample
GB1 (Kallus, 1995) ...................................................................................65
Table 2.6: Fit indices and proposed specific correlations for the
RESTQ-Basic scales .................................................................................67
Table 2.7: Intercorrelations of the RESTQ-Basic-48 for the standard
(3) days/nights time frame (sample GS2, N = 597) and the
(7) days/nights time frame (sample GC4, N = 309) ..............................70
Table 2.8a: Two-factor-solution (with a > .25) for the RESTQ-Basic-48 for
the sample GB3 (N = 570) .......................................................................71
Table 2.8b: Two-factor-solution (with a > .25) for the RESTQ-Basic-48 for
the sample GB4 (N = 484) .......................................................................72
Table 2.9: Correlations between Trier Inventory of Chronic Stress (TICS)
and RESTQ-Basic (N = 173; Gaisbachgrabner, 2014) .........................75
Table 2.10: RESTQ-Basic-48/7 and Need for Recovery Scale (NfR) for a
sample of public transport operators (N = 129; Strohmaier,
2008) ..........................................................................................................76
Table 2.11: Correlations between RESTQ and coping scales of the German
Stress-Coping Inventory (SVF; N = 187; Kraxner, 2002) ....................76
Table 2.12: RESTQ-Basic and personality characteristics (NEO-PI; N = 32;
Streit, 2008)...............................................................................................77
Table 2.13: RESTQ scores and sleep quality (N = 672; drawn from Grote,
2010) ..........................................................................................................81
Table 2.14: Correlations between RESTQ sub-dimensions and the SCQ
scales (N = 81; Stelzhammer, 2008) .......................................................82
Table 2.15: RESTQ-Basic sub-dimensions and Team Quality (TQF; N = 88;
Kallus & Brandt, 2014) ...............................................................................82
Table 2.16: Recovery-stress scales and conflict escalation (IKEAr; N = 171;
Essler, 2007)..............................................................................................83
Table 3.1: Sport-specific scales of the Recovery-Stress Questionnaire for
Athletes .....................................................................................................87
Table 3.2: Scales, number of items for the sport-specific RESTQ-versions ......92
Table 3.3: Sample item, standard time frame, and answer mode of the
RESTQ-Sport............................................................................................95
Table 3.4: Research samples used to test validity and reliability of the
RESTQ-Sport............................................................................................99
Table 3.5: Estimation of reliability (Cronbach’s ) for the RESTQ-Sport
for English (ES1, ES2) and German (GS1, GS2, R1-3) samples.......101
Table 3.6: Test-retest reliability of the RESTQ-Sport referring to the past
(3) days/nights in various time spans for the German sample
R5 (N = 58) ..............................................................................................102
Table 3.7: Estimation of reliability (Cronbach’s ) for the RESTQ-
Sport for Dutch (Nederhof, Brink et al., 2008), Spanish
(Gonzáles-Boto et al., 2008), Portuguese (Kellmann et al.,
2009), and Estonian (Mäestu et al., 2006) samples ...........................104
Table 3.8a: Intercorrelations of the RESTQ-Sport scales for the samples
ES1 (N = 734) and ES2 (N = 458) ..........................................................106
Table 3.8b: Intercorrelations of the RESTQ-Sport scales for the German
samples GS1 (N = 820) and GS2 (N = 597) .........................................107
Table 3.8c: Intercorrelations of the RESTQ-Sport scales for females
(n = 350) and males (n = 382) for the sample ES1..............................108
Table 3.9: Fit indices and proposed specific correlations for the RESTQ-
Sport scales.............................................................................................110
Table 3.10a: Two-factor-solution (with a > .25) for the basic scales of the
RESTQ-Sport for the samples ES1 (N = 734) .....................................111
Table 3.10b: Two-factor-solution (with a > .25) for the sport-specific scales
of the RESTQ-Sport for the samples ES1 (N = 734) ..........................111
Table 3.11: Correlation between the RESTQ-Sport and the POMS for the
Canadian sample C1 (n = 65) ...............................................................115
Table 3.12: Empirical distribution of recovery-stress state patterns for
English (ES1, ES2) and German (GS1, GS2, R4) samples ................116
Table 3.13: Four-field-table of the acute notifications of sickness and the
RESTQ-Sport scales Injury at time T4 and Personal Accomplish-
ment at time T5 ......................................................................................121
Table 3.14: Overview of usability for the RESTQ-Sport versions ......................126
Table 4.1: Coach-specific scales of the Recovery-Stress Questionnaire for
Coaches...................................................................................................133
Table 4.2: Scales, number of items, time frame, year of development for
the coach-specific RESTQ versions.....................................................136
Table 4.3: German (GC) and English samples (EC) used to test validity
and reliability.........................................................................................138
Table 4.4: Estimation of reliability (Cronbach’s ) ............................................140
Table 4.5: Test-retest reliability of the RESTQ-Coach referring to the past
(3) days/nights in two time spans for the German sample GC
3.3 (N = 99)..............................................................................................141
Table 4.6a: Intercorrelations of the RESTQ-Coach scales for the German
samples GC2 (N = 123) and GC3.1 (N = 722) (time frame in the
past (3) days/nights) ................................................................................142
Table 4.6b: Intercorrelations of the RESTQ-Coach scales for the German
sample GC4 (N = 309; time frame in the past (7) days/nights)
and English sample EC1 (N = 133; time frame in the past (3)
days/nights) .............................................................................................143
Table 4.6c: Intercorrelations of the RESTQ-Coach scales for male (n = 268)
and female (n = 41) coaches of the German samples GC4 (time
frame in the past (7) days/nights) ..........................................................144
Table 4.7: Fit indices and proposed specific correlations for the RESTQ-
Coach scales ...........................................................................................146
Table 4.8a: Two-factor-solution (with a > .25) for the basic scales of the
RESTQ-Coach for the sample GC3.1 (N = 722) .................................147
Table 4.8b: Two-factor-solution (with a > .25) for the coach-specific scales of
the RESTQ-Coach for the sample GC3.1 (N = 722)..............................147
Table 4.8c: Two-factor-solution (with a > .25) for the basic scales of the
RESTQ-Coach for the sample GC4 (N = 309) ....................................148
Table 4.8d: Two-factor-solution (with a > .25) for the coach-specific scales of
the RESTQ-Coach for the sample GC4 (N = 309).................................148
Table 4.9: Correlation of the RESTQ-Coach scales with the MBI-C and
CBQ for the German sample GC2 (N = 123) and GC3.1
(N = 722)..................................................................................................151
Table 4.10: Correlation of the RESTQ-Coach scales with the MBI-C and
