title: Psychometric evaluation of the appraisal of health scale in stroke survivors.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Little is known about the cognitive appraisal process influencing poststroke depressive symptoms. Based on a framework derived from Lazarus and Folkman (1984), psychometric properties of the Appraisal of Health Scale (AHS) were tested.
  
  
  METHODS
  Secondary analysis of data from 394 stroke survivors tested internal consistency reliability and construct validity of the AHS, consisting of 3 subscales (threat, benign, benefit).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Cronbach's alphas were satisfactory (threat .92, benign .85, benefit .73). After principal axis factoring, two factors emerged (threat, benefit). Sequential multiple regression accounted for 43% of the variance in depressive symptoms (p < .001), partly explained by the threat and benefit subscales after controlling for depression history, disability, age, social support, self-esteem, and optimism.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Threat and benefit AHS subscales demonstrated satisfactory evidence of internal consistency reliability and construct validity in stroke survivors.
authors.affiliation: Ball State University, Muncie, IN 47306-0265, USA. eajohnson@bsu.edu
authors.forename: Elizabeth A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Johnson
authors.forename: Tamilyn
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Bakas
authors.forename: Linda S
authors.initials: LS
authors.lastname: Williams
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003863:Depression / Q000175:diagnosis*; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D009730:Nursing Assessment; D011594:Psychometrics; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D020521:Stroke / Q000451:nursing / Q000523:psychology*; D017741:Survivors / Q000523:psychology; D014481:United States