Cardiovascular disease risk perception in a Hungarian community sample: psychometric evaluation of the ABCD Risk Perception Questionnaire

Abstract

ObjectivesReliable and valid assessment of subjective risk perception is a crucial part of cardiovascular disease (CVD) prevention and rehabilitation. Since the recently developed Attitudes and Beliefs about Cardiovascular Disease (ABCD) Risk Questionnaire complies with these requirements, the aim of the present study was to investigate the psychometric properties of the Hungarian version of the measure.Design and settingCommunity-based cross-sectional observational studyParticipantsIn sum, 410 (M=49.53 years, SD=8.09) Hungarian adults (inclusion criteria: aged 35 and above, not under treatment with a psychiatric disorder) were included in the present study (female: n=277, 67.6%; college or university-level education: n=247, 60.2%).MethodsWe translated the ABCD Risk Questionnaire into Hungarian and checked its psychometric properties and validity indices.Primary outcome measuresInternal consistency, explorative and confirmative factorial validity. Associations with sociodemographic and health-related characteristics, as well as with measures of mental health (depressive symptoms, perceived stress and well-being).ResultsExploratory and confirmatory factor analyses supported a three-factor solution, corresponding to the original subscales of Risk Perception, Perceived Benefits and Healthy Eating Intentions, with a moderate correlation between the latent constructs. The respondents’ level of knowledge on CVD risk factors was largely independent of their subjective risk perception. The results also provided evidence on the weak-to-medium associations between mental health indices and CVD-related perceptions. Based on the results, a shortened scale version was also suggested.ConclusionThis study confirms the factorial structure, internal consistency and validity of the Hungarian version of the ABCD Risk Questionnaire in a non-English-speaking community sample. The ABCD Risk Perception Questionnaire is a parsimonious and psychometrically adequate measure to assess CVD-related attitudes and knowledge in the general population. Further research is needed in socioeconomically more diverse and in clinical samples, as well as in longitudinal intervention studies.

Validation of the Dutch-Flemish translated ABCD questionnaire to measure cardiovascular diseases knowledge and risk perception among adults

“…Our reliability analysis indicated that the knowledge scale has moderate internal consistency with Cronbach’s alpha of 0.75, which is higher than the result shown in the previous validation study in Hungary and Australia 33 , 36 . The reliability indices for each subscales of the risk scale showed a good internal consistency, which is coherent with the findings of the original study, the Hungarian version and a revalidation in Australia, though the loadings vary to some extent 22 , 33 , 36 .…”

“…The original subscales were risk perception, benefit finding and healthy eating intentions. The Hungarian version of ABCD questionnaire also replicated the same constructs as the original ones, however, the pattern of factor loadings somewhat varied 33 . In our analysis the factor loading of the two latent constructs are slightly different from the original subscales.…”

Translation and validation of the Chinese ABCD risk questionnaire to evaluate adults’ awareness and knowledge of the risks of cardiovascular diseases

“…In addition, the SRMR was close to .08 and the RMSEA was below .06, as required, whereas the TLI and CFI were over .90, indicating a good fit [ 16 ]. The factor analysis results confirmed the structural validity of the questionnaire, which was consistent with the results of Martos et al [ 8 ].…”

“…The higher the score, the higher the perceived risk of preventing CVD. It is currently used to assess the perceived risk of CVD in England’s health-examination population, the Hungarian community population [ 8 ], and Dutch adults [ 9 , 10 ].…”

“…In 2015, Liu et al developed a Chinese version of a healthbelief scale for diabetic patients about the prevention of CVDs [6], but it was not for the general population. At present, the Attitudes and Beliefs about Cardiovascular Disease Risk Questionnaire (ABCD), developed by the British National Health Service Program to measure the general population's perceptions and knowledge of the risks of CVDs, is widely used abroad [7][8][9]. However, the ABCD has not been translated to Chinese and validated in a Chinese sample.…”