Menopause-specific Quality of Life Questionnaire: factor and Rasch analytic approach

Objective: The study aimed to assess the psychometric properties of the Menopause-specific Quality of Life Questionnaire (MENQOL) in Serbian climacteric women. Methods: Two hundred mid-aged (40–65 years) women filled out a general sociodemographic and medical questionnaire, the MENQOL, the Short Form-36 questionnaire (SF-36), and Beck’s Depression Inventory (BDI). The MENQOL was translated according to recommended methodology and its psychometric properties (internal consistency, discriminant, construct and criterion validity, factor and Rasch analyses) were assessed. Results: Cronbach's alpha coefficient for the Serbian MENQOL was 0.957 (Vasomotor =0.917, Psychosocial =0.907, Physical =0.928, Sexual =0.913). Corrected item–total correlation coefficients were >0.50 for all items. Factor analysis extracted six domains with total variance of 72.02%. Beside the four original domains, two new domains were observed: Attractiveness and Pain. Factor loadings for all items were appropriate (>0.4). The MENQOL correlated with the SF-36 and BDI total scores, suggesting good criterion validity. Rasch analysis showed adequate reliability (item =0.91; person =0.79) and separation (item =1.95; person =3.21) indexes, proving good reproducibility and reliability of the Serbian MENQOL. All items had infit and outfit mean squares in the standard accepted range. Conclusion: Principal component analysis showed somewhat different constructs from the original scale. However, Rasch analysis confirmed that the MENQOL represents a good metric instrument for menopausal symptoms.研究目的：本研究旨在评估绝经期特异性生活质量问卷（Menopause-specific Quality of Life Questionnaire，MENQOL）在塞尔维亚更年期女性人群中的心理测量学特性。 研究方法：招募200名年龄介于40至65岁的中年女性，令其填写通用社会人口学与医学调查问卷、绝经期特异性生活质量问卷（MENQOL）、健康调查简表（Short Form-36，SF-36）以及贝克抑郁量表（Beck’s Depression Inventory，BDI）。该问卷依据推荐方法完成塞尔维亚语翻译，并对其心理测量学特性（内部一致性、区分效度、结构效度、效标效度、因子分析及Rasch分析）进行了评估。 研究结果：塞尔维亚版MENQOL的克朗巴赫α系数为0.957，其中血管舒缩维度为0.917、心理社会维度为0.907、躯体维度为0.928、性健康维度为0.913。所有条目与总分的校正相关系数均大于0.50。因子分析共提取出6个维度，总方差解释率为72.02%。除原有的4个维度外，还观测到2个新增维度：吸引力维度与疼痛维度。所有条目的因子载荷均符合要求（>0.4）。MENQOL总分与SF-36及BDI总分呈显著相关，提示其具备良好的效标效度。Rasch分析结果显示，该量表具备充足的信度指标（条目信度为0.91，个体信度为0.79）与分离度指标（条目分离度为1.95，个体分离度为3.21），证实塞尔维亚版MENQOL具备良好的重现性与信度。所有条目的拟合均方与非拟合均方值均处于学界公认的标准范围内。 研究结论：主成分分析显示其因子结构与原量表存在一定差异，但Rasch分析证实MENQOL是一款用于评估更年期症状的优良测量工具。