Psychological Assessment, University of Kassel, Kassel, Germany.
Individual Differences and Psychological Assessment, Ulm University, Ulm, Germany.
PLoS One. 2019 Feb 7;14(2):e0211819. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0211819. eCollection 2019.
Worries about possible harmful effects of new technologies (modern health worries) have intensely been investigated in the last decade. However, the comparability of translated self-report measures across countries is often problematic. This study aimed to overcome this problem by developing psychometrically sound brief versions of the widely used 25-item Modern Health Worries Scale (MHWS) suitable for multi-country use. Based on data of overall 5,176 individuals from four European countries (England, Germany, Hungary, Sweden), Ant Colony Optimization was used to identify the indicators that optimize model fit and measurement invariance across countries. Two scales were developed. A short (12-item) version of the MHWS that represents the four-factor structure of the original version and an ultra-short (4-item) scale that only measures the general construct. Both scales show that overall levels of health worries were highest in England and Hungary, but that the main reason for concern (e.g. electromagnetic radiation or food related fears) differs considerably between these countries. This study also shows that even if measurement invariance of translated self-report instruments across countries is problematic, it can be optimized by using adequate item selection procedures. Differences of modern health worries across countries and recommendations for cross-cultural research are discussed.
在过去的十年中，人们强烈关注新技术（现代健康担忧）可能带来的有害影响。然而，跨国家翻译的自我报告测量的可比性通常存在问题。本研究旨在通过开发广泛使用的 25 项现代健康担忧量表（MHWS）的心理测量可靠的简短版本来克服这一问题，这些简短版本适用于多国使用。基于来自四个欧洲国家（英国、德国、匈牙利和瑞典）的总共 5176 个人的数据，使用蚁群优化来确定优化模型拟合和跨国家测量不变性的指标。开发了两个量表。MHWS 的简短（12 项）版本代表了原始版本的四因素结构，以及仅测量一般结构的超短（4 项）量表。这两个量表都表明，健康担忧的总体水平在英国和匈牙利最高，但这些国家关注的主要原因（例如电磁辐射或与食物相关的恐惧）有很大差异。本研究还表明，即使跨国家翻译的自我报告工具的测量不变性存在问题，也可以通过使用适当的项目选择程序来优化。讨论了现代健康担忧在各国之间的差异以及对跨文化研究的建议。
