Cross-Culture Validation of the HIV/AIDS Stress Scale: The Development of a Revised Chinese Version |
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| Authors: | Lu Niu Yangyang Qiu Dan Luo Xi Chen Min Wang Kenneth I. Pakenham Xixing Zhang Zhulin Huang Shuiyuan Xiao |
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| Affiliation: | 1Department of Social Medicine and Health Management, School of Public Health, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China;2Hunan provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Changsha, Hunan, China;3The First Hospital of Changsha, Changsha, Hunan, China;4School of Psychology, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia;5Changsha Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Changsha, Hunan, China;UCSF, UNITED STATES |
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| Abstract: | BackgroundBeing HIV-infected is a stressful experience for many individuals. To assess HIV-related stress in the Chinese context, a measure with satisfied psychometric properties is yet underdeveloped. This study aimed to examine the psychometric characteristics of a simplified Chinese version of the HIV/AIDS Stress Scale (SS-HIV) among people living with HIV/AIDS in central China.MethodA total of 667 people living with HIV (92% were male) were recruited from March 1st 2014 to August 31th 2015 by consecutive sampling. A standard questionnaire package containing the Chinese HIV/AIDS Stress Scale (CSS-HIV), the Chinese Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), and the Chinese Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale (GAD-7) were administered to all participants, and 38 of the participants were selected randomly to be re-tested in four weeks after the initial testing.ResultsOur data supported that a revised 17-item CSS-HIV had adequate psychometric properties. It consisted of 3 factors: emotional stress (6 items), social stress (6 items) and instrumental stress (5 items). The overall Cronbach’s α was 0.906, and the test-retest reliability coefficient was 0.832. The revised CSS-HIV was significantly correlated with the number of HIV-related symptoms, as well as scores on the PHQ-9 and GAD-7, indicating acceptable concurrent validity.ConclusionThe 17-item Chinese version of the SS-HIV has potential research and clinical utility in identifying important stressors among the Chinese HIV-infected population and in understanding the effects of stress on adjustment to HIV. |
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