title: Is the SF-12 version 2 Health Survey a valid and equivalent substitute for the SF-36 version 2 Health Survey for the Chinese?
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The scoring algorithm of the 12-item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-12) was revised in the second version (SF-12v2), but information on its psychometric properties is lacking. This study determined whether the SF-12v2 was a valid and equivalent substitute for the SF-36v2 Health Survey (version 2) for the Chinese.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 2410 Chinese adults in Hong Kong completed the SF-36 Health Survey by telephone. The SF-12v2 data were extracted from the SF-36 data. Internal consistency was assessed by Cronbach's alpha, and test-retest reliabilities were evaluated by intraclass correlation. Criterion validity and equivalence were assessed using the SF-36v2 scores as a gold standard. Construct validity and sensitivity were assessed by known-group comparison.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Internal consistency and test-retest reliabilities were good (range 0.67-0.82) for all except three scales. The SF-12v2 summary scores explained >80% of the total variances of the SF-36v2 summary scores. Construct validity and sensitivity were confirmed by significantly lower SF-12v2 scores in people with chronic diseases than those without. Effect size differences were less than 0.3 and relative validities were greater than 0.7 between SF-12v2 and SF-36v2 scores for different groups.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The SF-12v2 was valid, reliable and sensitive for the Chinese. It is an equivalent substitute for the SF-36v2 for the summary scales.
authors: Department of Family Medicine and Primary Care, The University of Hong Kong, Ap Lei Chau, Hong Kong. etplam@gmail.com
authors: Elegance T P
authors: ET
authors: Lam
authors: Cindy L K
authors: CL
authors: Lam
authors: Daniel Y T
authors: DY
authors: Fong
authors: Wen Wei
authors: WW
authors: Huang
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003469:Culture; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006306:Health Surveys / Q000379:methods*; D006723:Hong Kong; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011594:Psychometrics; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D055815:Young Adult