title: Validity of the mental health subscale of the SF-36 in persons with spinal cord injury.
abstract: METHODS
  Cross-sectional study 5 years after discharge from inpatient rehabilitation.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To examine the psychometric properties of the Mental Health subscale (MHI-5) of the 36-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36) in persons with spinal cord injury (SCI).
  
  
  METHODS
  Eight Dutch rehabilitation centres with specialised SCI units.
  
  
  METHODS
  Possible floor and ceiling effects were assessed, and Cronbach's α coefficient was calculated to assess internal consistency. Concurrent and divergent validity were assessed using Spearman correlations between the MHI-5 and measures of life satisfaction, neuroticism, vitality, general health, functional independence, participation, lesion characteristics and demographics.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There were no floor or ceiling effects, but the total MHI-5 score was slightly skewed (-1.15). Internal consistency was good (α=0.79). Concurrent validity was shown by significant Spearman correlations between the MHI-5 and life satisfaction (0.53), neuroticism (-0.55), vitality (0.53) and general health (0.37). Divergent validity was shown by weak and, in part, non-significant correlations between the MHI-5 and functional independence (0.09), participation (-0.28) and lesion characteristics (range -0.01-0.19).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The MHI-5 showed reliability and validity as a measure of mood in persons with SCI, and is a promising measurement instrument to assess mental health problems in this population.
authors.affiliation: Swiss Paraplegic Research, Nottwil, Switzerland.
authors.forename: C M C
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: van Leeuwen
authors.forename: L H V
authors.initials: LH
authors.lastname: van der Woude
authors.forename: M W M
authors.initials: MW
authors.lastname: Post
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008603:Mental Health; D008875:Middle Aged; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales / Q000592:standards*; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D055815:Young Adult