POMS for the German sample GC4 (N = 309) ..................................152
Table 4.11: Overview of usability for the RESTQ-Coach versions ....................157
Table 5.1: Sample sizes, demographic data and other information about
the samples GW1, GW2, GW3, and EW1 ..........................................163
Table 5.2: Reliability scores for the sub-dimensions (dim.) and scales of
the RESTQ-Work-55 (GW2) and RESTQ-Work-92 (GW3, EW1) ...165
Table 5.3: Overview of 2-values, df, p-values and fit indices for the
unmodified and modified measurement models on item basis
for all sub-dimensions of the RESTQ-Work-92 (GW3)....................166
Table 5.4: Factor loadings for the basic scales of the RESTQ-Work-55
(GW2) and RESTQ-Work-92 (GW3) ...................................................171
Table 5.5: Factor loadings for the work-specific scales of the RESTQ-
Work-55 (GW2) and RESTQ-Work-92 (GW3) ..................................172
Table 5.6: Overview of 2-values, df, p-values and fit indices for the
unmodified and modified measurement models on scale basis
for all sub-dimensions of the RESTQ-Work-92 (GW3)....................173
Table 5.7: Intercorrelations of the RESTQ-Work scales for the sample
GW3 (N = 682)........................................................................................177
Table 5.8: Correlations between the RESTQ-Work and the Need for
Recovery Scale (NFR), General Health Survey (SF-12),
Work-Ability-Index (WAI), Profile Analysis of Job Satisfaction
(PJS), and Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES) ......................179
Table 5.9: Correlations between the RESTQ-Work and the Stress-Coping
Inventory (SVF) .....................................................................................180
Table 5.10: Correlations between RESTQ-Work and the Areas of Worklife
(AWS) ......................................................................................................181
Table 5.11: Correlations between the RESTQ-Work, the Health-Promoting
Leadership Conditions (HPLC), and the Questionnaire for
Psychosocial Support (F-SOZU) .........................................................182
Table 5.12: Correlations between the RESTQ-Work and self-reported
sickness absence and presenteeism (Spearman’s Rho) ...................183
Table 6.1: Research samples used to test the validity and reliability of the
RESTQ-CA .............................................................................................191
Table 6.2: Estimation of reliability (Cronbach’s ) and number of items
for the RESTQ-CA-39 for the German (GA1, GA2) samples ..........193
Table 6.3: Scales of the RESTQ-CA-40 .................................................................196
Table 6.4: Means (M), standard deviations (SD), mean inter-item
correlations (ric), internal consistencies (Cronbach´s Alpha),
six-weeks-retest reliabilities (rtt) and variations of corrected
item-scale correlations (Var (r(i;t-i))) for scales and dimensions
of the RESTQ-CA-40 for GA4 (N = 320) .............................................198
Table 6.5: Scale and dimension intercorrelations of the RESTQ-CA-40 for
the German sample GA4 (N = 320) .....................................................199
Table 6.6: Varimax-rotated loading matrix of the Principal Component
Analysis for the basic scales of the RESTQ-CA-40 with a  .10
for sample GA4 (N = 320).....................................................................200
Table 6.7: Correlations of scales and dimensions of the RESTQ-CA-40
with the SCI-CA, and the scales General Self-Efficacy and
Physical Complaints for sample GA4 (N = 320) ..................................201
Table 7.1: Research samples used to test validity and reliability ....................206
Table 7.2: Frequencies of answers of the RESTQ scales (sample GR1
(N = 532)) ................................................................................................207
Table 7.3: Building of types and categories in the RESTQ by
Configuration-Frequency-Analysis considering stress ...................208
Table 7.4: RESTQ, dysfunctional coping, and anxiety in a
Configuration-Frequency-Analysis (N = 300) ...................................209
Table 7.5: Interaction-Structure-Analysis of RESTQ, dysfunctional
coping and anxiety in a Configuration-Frequency-Analysis .........209
Table 7.6: Different time of reference in the questionnaires of the
RESTQ-Risco .........................................................................................210
Table 7.7: Items of the RESTQ-Risco ....................................................................211
Table 7.8: Means (M), standard deviation (SD) and discriminatory
power (r(i;t-i)) of the RESTQ-Risco items (N = 104) .............................212
Table 7.9: Analysis of reliability for the RESTQ-Risco: Internal
consistency (Cronbach’s-), split-half reliability, and
test-retest reliability (24h) for sample GR1 (N = 532) .......................213
Table 7.10: Analysis of reliability for the RESTQ-Risco: Internal
consistency (Cronbach´s ) for sample GR2 (N = 104) and
GR3 (N = 315) .........................................................................................213
Table 7.11: Three-factor-solution of the RESTQ-Risco; sample GR1
(N = 532)..................................................................................................214
Table 7.12: Distribution of patients with estimated lower risk and
estimated higher risk according to the RESTQ-Risco with
respect to gender ...................................................................................215
Table 7.13: Distribution of patients with estimated lower risk and
estimated higher risk according to the RESTQ-Risco with
respect to age .........................................................................................215
Table 7.14: Distribution of patients with estimated lower risk and higher
risk according to the RESTQ-Risco in men with respect to age .....215
Table 7.15: Distribution of patients with estimated lower risk and higher
risk according to the RESTQ-Risco in women with respect to
age ...........................................................................................................215
Table 7.16: Correlations (|r|  .22) of MKSL-scales by risk-types (N = 532) ....216
Table 8.1: Measurement models – validation with other samples ..................224
Table 8.2: Measurement models – dimension Overall Recovery –
modifications .........................................................................................225
Table 8.3: Structural equation models – validation with other samples ........228
Table 8.4: Examples of published results on psychophysiological stress
indicators ................................................................................................232
Table 8.5: Reliability estimates (Cronbach´s , test-retest correlations) for
the specific scales of the RESTQ-Student ..........................................234
Table 8.6: Reliability estimates (Cronbach´s , N = 81) for the specific
scales of the RESTQ-SCQ .....................................................................236
Table 8.7: Specific scales of the RESTQ-Reha-P and RESTQ-Reha-R ..............237
Appendix A.A1: Overview of the item numbering of the RESTQ-Basic-24,
RESTQ-Basic-48, and the screening version RESTQ-7
(RESTQ-Risco items) ............................................................................269
Appendix A.A2: Mean (M), standard deviation (SD), and corrected item total
correlation (r(i;t-i)) of the RESTQ-Basic-48 with a time reference
of 3 days/nights for the English (ES1, N = 734) and German
(bold, GS1, N = 820) samples ...............................................................271
Appendix A.A3: Mean (M), standard deviation (SD), and corrected item total
