This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Services Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire PubMed PubMed Citation

Reliability and Validity of the SF-36 Among Older Mexican Americans

Correspondence: Address correspondence to M. Kristen Peek, Department of Preventive Medicine and Community Health, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX 77555-1153. E-mail: mkpeek{at}utmb.edu

Purpose: The Medical Outcomes Study (MOS) 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36) has been validated in many diverse samples. This measure of health-related quality of life, however, has not yet been examined among older Mexican Americans, a rapidly growing subset of the older population. Design and Methods: We address the validity of the SF-36 in a sample of older Mexican Americans (N = 621) selected from the Hispanic Established Populations for Epidemiologic Study of the Elderly. Using confirmatory factor analysis through structural equation modeling, we evaluate the construct validity of this scale. Results: The results indicate evidence for a model with eight first-order factors consistent with previous research on the SF-36 and two second-order factors representing mental and physical health. Implications: This, in addition to other evidence given here, leads us to the conclusion that the SF-36 is a valid measure of health-related quality of life in this sample of older Mexican Americans.

Key Words: Older Mexican Americans • Health-related quality of life

This article has been cited by other articles:

				M. Jordan-Marsh, M. Cody, M. Silverstein, S.-Y. Chin, and R. Garcia Assessing a Self-Report Health Measure for Non-English-Speaking Elders: Issues in Using the SF-36 Health Survey Research on Social Work Practice, January 1, 2008; 18(1): 55 - 65. [Abstract] [PDF]