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Reliability and Validity of the Chinese Version of the Worry Scale
Author(s) -
Shiu Ann TakYing,
Wong Rebecca YeeMan
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
public health nursing
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.471
H-Index - 55
eISSN - 1525-1446
pISSN - 0737-1209
DOI - 10.1111/j.0737-1209.2004.21308.x
Subject(s) - worry , cronbach's alpha , intraclass correlation , psychology , reliability (semiconductor) , hypoglycemia , validity , scale (ratio) , clinical psychology , psychological intervention , medicine , psychometrics , psychiatry , anxiety , power (physics) , physics , quantum mechanics , insulin
This article presents the findings on the development and validation of a Chinese version of the Worry Scale (WS), a measure of worry about hypoglycemia. A previously developed 16‐item WS was back‐translated and applied to 117 Chinese diabetic patients living in Hong Kong. An iterative process of factor and item analyses identified a unidimensional 10‐item Chinese WS (WS‐10), which accounted for 57.15% of the total variance. Cronbach's alpha was 0.91. Strong correlation was demonstrated between the WS‐10 and WS with 16 items ( r = 0.97, p = 0.000). Comparing the level of worry about hypoglycemia between Type 1 and Type 2 diabetic patients established a contrast‐group validity of the WS‐10 ( p = 0.002). Criterion validity was established by correlating the WS‐10 with the respondents' glycosylated hemoglobin ( r = −0.29, p = 0.002). Test‐retest reliability using intraclass correlation (ICC) was established, ICC(1, 1) = 0.68. As the clinical administration of this scale takes less than 5 min, the Chinese WS‐10 offers a useful instrument to identify patients with high levels of worry about hypoglycemia for clinical and education interventions. It also provides public health nurses with a reliable and valid prepost measure of intervention effectiveness. The Chinese WS‐10 will facilitate further research about the effects of worry concerning hypoglycemia on self‐care behaviors with the Chinese populations.