Translation and validation of the Chinese-Cantonese version of the Adolescent Dysmenorrhic Self-Care Scale in Hong Kong adolescent girls.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: To translate and evaluate the psychometric properties of the Chinese-Cantonese version of the Adolescent Dysmenorrhic Self-Care Scale.

BACKGROUND: Adolescent girls prefer engaging in self-care activities for dysmenorrhoea. The Adolescent Dysmenorrhic Self-Care Scale is a reliable and valid scale for measuring the self-care behaviour of adolescent girls with dysmenorrhoea. However, it has not been validated in Hong Kong population.

DESIGN: A cross-sectional design.

METHODS: In phase one, the Adolescent Dysmenorrhic Self-Care Scale was translated into Chinese-Cantonese and was reviewed by an expert panel for the semantic equivalence and content validity. In phase two, the Chinese-Cantonese version of Adolescent Dysmenorrhic Self-Care Scale was administered to 396 girls with dysmenorrhoea. The construct validity was tested using confirmatory factor analysis and correlated with the Chinese version of the Generalized Self-Efficacy Scale. The reliability was assessed by Cronbach's alpha and test-retest reliability.

RESULTS: Item 13 related to school nurses was deleted because of its poor relevance to the Hong Kong situation. Four items (items 26-29) related to the medical-orientated behaviours were considered by the expert panel as not relevant to the self-care construct in Hong Kong population. Therefore, confirmatory factor analyses were carried out to 39-item Chinese-Cantonese-Adolescent Dysmenorrhic Self-Care Scale (deletion of item 13) and the 35-item Chinese-Cantonese-Adolescent Dysmenorrhic Self-Care Scale (with further deletion of items 26-29). Confirmatory factor analysis did not confirm the 39-item Chinese-Cantonese-Adolescent Dysmenorrhic Self-Care Scale, but the results showed the goodness of fit in the 35-item of Chinese-Cantonese-Adolescent Dysmenorrhic Self-Care Scale (root-mean-square error of approximation = 0·075, standardised root-mean-square residual = 0·078, normed fit index = 0·95, non-normed fit index = 0·96, comparative fit index = 0·96). Significant correlations with Chinese version of the Generalized Self-Efficacy Scale (r = 0·46, p < 0·01) were identified. The Cronbach's alpha of 35-item Chinese-Cantonese-Adolescent Dysmenorrhic Self-Care Scale was 0·94. The intraclass correlation coefficient was 0·93.

CONCLUSION: The 35-item Chinese-Cantonese-Adolescent Dysmenorrhic Self-Care Scale had satisfactory validity and reliability.

RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: Nurses may use the 35-item Chinese-Cantonese-Adolescent Dysmenorrhic Self-Care Scale in assessing the self-care behaviour of adolescent girls with dysmenorrhoea, so that girls with a low level of self-care behaviour can be identified and appropriate intervention can be provided.