correlation (r(i;t-i)) of the RESTQ-Basic-48 with time reference
of 7 days/nights for the English (EW1, N = 195) and German
(bold, GB3, N = 570) samples ...............................................................274
Appendix A.A4: Norms/reference values (mean (M), and standard deviations
(SD)) of the RESTQ-Basic-48 for the English version with time
reference of 3 days/nights (sample ES1) and 7 days/nights
(sample EW1).........................................................................................277
Appendix A.A5: Norms/reference values (mean (M), and standard deviations
(SD)) of the RESTQ-Basic-48 for the German version with time
reference of 3 days/nights (sample GS1) and 7 days/nights
(sample GB3) .........................................................................................277
Appendix A.A6: Scales and items of the EBF-Basic-24 .................................................278
Appendix A.A7: Scales and items of the EBF-Basic-48 .................................................279
Appendix A.A8: Scales and items of the RESTQ-Basic-24 ............................................281
Appendix A.A9: Scales and items of the RESTQ-Basic-48 ............................................282
Appendix A.B1: Norms/reference values (M), standard deviation (SD) of the
RESTQ-Sport-76 with a time reference of 3 days/nights for the
pooled German GS1/GS2 and English ES1/ES2 samples ................284
Appendix A.B2: Mean (M), standard deviation (SD), and corrected item total
correlation (r(i;t-i)) of the RESTQ-Sport-76 with a time reference
of 3 days/nights for the pooled English ES1/ES2 (N = 1173) and
the pooled German GS1/GS2 (bold; N = 1410) samples ..................285
Appendix A.B4: Intercorrelations of the RESTQ-Sport-76 scales with a time
reference of 3 days/nights for the German sample R4 (N = 58)
for the first and second survey over a period of ten days...............291
Appendix A.B5: Correlations between the Multidimensional Physical
Symptom List (MPSL) and the RESTQ-Sport-76 with a time
reference of 3 days/nights for the German sample R2 (n = 42).......292
Appendix A.B6: Correlations between the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI)
and the RESTQ-Basic and the RESTQ-Sport with a time
reference of 3 days/nights for the American samples A1
(N = 33) and A2 (N = 84) .......................................................................293
Appendix A.B7: Correlation between the Volitional Component Questionnai-
re (VCQ) and the RESTQ-Sport-76 with a time reference of 3
days/nights for a German sample (N = 71) ........................................294
Appendix A.B8: Scales and items of the EBF-Sport-36 .................................................295
Appendix A.B9: Scales and items of the EBF-Sport-52 .................................................297
Appendix A.B10: Scales and items of the EBF-Sport-76 .................................................299
Appendix A.B11: Scales and items of the RESTQ-Sport-36 ...........................................302
Appendix A.B12: Scales and items of the RESTQ-Sport-52 ...........................................304
Appendix A.B13: Scales and items of the RESTQ-Sport-76 ...........................................306
Appendix A.C1: Intercorrelations of the RESTQ-Coach-76 scales with a time
reference of 3 days/nights for male (n = 591) and female
(n = 131) coaches of the German samples GC3.1 (time frame:
in the past (3) days/nights) ......................................................................309
Appendix A.C2: Norms/reference values (M), standard deviation (SD) of the
RESTQ-Coach-76 for the samples GC3.1 (N = 722; 3 days/
nights) and GC4 (N = 309; 7 days/nights) ..........................................310
Appendix A.C3: Norms/reference values (M), standard deviation (SD) of the
RESTQ-Coach-76 for the samples EC1 (N = 91; 3 days/nights)
and EC2 (N = 82; 7 days/nights) ..........................................................311
Appendix A.C4: Mean (M), standard deviation (SD), and corrected item to-
tal correlation (r(i;t-i)) of the RESTQ-Coach-76 for the samples
GC3.1 (N = 722; 3 days/nights), GC4 (bold; N = 309; 7 days/
nights), and EC1 (italics; N = 133; 3 days/nights) .............................312
Appendix A.C5: Scales and items of the EBF-Coach-52 ...............................................317
Appendix A.C6: Scales and items of the EBF-Coach-76 ...............................................319
Appendix A.C7: Scales and items of the RESTQ-Coach-52 ..........................................322
Appendix A.C8: Scales and items of the RESTQ-Coach-76 ..........................................324
Appendix A.D1: Norms/reference values (mean (M), and standard deviations
(SD)) for the sub-dimensions of the RESTQ-Work-27
(GW1, N = 392; GW2, N = 214, 7 days/nights) ...................................327
Appendix A.D2: Norms/reference values (mean (M), and standard deviations
(SD)) for the screening scores of the RESTQ-Work-27
(GW1; N = 392 and GW2; N = 214; 7 days/nights) ............................327
Appendix A.D3: Norms/reference values (mean (M), and standard
deviations (SD)) for the sub-dimensions and scales of the
RESTQ-Work-55 (GW2; N = 214, 7 days/nights) ..............................328
Appendix A.D4: Norms/reference values (mean (M), and standard
deviations (SD)) for the sub-dimensions and scales of the
RESTQ-Work-92 (GW3; N = 682, 7 days/nights) ..............................329
Appendix A.D5: Norms/reference values (mean (M), and standard deviations
(SD)) for the sub-dimensions and scales of the English version
of the RESTQ-Work-92 (EW1; N = 195, 7 days/nights) ....................330
Appendix A.D6: Dimensions and items of the EBF-Work-27 ......................................331
Appendix A.D7: Scales and items of the EBF-Work-55 ................................................332
Appendix A.D8: Scales and items of the EBF-Work-92 ................................................335
Appendix A.D9: Dimensions and items of the RESTQ-Work-27 ................................339
Appendix A.D10: Scales and items of the RESTQ-Work-55 ...........................................340
Appendix A.D11: Scales and items of the RESTQ-Work-92 ...........................................343
Appendix A.E1: Means (M), standard deviations (SD), and corrected item total
correlations (r(i;t-i)) of the RESTQ-CA-40 with a time reference
of 7 days/nights for the German sample GA4 (N = 320) .................347
Appendix A.E2: Norms/reference values for the RESTQ-CA-40 with a time
reference of 7 days/nights [Means (M), standard deviations
(SD)] split by age and gender for the German sample GA4
(N = 320)..................................................................................................349
Appendix A.E3: Scales and items of the EBF-CA-40.....................................................351
Appendix A.E4: Scales and items of the RESTQ-CA-40 ...............................................353
Appendix A.F1: Four-factor-solution of the RESTQ-Risco with a time reference
of 14 days/nights for the German sample GR1 (N = 532) ................355
Appendix A.F2: Scales and items of the EBF-Risco ......................................................356
Appendix A.G1: Measurement models of the 12 different scores (RESTQ-
Basic-48) – validation with different German and one English
samples and two different time references (3 days/nights for
GS2, GC3 and ES2 and of 7 days/nights for GW3) ..........................357
Appendix A.G2: Norms/reference values (M), standard deviation (SD) for the
sub-dimensions of the RESTQ-Basic in a large pooled German
sample for the RESTQ-Basic-24 with a time reference of 7
days/nights (N = 3351 office personnel, system managers, and
mid management) .................................................................................360
List of gures

