Leading-Edge phychological tests and testing research
(EN)
The study examined the validity and reliability of the Standardized Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaire-AQLQ(S) (Juniper, 1999a) in Greece. The AQLQ(S) incorporates 32 items, presented in a 7 point Likert scale, with four factors: ‘Activity Limitations’, ‘Symptoms’, ‘Emotional Function’ and ‘Exposure to Environmental Stimuli’. Following translation validity evidence, 60 Greek adults were examined. The participants were divided to 30 patients and 30 non patients, from Athens, Greece. The group of asthmatics was tested during their visits at private clinics. The non asthmatic group was recruited from the general population and assimilated the asthmatic group according to age, gender and socioeconomic status. Construct validity was tested through the following comparisons: a) patients vs non patients with asthma, b) atopic vs non atopic patients, c) younger vs older patients with asthma and d) patients with mild, moderate and severe asthma. Statistical analyses, based on multivariate and univariate tests, supported our research hypotheses. Specifically, non patients scored significantly higher than patients in AQLQ(S), indicating, therefore, higher Quality of Life (QoL). Further, atopics scored higher than non atopics, younger scored higher than older patients and finally, patients with mild and moderate asthma scored higher than patients with severe asthma.Reliability was tested with the test retest method: a) for the total sample and b) for the asthmatic group. For the total sample, r was .911 for the total AQLQ(S) score, and ranged from .834 to .946 for the four AQLQ(S) factors. For the asthmatic group, overal r was .957, while test retest correlation coefficients, for the four separate factors, ranged from .915 to .966. At this point, the first validity and reliability evidence of the Greek AQLQ(S) are reported. The construct validity of the Greek AQLQ(S) must be re examined in
the near future, through exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, to strengthen the present findings. Further, Cronbach alpha reliability coefficients will provide internal consistency evidence for the four separate AQLQ(S) factors.
(EN)
