Preliminary evidence on the measurement properties of the Chinese version of the Child Health Questionnaire, parent form (CHQ-pF50) and child form (CHQ-CF87).

UNLABELLED: The objective of this study was to evaluate the reliability and construct validity of the Chinese parent form (PF50) and child form (CF87) of the Child Health Questionnaire (CHQ). METHODS: To assess the construct validity and reliability of the Chinese versions, we invited 1099 parents of healthy children and 816 school children to complete the Chinese CHQ-PF50 and CHQ-CF87, respectively. RESULTS: Psychometric analysis on item convergent validity and discriminant validity showed > or = 99% rates of success for all 10 scales in the CF87 and > or = 94% for all but one scale in the PF50, the exception being general health scale (86%). We observed minimal floor effects for both questionnaires, but substantial ceiling effects for five scales in both the PF50 and CF87 (physical functioning, role-emotional/behavioral, role-physical, bodily pain and family activities). A substantially lower ceiling effect was observed for the physical scale and bodily pain in the CF87 (19% and 25%, respectively) relative to the PF50 (46% and 42%, respectively). The median alpha coefficient for CF87 and PF50 was 0.90 (range, 0.80-0.94) and 0.78 (range, 0.44-0.88), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that the Chinese CHQ-PF50 and CHQ-CF87 are robust and sufficiently reliable for group comparisons and perhaps also for use in other Chinese populations.

Gender difference in self-esteem of Hong Kong Chinese with cardiac diseases.

Self-esteem is an indicator of a person's subjective quality of life due to its close relationship to a person's behavioural competence, positive self-experience, and sense of self-actualization. The present study aimed to investigate the basis of self-esteem in people with cardiac diseases, according to gender, after their cardiac surgery. The findings showed that there were prominent gender differences in the subjects' self-esteem. Women (aged<60) showed statistically significant higher ratings in the importance of 11 life events importance and the satisfaction of three life events than men. The study also found cultural uniqueness: Hong Kong Chinese (both men and women) with cardiac diseases generally indicated that social (interpersonal) self-concept dimensions were more important than achievement (personal) self-concept dimensions in their life perception. These findings are noteworthy for setting optimum goals of rehabilitation apart from return to work.