Pilcher June J, Switzer Fred S, Munc Alec, Donnelly Janet, Jellen Julia C, Lamm Claus
a Department of Psychology , Clemson University , Clemson , SC , USA.
b Social, Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Unit, Department of Basic Psychological Research and Research Methods, Faculty of Psychology , University of Vienna , Vienna , Austria.
Chronobiol Int. 2018 Apr;35(4):533-545. doi: 10.1080/07420528.2017.1420075. Epub 2018 Jan 17.
The purpose of this study is to examine the psychometric properties of the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) in two languages, German and English. Students from a university in Austria (N = 292; 55 males; mean age = 18.71 ± 1.71 years; 237 females; mean age = 18.24 ± 0.88 years) and a university in the US (N = 329; 128 males; mean age = 18.71 ± 0.88 years; 201 females; mean age = 21.59 ± 2.27 years) completed the ESS. An exploratory-factor analysis was completed to examine dimensionality of the ESS. Item response theory (IRT) analyses were used to provide information about the response rates on the items on the ESS and provide differential item functioning (DIF) analyses to examine whether the items were interpreted differently between the two languages. The factor analyses suggest that the ESS measures two distinct sleepiness constructs. These constructs indicate that the ESS is probing sleepiness in settings requiring active versus passive responding. The IRT analyses found that overall, the items on the ESS perform well as a measure of sleepiness. However, Item 8 and to a lesser extent Item 6 were being interpreted differently by respondents in comparison to the other items. In addition, the DIF analyses showed that the responses between German and English were very similar indicating that there are only minor measurement differences between the two language versions of the ESS. These findings suggest that the ESS provides a reliable measure of propensity to sleepiness; however, it does convey a two-factor approach to sleepiness. Researchers and clinicians can use the German and English versions of the ESS but may wish to exclude Item 8 when calculating a total sleepiness score.
本研究旨在检验爱泼沃斯思睡量表（ESS）在德语和英语两种语言中的心理测量特性。来自奥地利一所大学（N = 292；55名男性；平均年龄 = 18.71 ± 1.71岁；237名女性；平均年龄 = 18.24 ± 0.88岁）和美国一所大学（N = 329；128名男性；平均年龄 = 18.71 ± 0.88岁；201名女性；平均年龄 = 21.59 ± 2.27岁）的学生完成了ESS测试。进行了探索性因素分析以检验ESS的维度。使用项目反应理论（IRT）分析来提供关于ESS各项目反应率的信息，并进行差异项目功能（DIF）分析，以检验这些项目在两种语言之间的理解是否存在差异。因素分析表明，ESS测量了两个不同的嗜睡结构。这些结构表明，ESS在需要主动反应与被动反应的情境中探测嗜睡情况。IRT分析发现，总体而言，ESS的项目作为嗜睡的测量指标表现良好。然而，与其他项目相比，第8项以及程度稍轻的第6项被受访者的理解有所不同。此外，DIF分析表明，德语和英语版本之间的反应非常相似，这表明ESS的两个语言版本之间仅存在微小的测量差异。这些发现表明，ESS提供了一种可靠的嗜睡倾向测量方法；然而，它确实传达了一种双因素的嗜睡测量方法。研究人员和临床医生可以使用ESS的德语和英语版本，但在计算总嗜睡得分时可能希望排除第8项。