Figure 1.1: Means of the RESTQ-Basic scale Physical Complaints with

changing time frames of reference (N = 131) ......................................33
Figure 1.2: Strain-stress diagram for materials like metals ..................................37
Figure 1.3: Stress process with recovery loop ........................................................39
Figure 1.4: The ‘scissors-model’ of the interrelation of stress-states and
recovery demands...................................................................................45
Figure 2.1: Measurement model for General Stress
(GFI = .98, AGFI = .91, CFI = .97, RMSEA = .13) ..................................66
Figure 2.2: Measurement model for Social-Emotional Stress
(GFI = .99, AGFI = .97, CFI = .99, RMSEA = .05) ..................................68
Figure 2.3: Measurement model for Performance(-related) Stress
(GFI = .97, AGFI = .93, CFI = .92, RMSEA = .08) ..................................69
Figure 2.4: Measurement model for Overall Recovery
(GFI = .96, AGFI = .93, CFI = .96, RMSEA = .07) ..................................69
Figure 2.5: Structural model of the RESTQ-Basic scales
(GFI = .94, AGFI = .89, CFI = .95, RMSEA = .08) ..................................73
Figure 2.6a, b: Oxidized lipid antibodies (OLAB) in two samples of patients
with low/high recovery values in the RESTQ-Basic (boxplots;
N = 187; Kraxner, 2002)...........................................................................79
Figure 2.7: Low density lipids in patients of a health resort
(N = 131, Buchegger, 2014) .....................................................................80
Figure 2.8: Changes in the course of a therapeutic stay of mother and
child at a health resort (N = 2346; Collatz, 2002) ................................84
Figure 3.1: Box-plots of the German expert-rating on the RESTQ-Sport
scales for Maximum before an important competition/tournament
athletes (left) and Maximum values for an 8-week seasonal peak of
healthy top-class athletes (right). ..............................................................97
Figure 3.2: Measurement model for Self-Regulation
(GFI = .99, AGFI = .96, CFI = .99, RMSEA = .07) ................................109
Figure 3.3: Structural model of the RESTQ-Sport scales
(GFI = .97, AGFI = .91, CFI = .97, RMSEA = .08) ................................113
Figure 3.4: Recovery-stress states of American female swimmers before
and after the Thanksgiving vacation [p-value: *: .05  p > .01;
**: .01  p > .001; ***: p < .001] ...............................................................118
Figure 3.5: RESTQ-Sport profile for female rower A and the area of
tolerance for the total group (between the broken lines) for
the first point of time in the survey (time: 1) ....................................124
Figure 3.6: Recovery-stress state for rower B and C at T4 (broken line)
and T5 (solid line) .................................................................................125
Figure 4.1: Measurement model for Personal Accomplishment
(GFI = .99, AGFI = .95, CFI = .99, RMSEA = .09) ................................145
Figure 4.2: Structural model of the RESTQ-Coach scales
(GFI = .95, AGFI = .87, CFI = .95, RMSEA = .13) ................................149
Figure 4.3: Recovery-stress state for a full-time tennis coach ............................153
Figure 4.4: Recovery-stress state for a part-time basketball coach ....................155
Figure 4.5: Recovery-stress state for a gymnastic coach for three
measurements........................................................................................156
Figure 5.1: Application and assessment possibilities of the RESTQ-Work
in line with the ISO 10667-2:2011 ........................................................162
Figure 5.2: Modified model of Loss of Meaning/Burnout on item basis with
all regression coefficients; all regression coefficients significant
with p < .001 ...........................................................................................167
Figure 5.3: Model of Leisure/Breaks on item basis with all regression
coefficients; all regression coefficients significant with p < .001 ....168
Figure 5.4: Model of Psychosocial Recovery on item basis with all
regression coefficients; all regression coefficients significant
with p < .001 ...........................................................................................168
Figure 5.5: Modified model of Work-related Recovery on item basis with all
regression coefficients; all regression coefficients significant
with p < .001 ...........................................................................................169
Figure 5.6: Modified model of Loss of Meaning/Burnout on scale basis with
all regression coefficients; all regression coefficients significant
with p < .001 ...........................................................................................173
Figure 5.7: Modified model of Leisure/Breaks on scale basis with all
regression coefficients; all regression coefficients significant
with p < .001 ...........................................................................................174
Figure 5.8: Unmodified model of Work-related Recovery on scale basis with
all regression coefficients; all regression coefficients significant
with p < .001 ...........................................................................................174
Figure 5.9: Modified model of the RESTQ-Work on scale basis with all
regression coefficients; all regression coefficients significant
with p < .001 ...........................................................................................175
Figure 5.10: Individual recovery-stress profile compared with the Austrian
norm sample [p-value: *: .05  p > .01; **: p < .01] ..............................184
Figure 5.11: Aggregated recovery-stress profile of company X compared
with the Austrian norm sample [p-value: *: .05  p > .01; **:
p < .01] .....................................................................................................186
Figure 7.1: Postoperative length of hospital stay differs between the three
RESTQ-Risco groups ............................................................................219
Figure 8.1: Measurement model dimension Social-Emotional Stress –
comparison of different samples ........................................................226
Figure 8.2: Measurement model dimension Performance(-related) Stress –
comparison of different samples ........................................................227
Figure 8.3: Measurement model dimension Overall Recovery – comparison
of different samples ..............................................................................228
Figure 8.4: Structural equation model – comparison of different samples ......229
Figure 8.5: Combined structural equation model of RESTQ-Basic and
sport-specific scales of RESTQ-Sport .................................................230
Appendix A.B3a: Box-plots of the international expert-rating on the RESTQ-
Sport-76 scales for Maximum before an important competition/
tournament athletes .................................................................................289
Appendix A.B3b: Box-plots of the international expert-rating on the RESTQ-
Sport-76 scales for Maximum values for an 8-week seasonal peak of
healthy top-class athletes .........................................................................290
Acknowledgments

Large projects, such as the Recovery-Stress Questionnaires (RESTQ), can only be real-
ized with the unremitting effort of creative and motivated people. Our special thanks
for the groundwork and help during the first studies of the RESTQ goes to Wilhelm
Janke. The development and concept are closely tied to his bio-psychological research
and his study groups for the theme of stress, coping, and emotion.

For the sport-specific version we were glad to be able to win Hans Eberspächer,
Hans-Dieter Hermann, and Jürgen Steinacker for establishing the recovery-stress-mod-
el in high-performance sport. Therefore the spectrum of the RESTQ-Sport has been
completed by the valuable possibility of enlightening psychological and physical fac-
tors of overtraining and underrecovery.

For the RESTQ-Basic, the RESTQ for Children and Adolescents and the RESTQ-Work
many motivated students contributed with their diploma theses and master theses.
Thanks to all of them for their valuable contribution. The compilation of the data from
these studies and the preparation for the manual was in the busy hands of Kerstin
Gaisbachgrabner, who successfully assisted to finish the final version together with
Elisabeth Dörner in Graz and Denise Tautenhahn in Bochum.

We also would like to thank Dr. Gerd Heyde and his team from Pearson Assessment
for their constructive contributions. It was a fortunate coincidence to work again with
Dr. Heyde who represented the publisher when the very first version of the German
RESTQ-Basic was published more than 20 years ago.

We are glad to introduce the whole family of the Recovery-Stress Questionnaires.

Thank you to all the people involved in the development process.
Preface

This manual is intended to provide the background for professional work with the
Recovery-Stress Questionnaire. Due to different modular versions and different areas
of application a broad range of validities could be empirically substantiated. An over-
view across versions and validities allows a professional interpretation of results from
a specific sample in a specific area and possibly for specific occasions. The manual pro-
vides the background for interpretation. The questionnaires described in the chapters
are versions with a specific time frame, which can vary depending on the version used
(e.g., Basic, Sport).

