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

• Published in: The Gerontologist 2004-06, Vol.44 (3), p.418-425
• Main Authors: Peek, M. Kristen, Ray, Laura, Patel, Kushang, Stoebner-May, Diane, Ottenbacher, Kenneth J.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Aged; Construct Validity; Factor Analysis; Factor Analysis, Statistical; Female; Gerontology; Health; Health Surveys; Health-related quality of life; Hispanic Americans; Humans; Male; Mexican Americans; Mexican Americans - statistics & numerical data; Mexicans; Mexico - ethnology; Older Mexican Americans; Older people; Physical Health; Polls & surveys; Quality of Life; Reproducibility of Results; Southwestern United States; Structural Equation Models; Surveys and Questionnaires; Validity
• ISSN: 0016-9013; 1758-5341
• DOI: 10.1093/geront/44.3.418

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.