Measuring the positive psychological well-being of people with rheumatoid arthritis: a cross-sectional validation of the subjective vitality scale

摘要

Introduction: People with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) frequently suffer from compromised physical and psychological health, however, little is known about positive indicators of health, due to a lack of validated outcome measures. This study aims to validate a clinically relevant outcome measure of positive psychological well-being for people with RA. The first study examined the reliability and factorial validity of the Subjective Vitality Scale (SVS), whilst study 2 tested the instruments convergent validity. Methods: In study 1, National Rheumatoid Arthritis Society members (N?=?333; M age?=?59.82 years SD?=?11.00) completed a postal questionnaire. For study 2, participants (N?=?106; M age?=?56 years, SD?=?12 years) were those recruited to a randomized control trial comparing two physical activity interventions who completed a range of health-related questionnaires. Results: The SVS had a high level of internal consistency (α?=?.93, Rho?=?.92). Confirmatory factor analysis supported the uni-dimensional factor structure of the questionnaire among RA patients [χ?=?1327 (10), CFI?=?1.0, SRMSR?=?.01 and RMSEA?=?.00 (.00 - .08)]. Support for the scales convergent validity was revealed by significant (p?