While this manual is written in English it is designed to serve for the English and Ger-
man versions of the Recovery-Stress Questionnaire. For differentiation, the English
first part of the abbreviation is RESTQ (Recovery-Stress Questionnaire) and for the
German questionnaires EBF (Erholungs-Belastungs-Fragebogen), respectively. How-
ever, the second part of the abbreviation (e.g., Basic, Sport) is kept in English.

English version German version

RESTQ-Basic EBF-Basic

RESTQ-Sport EBF-Sport

RESTQ-Coach EBF-Coach

RESTQ-Work EBF-Work

RESTQ-CA EBF-CA

EBF-Risco

In the manual we only use the term RESTQ for all versions of the RESTQ, respectively
EBF. Which questionnaire was used when collecting data can be derived from the de-
scription of the samples. Samples in this manual are abbreviated with a letter for the
language used in the questionnaire (e.g., G: German) and the version of the RESTQ
(e.g., B: Basic, C: Coach, A: Children and Adolescents).

The guidelines for the administration, scoring and interpretation apply to all available
languages of the version we are referring to in each chapter, and not only to the lan-
guage we are directly discussing.

This consistent terminology provides guidance for the reader and hopefully improves
understanding.

25
Kallus, K. W. (2016). Stress and Recovery: An Overview. In K. W. Kallus & M. Kellmann (Eds.), The
Recovery-Stress Questionnaires: User Manual (pp. 27–48). Frankfurt am Main: Pearson Assessment & In-
formation GmbH.

1. Stress and Recovery: An Overview

K. W. Kallus

This chapter will give an overview across the concept and the theoretical background
of the Recovery-Stress Questionnaire (RESTQ) and its versions and will present a first
overview across the broad range of applications. A person can be met in a wide range
of physical, cognitive and motivational states, which determine how the person will
act and react to a task or a treatment in a certain situation. The recovery-stress state
is an important aspect of the persons’ state and is reflected in emotion, motivation,
activation, and cognition as well as psychophysical symptoms and in current social
activities. The recovery-stress state is assessed by the RESTQ, in order to draw a pic-
ture of the current psychophysical state or ‘bio-psycho-social’ state of the person. This
state changes with impaired well-being and illness, with normal day-to-day demands,
hassles and uplifts specifically in the course of high performance situations.

The current manual is intended to support scientists and practitioners to work with the
RESTQ professionally and to measure/monitor the impact of the recovery-stress state
of their participants and clients. This will allow a diagnosis of the bio-psycho-socially
founded recovery-stress state and thus, allow a sound derivation of necessary addi-
tional information and an effective beginning of interventions. The manual provides
the psychological background for the different scales in detail and allows developing
an understanding of the background, which goes deeper than the partly ambiguous
and (over-)simplifying labels of the scales. Every scale of the RESTQ and its modules is
theoretically and empirically well founded in psychological research. These concepts
should be taken into account for any interpretation of results. A good basic knowledge
of the concepts is necessary to use the full potential of the RESTQ, as the pattern reveals
the relevant information in most instances. The RESTQ is not only useful to check for
critical stress states but also to detect performance potential and options to optimize
the recovery of resources. The background concepts will be at least briefly outlined in
this manual. For further information a detailed list of references is provided.

1.1 General Description

The current recovery-stress state of a person is assessed by measuring the frequency of

stress and recovery-related activities and states in the past days and nights. The basic
version of the RESTQ (RESTQ-Basic) assesses a recovery-stress profile with twelve
scales, which can be grouped into two basic dimensions: Overall Stress and Overall
Recovery. The stress dimension encompasses two sub-dimensions which are labeled
as Social-Emotional Stress, and Performance(related) Stress. The Overall Stress value is es-
pecially recommended, when using a short version of the RESTQ. Stress and recovery
should not be combined to a single value, as they constitute two conceptually independent
dimensions as far as the frequency in the past days/nights is concerned. The relationship be-

1. Stress and Recovery: An Overview 27

 tween the scales for recovery and stress is neither linear nor symmetrical. Consequently,
the calculation of one overall single score of all stress and recovery scales is strongly prohibited.
This result was obtained with the first versions of the RESTQ (Kallus, 1992, 1995) and
could be replicated in different areas of application.

The basic version (RESTQ-Basic) with seven stress scales and five recovery scales is
the basis for the specific versions for athletes (RESTQ-Sport), coaches (RESTQ-Coach),
children/adolescents (RESTQ-CA), and working people (RESTQ-Work). In clinical
contexts a short version has been developed (RESTQ-Risco), which is combined with
a measure for resignative coping style and state anxiety. All versions contain scales
measuring specific aspects of stress and recovery in their field.

For all long forms of the RESTQ, short versions are available, which can be used for
screening purposes or to check for a ‘flashlight’ in monitoring applications or for ori-
entation purposes in organizations. With reference to ISO 10075 the short screening
versions allow an interpretation of the values for the dimensions and not for the scales,
as reliabilities partly fall below critical thresholds due to the reduced number of items
(see chapter 5). Thus, the restriction of the interpretations to the dimensions is recom-
mended for the short versions. For the RESTQ-Basic the standard version comprises 48
items (RESTQ-Basic-48) and the short version consists of 24 items (RESTQ-Basic-24).
An additional information on the time frame of reference should always be given,
when it deviates from the standard, which is in the past (3) days and nights for the
RESTQ-Basic. The time frame is given in the instruction and depicted in the header of
the questionnaire. It is different for each kind of the specific modules but stable within
each version. Other time frames than (3) days and nights are added for the RESTQ-Ba-
sic, as different time frames are possible. The time frame resembles a kind of time
sampling. With repeated measurements the results change comparable to ‘moving av-
erages’ with different time constants.

The RESTQ can be tailored to the actual research question or measurement purpose.
Short versions allow a quick and less detailed assessment of the recovery-stress state.
Longer versions are recommended when interventions or counselling are required.
Recommendations which version should be used for which purpose are given at the
end of most chapters. The more detailed view on different facets of stress and recov-
ery allows deriving specific interventions. An even more detailed view on the recov-
ery-stress state will be provided by the specific modules, which can be added to the ba-
sic version of the RESTQ. In addition, different time frames in the heading of each page
evolved during the application of the RESTQ in different areas. The shorter the time
frame the stronger is the influence of interventions or specific events. Scores reflect
less state and more trait variance with longer time frames. The scores are comparable
to ‘moving averages’ which are less affected by a stressful event or a recovery period
with a longer reference period and are stronger affected by a short reference time.

