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Results of this study may help to develop adequate intervention strategies to improve the health outcomes of asthma patients.

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This study investigates the progression of family cohesion perceptions and depressive symptoms during the character development stage in adolescents. Data were used from the Taiwan Youth Project. The final sample comprised 2,690 adolescents with 1,312 girls (48.8%; M age = 13.0 yr., SD = 0.5). Latent curve growth analysis was employed to explore these developments. Seventh-grade girls reported greater family cohesion and more depressive symptoms than boys, and boys reported greater growth in family cohesion than girls. However, progression of depressive symptoms was not associated with the child's sex. Higher perceived family cohesion in Grade 7 correlated with less increase of depressive symptoms from Grades 9 to 11. The long-term positive influence of family cohesion on depressive symptoms is discussed.

Objectives. To evaluate the psychometric properties of the Chinese version of the Patient Perceptions of Empowerment Scale (PPES) and to perform a cross-cultural validity assessment. Methods. In this cross-sectional survey, 554 inpatients in three general hospitals in northern Taiwan were recruited. Principal component analysis was used to examine the factor structure of the scale. Confirmatory factor analyses were conducted on the measurement model of the Chinese version of the PPES. Results. Confirmatory factor analyses supported the presence of a second-order four-factor model (information, decision, individual, and self-management) of the Chinese version of the PPES when used with a Taiwanese inpatient population. The results indicate that the 11-item, second-order, four-factor Chinese version of the PPES provided best goodness-of-fit for the data in this study. Conclusion. The 11-item four-factor Chinese version of the PPES is a self-completion scale. This study demonstrated that the Chinese version of the PPES is a reliable and valid self-report instrument for the assessment of patient perceptions of empowerment in clinical practice. Further adaptation and evaluation of the scale will hopefully stimulate further studies on PPES in the fields of psychometrics in Taiwan.