Reliability and validity of the hidden hunger assessment scale in China-revised for high school students

Objective:Hidden hunger remains a severe public health problem that affects millions of people worldwide.In China,challenges related to dietary imbalance and hidden hunger persist.Micronutrient inadequacy deserves more attention among adolescents,given its vital role in their growth and development;however,this problem appears to have been largely ignored.High school students,in particular,are often at a high risk of hidden hunger but have limited assessment tools available.Therefore,this study aims to revise the hidden hunger assessment scale for high school students(HHAS-HSS)in China and assess its reliability and validity.Methods:Based on a literature review,expert consultation,pre-experiment,and formal survey,a hidden hunger assessment scale was revised for high school students.The formal survey involved 9336 high school students in 11 of the 16 cities in Anhui Province,China,and 9038 valid questionnaires were collected and included in the analysis.The item analysis,internal consistency reliability,test-retest reliability,content validity,exploratory factor analysis,and confirmatory factor analysis of the HHAS-HSS were examined.Results:The HHAS-HSS included a total of 4 dimensions and 12 items:"vegetables and food diversity"(three items),"fruits and dairy products"(three items),"micronutrient-dense foods"(four items),and"health condition and eating habits"(two items).The results showed a Cronbach's alpha of 0.758,a split-half reliability of 0.829,and a test-retest reliability of o.793,indicating good internal consistency.Using the Bartlett's test and Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin test(KMO)to test the exploratory factor analysis presented a four-factor model of the HHAS-HSS,the KMO0 value was 0.820(P<0.001),which indicated the possibility for factor confirmatory factor analysis.Using the maximum variance rotation method,four factors were obtained,and the cumulative variance explained rate was 57.974%.Confirmatory factor analysis also supported the division of the scale into four dimensions,and the fitting indices were x^(2)=1417.656,x^(2)/df=29.534,goodness-of-fit index=0.974,adjusted goodnessof-fit index=0.958,parsimonious goodness-of-fit index=0.600,normed fit index=0.938,incremental fit index=0.940,Tucker-Lewis index=0.917,comparative fit index=0.939,and root mean square error of approximation=0.056.Except for x^(2)/df,all the indices reached the fitting standard,and the above results showed that the construct validity of the scale reached an acceptable level.Conclusions:The HHAS-HSS has good validity and reliability for Chinese high school students.It is a convenient self-report measure of hidden hunger risk.

Investigating the Reliability and Validity of Chen and Starosta's Intercultural Sensitivity Scale (ISS) against Chinese Cultural Background

Intercultural Communication Competence (ICC), as one of the research fields of intercultural communication, has been given much importance from scholars all around the world. Intercultural sensitivity is one of the three dimensions in Dr Chen's ICC model. This research investigates the reliability and validity of Chen and Starosta's Intercultural Sensitivity Scale (ISS) (2000) against Chinese cultural background by using Chinese university students majoring in English as respondents.

Reliability and Validity Test of Questionnaire on the Adaptation Strategy of Cryosphere Changes in Arid Inland River Basin

[Objective] The aim was to test the reliability and validity of questionnaire on the adaptation strategy of cryosphere changes in arid inland river basin. [Method] A questionnaire on 'the adaptation strategy of cryosphere changes in arid inland river basin' was carried out in Urumchi River basin and Aksu River basin, and its reliability and validity were tested by means of statistical method, so as to investigate the stability and accuracy of questionnaire. [Result] Reliability analysis of questionnaire showed that the split-half reliability coefficient of questionnaire in Urumchi River basin and Aksu River basin was 0.729 and 0.750, respectively, and Cronbach’s α reliability coefficient was 0.613 and 0.616, respectively, which revealed that the questionnaire had good equivalence and internal consistency which reflected good reliability and stability. According to validity analysis on questionnaire, there was significant correlation between the score of most questions and questionnaire, and it indicated that questionnaire had high content validity. There were 8 common factors collected from 26 questions, which were summarized as agricultural planting, agricultural water conservation, life satisfaction, cultivated land variation, social integration sense, climate and cryosphere changes, capital input improved by environment and family economic condition, respectively. Meanwhile, the contribution rate of various questions in corresponding indexes was higher, and reflected structure was in full accord with questionnaire content, which revealed that questionnaire owned good construct validity. [Conclusion] With higher stability and accuracy, the questionnaire could determine the desired topic and content and was suitable for the study on the perception of common people and choices of adaptive strategy under cryosphere changes in arid inland river basin in northwestern China.

