title: An assessment of the Arthritis Impact Measurement Scales in 3 ethnic groups.
abstract: The Arthritis Impact Measure Scales (AIMS) have established validity and reliability in general adult populations with medically diagnosed rheumatoid arthritis. Our analysis extends this work to a community based sample of elderly individuals with self reported joint systems in 3 ethnic groups: Hispanics (N = 100), whites of Eastern European origin (N = 112) and blacks (N = 105). With the exception of the Social Activity and ADL scales, acceptable reliability and validity of the AIMs scales are found for all 3 groups. The assumption of factor invariance across ethnic groups is also supported.
authors.affiliation: Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH 44106.
authors.forename: C J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Coulton
authors.forename: C M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Hyduk
authors.forename: J C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Chow
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001168:Arthritis / Q000145:classification* / Q000208:ethnology; D044383:Black People; D005061:Europe, Eastern / Q000208:ethnology; D005260:Female; D006305:Health Status Indicators; D006630:Hispanic or Latino; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014481:United States; D044465:White People; D001741:Black or African American