The standard version of the RESTQ assesses states and activities during the past three
days/nights. This time frame of three days is also recommended for athletes and chil-
dren/adolescents. It can be modified to seven days/nights (e.g., for organizational and
work applications) or up to 14 days/nights for medical context, which proved to be

28 1. Stress and Recovery: An Overview

useful to assess the pre-operative state of patients. Psychometric quality and factorial
structure are only affected marginally by changing time frames, while the mean scores
of the scales can change with longer time frames. Even longer time intervals (four
weeks) have been used in applied contexts (Stelzhammer, 2008) but are not recom-
mended as internal consistency drops below acceptable limits for some scales.

The second possible modification in the modular set of RESTQs is to use one of the
area specific versions of the RESTQ. Each of them is available in standard and short
form. The area specific versions cover work and organizations (RESTQ-Work), ath-
letes (RESTQ-Sport), coaches (RESTQ-Coach), medical contexts (RESTQ-Risco), and
children/adolescents (RESTQ-CA). These specific versions will be presented in the re-
spective chapters. For some areas of applications quick short forms were developed
for orienting and screening purposes only. The short forms provide a first view on the
recovery-stress state with only a few items. Especially when large samples are at hand
and only sub-samples need a detailed diagnosis, the screening versions allow identi-
fying the person(s) for further diagnosis and intervention.

In addition to the different areas of application, versions of the RESTQs are available
in various languages (English, German, Portuguese, Spanish, French, and others) but
only the English, German, and Portuguese versions of the RESTQ-Sport and the Ger-
man version of the RESTQ-Basic are published in a manual. At least for the RESTQ-Ba-
sic and the RESTQ-Sport data on reliabilities are available in a broad range of different
languages.

Results of the RESTQs can be displayed in a recovery-stress profile. Reference values

are provided to allow an interpretation with respect to the recovery-stress balance. For
high stress high recovery is needed, while for low stress moderate recovery will be suf-
ficient. In case of unbalanced states over a longer period of time with high stress and
low recovery, a high risk for chronic stress, burnout, performance decrements, and
health problems occurs. The state of reduced activity (low stress) with low recovery
might also be an indication of a dysfunctional state. As short-term disbalance can even
be functional (e.g., in training situations) long-term phases of non-recovery impair
resources and indicate a risky state. This is best evaluated by repeated measurements
with the RESTQ.

Validation studies show convergent and discriminant validity as well as high predic-
tive validity for non-questionnaire measures, such as performance data and health
indicators. The broad range of validities of the RESTQ and its different versions al-
low a sound interpretation of results. In many instances there is a great benefit from
looking into another area of application or a different domain of validities. Predictive
validities range from biological markers of stress and recovery, via state and health
questionnaires to behavioral and medical outcome measures and into various areas of
performance and social behavior. The main purpose of this manual is to allow users of
the RESTQ incorporating this empirical evidence into their research or daily work. An
overview across empirically substantiated validation criteria is given in the respective
chapters.

1. Stress and Recovery: An Overview 29

 1.2 The Modular Structure of the RESTQ

The concept of a modular-structured questionnaire (Kallus, 2010) endeavors to solve

the problem that global scores allow a parsimonious classification and comparison to
norms, which is often of only little value for a detailed diagnosis. Thus, very general
questions are often considered as not relevant in a specific area of application by the
participants or even by the researcher. This calls for rather specific items. On the other
hand, specific items cannot be used with different populations without adaptation.
This restricts the options to draw comparisons between sub-groups or different popu-
lations. A prominent example with population specific formulated items is the original
version of Maslach´s Burnout Inventory (MBI; Maslach & Jackson, 1986). The MBI has
been transferred from the helping professions towards a broad range of applications.
This causes problems, as some items referred directly to ‘my patients’, which cannot
be used with subordinates, teachers or coaches. An obvious solution to the dilemma
would be using global and specific questionnaires together or to use a combination of
global scores and specific scores within one questionnaire. This combination within
one questionnaire results in a modular-structured questionnaire (Kallus, 2010). With
different areas of application the modular RESTQs constitute a set (questionnaire fam-
ily), which is documented in this manual.

A modular-structured questionnaire combines the requirement of usability and com-

parison in and with a broad population with the requirement of specific questions,
which are needed to derive specific interventions or to give a specific diagnosis in a
well-defined area of application.

Consequently, the basic module of the RESTQ consists of global items, which can be
answered without modifications by a wide population. Global items will result in
rather global scores. Global scores allow a normative comparison across populations
and allow a diagnosis with reference to a global construct like stress.

In most instances a global score like high body temperature calls for more specific
investigation. This can either be achieved by additional population specific scales or
in some instances with adaptive item generation. Therefore, specific items were devel-
oped for the RESTQ in different areas of application and for different populations. For
the RESTQ the specific scales are always combined with the basic module. This allows
to address specific areas (e.g., for athletes) simultaneously with a global comparison
and/or reference to validation studies with different populations. In some instances
even project-specific items for project-specific scales can be added, which for example
has been done for the RESTQ to assess the role of the recovery-stress state for variables
from the organizational area of social capital (Blattner, 2006; Stelzhammer, 2008), or for
student-specific topics (Brandt, Kallus, & Grähling, 2014).

Table 1.1 provides an overview across the psychometrically tested specific versions of
the RESTQs. For the RESTQ-Basic psychometric data are available for different time
frames (3, 7, 14 days).

30 1. Stress and Recovery: An Overview

Table 1.1: Versions, item numbers, and standard time frame of the Recovery-Stress
Questionnaires

RESTQ- RESTQ- RESTQ- RESTQ- RESTQ- RESTQ-

Basic Sport Coach Work CA Risco
Standard time
frame 3 days 3 days 7 days 7 days 7 days 14 days

Long 48 76 (48+28) 76 (48+28) 92 (48+44) - 48

Short 24 52 (24+48) 52 (24+28) 55 (24+31) - -

Modied - 36 (18+18) - 27 (7+20) 40 (32+8) -

Screening 7 - - - - 7

Thus, different forms can be applied; deviations from three days/nights are depicted
in the header. Former versions of the RESTQ-Coach used three days/nights and for
RESTQ-CA some researchers tried out a five days/nights time frame. A careful check
of the correct and identical time frame of the version and the reference value is recom-
mended, whenever using reference values.

The modular character of the RESTQ conflicts with the economic principle in test con-
struction to use as few items as possible for measurement of individual differences
(Rammstedt & John, 2007). This development led to very economic tools to assess per-
sonality for classification purposes. On the other hand these global measures are far
away from tools, which allow deriving specific interventions. The specific versions
of the RESTQ offer a detailed picture of the basic non-specific recovery-stress state
as well as the area-specific aspects of stress and recovery. This combination provides
valuable and relevant information for interventions. The basic scales provide most use-
ful background information for any area of application, as the basic aspects of stress
and recovery are assessed and a broad range of validation studies are available for
these basic areas. The RESTQ is sensitive to changes and reflects a detailed picture of
change in the recovery-stress state especially with its area-specific versions. Thus, the
modular structure should only be questioned or given up with very good reasons, as
it is a strategic fault in most instances. One of the most probable questions in any area
of application is ‘and how are the values to be interpreted with reference to …’. This
question can be answered with the data from the basic module, while the derivation
of specific advice or intervention is supported by more specific scales. Therefore, the
conception of a modular structure allows reaching partly divergent goals.