Reliability and validity of sub-axial injury classification in clinical application

Objective To evaluate the clinical reliability and validity of the sub-axial injury classification (SLIC) system proposed by the Spine Trauma Study Group (STSG) in 2007. Methods Thirty cases of cervical injury were randomly chosen

Validity and Reliability of an Information-Motivation-Skill-Behavior Questionnaire: A Gender-Sensitive HIV Survey

Background: Despite the essence of HIV-related surveys, their precision in measurement of intended constructs has been an area of controversy. Considering the increasing trend of sexual transmission of HIV among women, standard gender-sensitive tools can yield pivotal information for researchers and policy-makers in Iran. Aim: To evaluate the reliability and validity of a questionnaire (IMSB) based on the Information-Motivation-Behavior model of HIV-related behavior prediction. Methods: The IMSB survey constituted of five main domains: HIV-related knowledge, attitudes toward people living with HIV, motivation to practice safe-sex, skills to practice safe-sex, and HIV-related behaviors. Completed questionnaires (n = 189) from pilot phases of three projects were accessed. We assessed face and content validity through expert consultation and respondent feed-backs for the primary pool of items. Discriminant validity was measured utilizing non-parametric tests. Cronbach’s alpha was calculated for each domain to assess internal consistency, and paired t-tests were used to measure stability over time. Results: The primary pool of items was reduced in the process of validation. The discriminant validity was appraised to be favorable since the survey can differentiate between age groups, women with different levels of education and marital status. The survey was reliable in 4 domains;but a Cronbach’s alpha of 0.6 was reported for the fifth domain (HIV-related behaviors). Younger women had higher knowledge and motivation scores;single women were more motivated to practice safe-sex and divorced/widowed women had lower motivation and skills scores. Conclusion: This questionnaire can be used as a valid and reliable tool to measure the IMB constructs. The lower reliability of the “behavior” domain is probably rooted in societal norms and cultural definitions. The integration of motivation and skill domains can provide valuable information for clinicians/interventionists to address vulnerabilities experienced by their female clients.

DETERMINING THE RELIABILITY AND VALIDITY OF A MODIFICATION OF THE CET 4 WRITING TEST

The CET 4 writing test is widely used in China,but whether it is a more reliable and valid test ofwriting for CET 4 than other methods of evaluation is still not clear.The purpose of this study was to examine the reliability and the validity of a modification of this test.In carrying out the study,a total of 60 Band 4 students in Zhejiang University took the modified test,aCET 4 test and a First Certificate Practice Test.The results of this study demonstrate that themodified version is a significantly more reliable and valid writing test than the present CET 4 writingtest.These results suggest that the CET 4 writing test needs modification.

The reliability of the Australasian Triage Scale:a meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: Although the Australasian Triage Scale(ATS) has been developed two decades ago, its reliability has not been def ined; therefore, we present a meta-analyis of the reliability of the ATS in order to reveal to what extent the ATS is reliable.DATA SOURCES: Electronic databases were searched to March 2014. The included studies were those that reported samples size, reliability coefficients, and adequate description of the ATS reliability assessment. The guidelines for reporting reliability and agreement studies(GRRAS) were used. Two reviewers independently examined abstracts and extracted data. The effect size was obtained by the z-transformation of reliability coefficients. Data were pooled with random-effects models, and meta-regression was done based on the method of moment's estimator.RESULTS: Six studies were included in this study at last. Pooled coefficient for the ATS was substantial 0.428(95%CI 0.340–0.509). The rate of mis-triage was less than fifty percent. The agreement upon the adult version is higher than the pediatric version.CONCLUSION: The ATS has shown an acceptable level of overall reliability in the emergency department, but it needs more development to reach an almost perfect agreement.

Developing a Subjective Evaluation Scale for Assessing the Built Environments of China’s Hygienic City Initiative

Objective To develop a preliminary subjective evaluation scale for assessing the built environments of China’s Hygienic City Initiative and to evaluate its reliability and validity.Methods The initial items of the scale were determined based on a review of policy documents and consultations with experts. The final items of the scale were confirmed through individual interviews with residents combined with the discretetrend method, critical ratio method, correlation coefficient method, and factor analysis method. Then, the dimensions of the scale were determined using exploratory factor analysis(EFA). The Cronbach’s α coefficient, split-half reliability coefficient, and confirmatory factor analysis(CFA) were used to assess the reliability and validity of the scale.Results A scale containing five dimensions with 22 items was established, including urban lifestyle,governance, basic functions, environmental sanitation, and amenities. The Cronbach’s α coefficient of the scale was 0.876, and the split-half reliability coefficient was 0.796. The CFA results indicate that each inspection level was within the standard limit.Conclusion The preliminarily subjective evaluation scale for assessing the built environments of China’s Hygienic City Initiative demonstrates a high level of reliability and validity. Additional empirical studies should be carried out to further verify the value of the scale in terms of practical application.