Psychometric Testing of an Arabic Translation of the Revised-Illness Perception Questionnaire (IPQ-R) for Chronic Illness Patients

Abstract

Background: Researchers lack a properly validated instrument to measure perceptions of chronic disease in Arabic language contexts. This study aimed to adapt and validate the RevisedIllness Perception Questionnaire (IPQ-R) for Arabic speaking chronic illness patients.Methods: A cross-sectional design was conducted to examine the psychometric properties of the adapted English version of the IPQ-R for Arabic speaking chronic illness patients. The study instrument was an Arabic version of the IPQ-R prepared through a translation process. The reliability and validity of the instrument were assessed using exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis and Cronbach's alpha coefficient. Three hundred and sixteen participants (ages 16-79) from the Batna region in Algeria completed the IPQ-R.Results: A total of 316 (100%) patients responded to this study. Regarding internal consistency, Cronbach's alpha a coefficient was consistently higher than 0.45. Several areas of fit were identified and substantial changes to the measurement model were made, such as the deletion of 22 items from the original 38 -item IPQ-R and two items from the original 18 causal items this accounted for 64.63% of the total variance, and the respecification of indicators had to be applied to achieve acceptable model fit. The final model consists of two sections: The 16-item Arabic IPQ-R, which had a good fit; (CMIN/Df = 1.30, P < 0.001, CFI = 0.93, RMSEA = 0.08, SRMR = 0.03), and was similar to the Arabic 16 causal items (CMIN/DF = 1.11, P < 0.001, CFI = 0.95, RMSEA = 0.080, SRMR = 0.02).Conclusion: The factor structure concurred with prior finding despite differences to the type of sample and cultural considerations that might explain these findings. Replication of this study in Algerian patients with specific illness, such as silicosis, breast cancer and multiple sclerosis. Further psychometric testing on other large samples is recommended.

Psychometric evaluation of the Chinese version of the revised illness perception questionnaire for breast cancer-related lymphedema

“…The factor structure of the IPQ‐R (BCRL) was supported after deletion of several poorly fitting items. A similar problem was also found in previous studies (Aberkane, ; Ashley et al., ; Ayu et al., ; Brzoska, Yilmazaslan, Sultanoglu, Sultanoglu, & Razum, ; Villalobos‐Galvis, Mafla, Burbano‐Trujillo, & Sanchez‐Figueroa, ), in which several misspecifications were identified and adjustments had to be made to achieve a good model fit. Meanwhile, the proposed factor structure of the IPQ‐R could not be confirmed by CFA in other previous studies (Chaboyer, Lee, Wallis, & Chien, ; Fan et al., ; Nicholls, Susan, & Foster, ), and even the EFA did not show any interpretable structure (Mo et al., ).…”

“…Meanwhile, the proposed factor structure of the IPQ‐R could not be confirmed by CFA in other previous studies (Chaboyer, Lee, Wallis, & Chien, ; Fan et al., ; Nicholls, Susan, & Foster, ), and even the EFA did not show any interpretable structure (Mo et al., ). Among these studies, only a few examined the structure of non‐English IPQ‐R, such as Chinese (Chaboyer et al., ; Fan et al., ; Mo et al., ), Turkish (Brzoska et al., ), Greek (Giannousi, Manaras, Georgoulias, & Samonis, ), Swedish (Brink, Alsén, & Cliffordson, ), and Arabic languages (Aberkane, ). The variation in the factor structure of the IPQ‐R among these studies may have resulted from illness‐ and culture‐specific variations.…”

“…Actually, causal items have been treated differently in previous studies. Some studies (Aberkane, ; Abubakari et al., ; Ayu et al., ; Chilcot, Norton, Wellsted, & Farrington, ; Moon et al., ; Yan et al., ) employed our approach, while others modified this subscale without evaluating its structure (Brzoska et al., ; Chaboyer et al., ; Ghio et al., ), and still others conducted PCA to explore causal factors and then evaluated the subscale using CFA in the same data (Abubakari et al., ; Hagger & Orbell, ), and one study (Chen et al., ) employed CFA to examine the factorial structure of the subscale after modifying these causal items according to the aetiology of hypertension. One possible explanation for the large inconsistency in methodology was that researchers hold different views about the importance and the characteristics of this subscale.…”

Psychometric approach of the revised illness perception questionnaire for oral health (IPQ‐R‐OH) in patients with periodontal disease

“…More recently, the factor structure of the IPQ‐R has been supported in specific chronic illness groups using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Although some authors found evidence to support the original seven‐factor model, the composition of the scale varied (items were deleted), and items belonging to each illness perception's dimension were not the same across all the studies. We also found there was scarce information about sex differences in the theoretical construct.…”

“…Additionally, the timeline scale was separated into acute-chronic and cyclical subscales, and the control scale was separated into personal control and treatment control components. The reliability and validity of the IPQ-R has been demonstrated across several illness groups (i.e., diabetes, myocardial infarction, cancer, hypertension, depression, dermatitis, muscle pain, and other chronic illness) 7,[13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20] Studies normally showed fluctuant fit of the factor structure and good reliability properties.…”