As the wording in various areas of application and in publications on the RESTQ dif-
fers, the following terminology is proposed and will be used in the manual to denote
the values of scales and dimensions (table 1.2).

Scores, which combine Overall Stress and Overall Recovery as well as scores, which com-
bine area-specific Stress and area-specific Recovery, should be avoided, as valuable infor-
mation is lost and a valid interpretation of the score (see above) is almost impossible.
Recovery is much broader and much more than just the absence or opposite of stress.
A pattern diagnosis, which combines stress and recovery scores in a 2 x 2 matrix or in
a 3 x 3 matrix (see chapter 3) is much better.

1. Stress and Recovery: An Overview 31

 Table 1.2: Terminology of scales and dimensions

Score RESTQ-Basic Area-specic Versions

Scale Scale e.g., Emotional Scale e.g., Self-Ecacy
Stress
Sub-dimensions Social-Emotional Stress
Performance(-related)
Stress

Dimensions Overall Stress Sport-specic Stress

(global score for stress) Coach-specic Stress
Work-specic Stress

Overall Recovery Sport-specic Recovery

(global score for recovery) Coach-specic Recovery
Work-specic Recovery

Mean of basic and specic stress scores Total Stress*

Mean of basic and specic recovery scores Total Recovery*

Note: *An aggregation of overall and specic values might cause values, which are not easy to interpret, as the sums are not
justied by structural equations modelling (SEM). SEM indicates conceptual problems with total scores, which means that high
scores, which originate from high Overall Stress and middle specic Stress values indicate not the same as a high score resulting
from middle Overall Stress and high specic Stress values. The same applies for recovery.

1.3 The Interesting Area between State and Trait

As already described, the RESTQ assesses the frequency of events and states in a de-
fined time frame, which can be adapted to the area of application. Mood states and
behavior-oriented concepts are assessed by frequency scales, while current states are
measured with respect to intensity in most instances. Traits are normally assessed by
scaling the amount of agreement to relevant statements by Likert-type scales. The cur-
rent recovery-stress state is comparable to a mood-like state (Diener & Emmons, 1984)
with high short-term stability. In contrast to traits, fluctuations are to be expected in
the course of weeks.

The distribution of scale values for frequency scales is dependent on the time frames.
The increase in scale values with increasing time is not linear but seems to follow a
logarithmic or root function. The hypothesis was derived from an analysis of the ear-
ly versions of the RESTQ-Basic (Kallus, 1992, 1995), in which the time frame was not
specified but termed in the past days and subjects had to fill in an answer to the question
how many days were included in the past days. The answers were multimodal and varied
from three days to four weeks. This result of multimodal time frames of reference for
different subjects led to the definition of fixed time frames in the header of the ques-
tionnaire in the construction phase of the RESTQ. In an empirical study with 131 par-
ticipants and three measurement occasions (Wagner, 2000), the time of measurement
as well as the time frames of the RESTQ (3, 14, and 28 days) was varied systematically
(figure 1.1).

32 1. Stress and Recovery: An Overview

Figure 1.1: Means of the RESTQ-Basic scale Physical Complaints with changing time
frames of reference (N = 131)

Measures were collected at four different times (baseline, 3, 14, and 28 days after base-
line measurement). The analysis allowed checking how scale values and psychometric
properties change with changing reference times. The results for different scales were
not homogeneous. For Physical Complaints the expected increase could be observed.
For other scales no change or even a decrease of means appeared (e.g., General Well-be-
ing). Thus, different evaluative processes seem to change the scores with changing
time of reference.

Consistency and specificity were analyzed in the latent-state-trait model with LISREL
(see Steyer, Schmitt, & Eid, 1999). The result in table 1.3 shows increasing trait variance
(consistency) and decreasing state variance (specificity) with the long time frames of
28 days. This indicates that time frames up to 14 days are possible without changing
the measurement in direction of trait scales.

Table 1.3: Consistency (Con) and specicity (Spe) of the RESTQ with dierent time
frames from Latent State-Trait-Models (N = 131; Wagner, 2000)

Stress Recovery

Con .37 .41

3 days
Spe .14 .15

Con .39 .48

14 days
Spe .13 .13

Con .41 .51

28 days
Spe .07 .09

1. Stress and Recovery: An Overview 33

 Exploratory Factor Analyses showed a comparable factor structure for three and 14
days in this study, while the time frames of four weeks resulted in a different structure,
indicating that the long-term state perspective might be assessed with a two week time
reference, while with longer time frames aspects of chronic stress (see the Trier Inven-
tory of Chronic Stress; Schulz, Schlotz, & Becker, 2004) or personality have increasing
influence on the scores. For different areas of application different default time frames
were selected, as shown in table 1.1.

1.4 Demands, Resources, Strain, Stress, and Recovery

The main purpose of the RESTQ is to assess the individual´s current recovery-stress
state. The logic of the recovery-stress state claims that measuring the stress-state
should always take recovery into account, which implies to assess stress and recovery
simultaneously. However, unequivocal concepts are neither available for stress nor for
recovery. On the contrary, conflicting terminology and concepts are found in different
areas of research and in different applied contexts. Therefore, the conceptual back-
ground for the terminology of the RESTQ is outlined in the following paragraphs and
arguments will be reviewed, which explain the use of the term stress and the naming
of the RESTQs.

1.4.1 Load, Taskload, Workload, Strain, and Stress

With regard to the terms and concepts of stress and recovery there is no full agreement
within the scientific community. There has been a never ending debate on the use of
terms on stress (Beehr & Franz, 1987; Cooper, 2000; Laux, 1983) and especially there
is still no agreement in the different fields of application. Thus, load, strain, and stress
are used with partly overlapping and interchanged meaning.

In ergonomics, the basic model from physics is used, which differentiates between
load, resulting in stress in the material, and which can produce deformation of the
material, which is termed strain. This basic stress-strain terminology from ergonomics
is also used in the international norms on stress at work. Between 2000 and 2004 the
International Organization for Standardization (ISO) published an international norm
for the assessment of mental workload. Norms EN-ISO10075 part 1 to part 3 covering
the Ergonomic principles related to mental workload define mental stress and strain, con-
trary to most scientific authors, as follows: “Mental (or psychological) stress, defined
as the sum of all variables impacting on an operator, will lead to mental strain within
the operator, depending on her/his resources, capacities or experience. This strain can
lead to positive outcomes, e.g. warming up or learning, or to impairing effects, e.g.
fatigue, monotony, reduced vigilance or satiation” (see EN ISO 10075-1, p. 3). As ISO
10075 is based on DIN 33400, the errors in translation can easily be followed. The Ger-
man word ‘Belastung’ (load) was translated with mental stress instead of task load, de-
mand or pressure. This is misleading and indicates a very inaccurate and global use of
the term stress. Stress should not be used interchangeably with load, as it normally de-
notes a tense state of a system. Conversely, the term load should not be used to name a
state of a system, as ‘load’ refers to external factors. The use of the term strain to refer

34 1. Stress and Recovery: An Overview

to the state of a person is very popular in British Work and Organizational Psychology
(Cooper, 2000). In human factors oriented textbooks task load is used to characterize
the impacting variables and workload is used as a term for the resulting state in the
operator (Hancock & Desmond, 2001; Hilburn & Jorna, 2001; Wickens, 2008). In Work
and Organizational Psychology ‘stress’ is one form of inadequate workload (Hacker
& Sachse, 2014).

