Psychometric Testing of the Chinese Version of the Medical Outcomes Study Social Support Survey among people living with HIV/AIDS in China

Abstract

Purpose To assess the psychometric properties of the Chinese (Mandarin) version of the Medical Outcomes Study Social Support Survey (MOS-SSS-CM) among people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) in Mainland China. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted with a convenience sample of 200 Chinese PLWHA. They completed the MOS-SSS-CM along with the Chinese version of the Beck Depression Inventory Revised (BDI-II) scale, the Zung Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS), the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10), and the World Health Organization Quality of Life brief (WHOQOL-BREF) scale. Results Internal consistency (Cronbach's α) was 0.97 for the overall scale and 0.82-0.91 for the five subscales originally proposed. However, 11 of the 19 items demonstrated unsatisfactory item discriminant validity. An exploratory factor analysis yielded a two-factor solution with tangible and social-emotional dimensions, which demonstrated satisfactory reliability and better discrimination between different subscales than did the original five-factor model. The concurrent validity of the two-factor scale was further confirmed by its significant negative correlations with the BDI-II (r = -0.28 to -0.42, p < 0.01); the SAS (r = -0.24 to -0.29, p < 0.01); and the PSS-10 (r = -0.25 to -0.30, p < 0.01) and significant positive correlations with the WHOQOL-BREF scale (r = 0.35 to 0.63, p < 0.01). Conclusion We found a two-factor solution for the MOS-SSS-CM, which demonstrated good reliability and validity when applied to Chinese PLWHA. This was consistent with results from a study of Taiwanese caregivers. Further validation in other populations and disease states is warranted.