Reliability and validity of the appraisal of diabetes scale.

The present research evaluated the psychometric properties of a brief self-report instrument designed to assess appraisal of diabetes. Two hundred male subjects completed the Appraisal of Diabetes Scale (ADS) and provided blood samples that were subsequently assayed to provide an index of glycemic control (i.e., glycosylated hemoglobin). Subjects also completed either (a) additional measures of diabetes-related health beliefs, diabetic daily hassles, perceived stress, diabetic adherence, and psychiatric symptoms or (b) the ADS on two additional occasions. Results indicated that the ADS is an internally consistent and stable measure of diabetes-related appraisal. The validity of the measure was supported by correlational analyses which documented the relationship between the ADS and several related self-report measures.