Validation of the Scale Intended for the Assessment of the Quality of Life of Persons With Lumbal Syndrome // Validacija skale namenjene proceni kvaliteta života osoba sa lumbalnim sindromom

Abstract

In order to determine the metric characteristics of the scale intended for the assessment of the quality of life of persons with lumbar syndrome (PQL-LS) on a sample of 202 subjects (M = 93; F = 109), three procedures for checking its metric characteristics were applied: factor analysis (Principal Components Analysis) with the Direct Oblimin method, in order to identify the latent structure of the perception of the quality of life of the respondents; Scale Reliability Analysis based on Cronbach’s alpha coefficient; and a validation check based on the coefficient of internal correlation of the scale (Spearman’s correlation of rank - rho). The results show that the scale has good metric characteristics and that it has a multi-item character (twenty-seven indicators). The internal accordance of the scale is in the high reference range of the Cronbach’s alpha coefficient (0.947). The values of correlation coefficient of subscale scores: physical health, mental health, social relations and environment show a high degree of correlation with the overall mean value of the entire scale, which confirms the validity of the analyzed domains (subscale) and the scale as a whole (at the level of significance r <0.001). All 27 variables yielded the corresponding weight of the single extracted component (KMO = 0.901; Sig. = 0.000), which determined that the scale had adequate validity. Based on the identified good metric characteristics, this scale can be recommended for use as a unique/autonomous multi-item scale designed to assess the quality of life of adults with lumbar syndrome.