title: Translation and validation of the Chinese-Cantonese version of the Exercise of Self-Care Agency Scale.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Effective self-care is important in the management of dysmenorrhea. Yet measures of adolescents' capabilities or self-care agency to exercise self-care to cope with dysmenorrhea are limited in the Chinese population.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The aims of this study were to translate the Exercise of Self-Care Agency Scale (ESCAS) from English into Chinese-Cantonese, and to evaluate its reliability and validity in the Chinese adolescent girls with dysmenorrhea.
  
  
  METHODS
  This study consisted of three phases. In phase 1, the ESCAS was translated into Chinese-Cantonese using Brislin's (1986) translation and back-translation method, the semantic equivalence and content validity were assessed. In phase 2, a cross-over design was used to assess the translation adequacy of the Chinese-Cantonese version. In phase 3, the psychometric properties of the Chinese-Cantonese version were tested with a convenience sample of 477 adolescent girls recruited from three secondary schools. The reliability was assessed by internal consistency and test-retest reliability. The construct validity was tested using exploratory factor analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The semantic equivalence and content validity index of the Chinese-Cantonese version of ESCAS was satisfactory. Results also indicated that the Chinese-Cantonese version had a high level of equivalence with the original English version and demonstrated a high internal consistency and test-retest reliability. Exploratory factor analysis revealed the presence of four factors supporting the conceptual dimension of the original instrument.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The current study provides initial psychometric properties of the Chinese-Cantonese version of the ESCAS and supports it as a reliable and valid instrument to measure self-care agency in adolescent girls with dysmenorrhea. It provides health care professionals with a useful tool to assess the extent to which adolescent girls take action towards their problem of dysmenorrhea.
authors.affiliation: The Nethersole School of Nursing, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. jojowong@cuhk.edu.hk
authors.forename: C L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Wong
authors.forename: W Y
authors.initials: WY
authors.lastname: Ip
authors.forename: T Y
authors.initials: TY
authors.lastname: Shiu
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002681:China; D003284:Contract Services / Q000458:organization & administration*; D004412:Dysmenorrhea / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D012648:Self Care; D014175:Translating