Implicitly or explicitly the term stress is used to indicate a process, which is caused
by a load or demand beyond the level of normal functioning. Janke and Wolffgramm
(1995) as well as Janke and Erdmann (2002) explained that stress refers to a state of the
organism, which is beyond homeostatically regulated normal functioning. Thus, stress
in biopsychological concepts encompasses a more tense state than just strain. While
strain in physics is automatically set back, when the load is removed, stress is defined
as a more prolonged process or state, due to long-term effects of intense stressors or
due to enduring or intermittent stressors. Stress in the biopsychological sense starts
beyond the threshold of automatic recovery. This view is in accordance with the basic
mechanical stress models. Three different perspectives justify using the term stress in
recovery-stress states to characterize the state of the individual by the RESTQ. This
seems to be worthwhile as some authors use the term strain to characterize the reac-
tion of the individual even to highly demanding conditions and use the term stress
either to denote the demand/load or the overall process (e.g., Cooper, 2000).

First, the term stress in recovery-stress state is in accordance with the process defi-
nition of stress (i.e. stress in the wording of Cooper, 2000), as the recovery-stress ap-
proach focuses on the process and the items are not just symptoms but drawn from
different process perspectives. Therefore, stress is the adequate term for the RESTQ.
However, Cooper uses the term strain in addition, which is possible for low demands
in the light of the mechanical view on stress and strain in material sciences (Callister
& Rethwisch, 2009).

From material sciences an integral framework for the stress-strain terminology can be
derived for the use in biopsychological/clinical stress research, sport psychology, and
most fields of work and organizational psychology.

As already mentioned the term stress is adopted from physics where stress (German
‘Spannung’) is basically introduced in mechanics, e.g. in Hook’s Law (Mayr, 2012) or
Boyle Mariotte’s Law (Kuchling, 2010). In Hook’s Law load acts on an object (spring)
and causes a change in shape (elongation) which is termed strain. This change in shape
is accompanied by an energetic change within the spring: stress. Stress (the energy)
will cause the spring to switch back to its basic length when the load is removed. Thus,
stress is a force stored in the material. In this model, it is not stress which causes strain,
but both strain (elongation) and stress (state of the object) are caused by the load. When
the load is removed, the spring returns to its original shape as long as the elastic limit
(stress limit) has not been reached. Beyond the stress point a non-reversible deforma-
tion takes place. In physics, strain is the change in shape of the spring referenced to its
original length. Stress results from the load referenced to the elasticity or the surface.

1. Stress and Recovery: An Overview 35

 The critical load for the spring is the point which goes beyond elasticity and causes a
change in the structure of the spring, which is not set back, when the load is removed.
Beyond the set point the spring is either deformed or broken. This point is of central
importance, when transferring the analogy to biological sciences (e.g., concept of train-
ing, overreaching, overtraining, see Meussen et al., 2013). Thus, the state of tension
should be referred to as stress state, while the change of shape is strain. Most interest-
ing is, whether full recovery is to be expected when the load is removed, or whether
the load was too large and goes beyond the stress point. Before reaching the critical
load, strain and stress are directly proportional and thus, the terms can be used inter-
changeable. Beyond this point stress is the crucial variable and strain and stress are no
more interchangeable due to the fact that their direct proportional relation is restricted
to the strain below the proportionality limit. Note that strain is defined as a change in
length of the spring referenced to the initial length, and stress is an energetic term of
pressure with reference to basic pressure, i.e., the energetic state of the spring.

Figure 1.2 shows a strain-stress diagram which is drawn from material sciences. It
describes the changes in a material (e.g., a spring) with increasing load. In the elas-
tic region, stress and strain describe the situation interchangeably due to their direct
proportionality according to Hook´s law. Thus, in the elastic region the confusion of
the terms ‘stress’ and ‘strain’ is just a look at the independent variable strain or the
dependent variable stress, which both are proportional to the load. In the elastic re-
gion full recovery takes place when the load is removed. Beyond the elasticity limit or
yield point (B), the proportionality vanishes and non-recoverable change in the ma-
terial occurs (C) with increasing load. This area is called the plastic region. Between
point C and D different forms of deformation occur until the final point F is reached.
Stress does not substantially increase beyond point E because increases in load are
fully transformed into changes in the material.

Finally, with additional load beyond point E the material might break. This point is
termed stress or fracture point in material sciences. The simple analogy to mechanics
is most valuable for terminological clarification. One could extend the analogy a bit,
as the effect of a load might change, when material fatigue develops. In addition, the
process of elongation and recovery does not follow exactly the same dynamic in time
but results in a hysteresis process. The analogy shows that stress process and recovery
process are much more different than one would expect at a first glance. Characteris-
tics in the course of time differ markedly even in mechanical systems.

36 1. Stress and Recovery: An Overview

 Figure 1.2: Strain-stress diagram for materials like metals

Differences between mechanics and biological systems are multifold and are most
relevant in the plastic region and beyond the stress point. The damaged mechanical
system has to be repaired or replaced while biological systems have the capacity of
regeneration, repair, and adaptation. The first part of the plastic region parallels the
state of acute stress in biological systems, in which a removal of the load is still directly
answered by a removal of strain and stress. The point, when the spring deforms final-
ly and breaks might be the limit of the analogy because complex adaptation, coping,
recovery as well as short-term or long-term damage and impairment can occur in bi-
ological systems under stress. The only point which might cause debate is that strain
in accordance with applied physics is close to load and visible on the material, while
stress is an energetic state. This state, however, is not the cause for strain.

A third argument to use the term stress to characterize the resulting dynamic state of
the individual stems from the terminology in Biological Psychology. Following the
research of Selye (1936) the term load is replaced by the term stressor.

The term stress describes the state of the organisms. Conditions which cause stress are
termed stressors in Selye´s terms. This biopsychological view on stress is also shared
with Health Psychology and in Clinical Psychology. Modern psychological concepts
of stress, which follow a bio-psychological approach and/or system view, also use the
term stress for a resulting state of an organism characterized by homeostatic (or al-
lostatic) dysregulation, which is caused by stressors or inadequate demands. This ter-
minology will be used throughout the manual.

The above analogy to physics allows clarifying the use of the term stress. However, the
‘stress state’ of the individual is far different from a passive energetic state, but should
be viewed as a highly dynamic transactional process, which allows the individual to
cope with demands and the own stress reaction and finally to recover and adapt the
taxed or damaged resources.

1. Stress and Recovery: An Overview 37

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