title: The Spanish SF-36 in Peru: factor structure, construct validity, and internal consistency.
abstract: This study assessed the psychometric properties of the SF-36 questionnaire in a sample of 4344 Peruvian people aged 15 to 64 years. Internal consistency reliability was estimated using Cronbach's α coefficient, construct validity by known-groups comparison defined with respect to key sociodemographic characteristics, and factor structure by confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) at item level. Cronbach's α coefficient for the full questionnaire was 0.82 and ranged between 0.66 and 0.92 by scales. The 8 scales discriminated well between sexes, age, and socioeconomic groups. CFA showed that a model with 8 first-order factors and 2 second-order factors (namely, physical and mental health) was a feasible representation of the SF-36 factor structure and had better fit to data than alternative factor structures. The SF-36 showed appropriate psychometric properties regarding internal consistency, construct validity, and factor structure when tested in Peru. Future studies should focus on testing other psychometric properties of the SF-36, such as convergent and discriminant validity, test-retest reliability, and sensitivity to change.
authors.affiliation: Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima, Perú
authors.forename: Fernando Raul
authors.initials: FR
authors.lastname: Salazar
authors.affiliation: King's College London Dental Institute, London, UK eduardo.bernabe@kcl.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Eduardo
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Bernabé
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010568:Peru; D011594:Psychometrics; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012737:Sex Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires / Q000592:standards*; D055815:Young Adult