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Establishing the Cross-Cultural Validity of the Immune Status Questionnaire Using Rasch Analysis

Bartholomew, Emerson ; Verster, Joris ; Cervin, Matti LU ; Chalmers, Rebecca A. ; Billot, Moana ; Adu, Peter ; Alyami, Mohsen ; Oyler, Danielle ; Pratscher, Steven and Sutton, Anna , et al. (2025) In International Journal of Psychology
Abstract
Reliable assessment of self-reported immune function is essential for identifying at-risk populations, monitoring public health interventions and informing global health strategies. Yet, current instruments are imprecise and lack cross-cultural validity. This study aimed to assess the cross-cultural validity of the 7-item Immune Status Questionnaire (ISQ). The Partial Credit Rasch model was applied to analyse responses to the ISQ (N = 1250) from five nations, including India (n = 250), the Netherlands (n = 250), New Zealand (n = 250), Saudi Arabia (n = 250) and the United States (n = 250). Initial analysis revealed a poor fit to the Rasch model. Using sub-test methodology, ISQ items were combined into sub-tests, resulting in an acceptable... (More)
Reliable assessment of self-reported immune function is essential for identifying at-risk populations, monitoring public health interventions and informing global health strategies. Yet, current instruments are imprecise and lack cross-cultural validity. This study aimed to assess the cross-cultural validity of the 7-item Immune Status Questionnaire (ISQ). The Partial Credit Rasch model was applied to analyse responses to the ISQ (N = 1250) from five nations, including India (n = 250), the Netherlands (n = 250), New Zealand (n = 250), Saudi Arabia (n = 250) and the United States (n = 250). Initial analysis revealed a poor fit to the Rasch model. Using sub-test methodology, ISQ items were combined into sub-tests, resulting in an acceptable fit to the Rasch model, evidence of strict unidimensionality and measurement invariance across nations. Acceptable fit permitted the production of an ordinal-to-interval conversion table included here. While physiological assessments of immune functioning provide accurate and objective evaluations of immune functioning, self-report measures remain a practical method for their ease of administration and lower cost. Findings support the reliability and cross-cultural validity of the ISQ. By applying interval conversion, physicians and researchers can improve the measurement accuracy of self-reported immune status and conduct valid comparisons across nations and to interval-level data. (Less)
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organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
in
International Journal of Psychology
publisher
Psychology Press
external identifiers
  • pmid:40461431
  • scopus:105007628225
ISSN
1464-066X
DOI
10.1002/ijop.70051
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
03868e54-9646-4624-bca5-643356fae6af
date added to LUP
2025-09-05 11:28:54
date last changed
2025-09-06 04:02:21
@article{03868e54-9646-4624-bca5-643356fae6af,
  abstract     = {{Reliable assessment of self-reported immune function is essential for identifying at-risk populations, monitoring public health interventions and informing global health strategies. Yet, current instruments are imprecise and lack cross-cultural validity. This study aimed to assess the cross-cultural validity of the 7-item Immune Status Questionnaire (ISQ). The Partial Credit Rasch model was applied to analyse responses to the ISQ (N = 1250) from five nations, including India (n = 250), the Netherlands (n = 250), New Zealand (n = 250), Saudi Arabia (n = 250) and the United States (n = 250). Initial analysis revealed a poor fit to the Rasch model. Using sub-test methodology, ISQ items were combined into sub-tests, resulting in an acceptable fit to the Rasch model, evidence of strict unidimensionality and measurement invariance across nations. Acceptable fit permitted the production of an ordinal-to-interval conversion table included here. While physiological assessments of immune functioning provide accurate and objective evaluations of immune functioning, self-report measures remain a practical method for their ease of administration and lower cost. Findings support the reliability and cross-cultural validity of the ISQ. By applying interval conversion, physicians and researchers can improve the measurement accuracy of self-reported immune status and conduct valid comparisons across nations and to interval-level data.}},
  author       = {{Bartholomew, Emerson and Verster, Joris and Cervin, Matti and Chalmers, Rebecca A. and Billot, Moana and Adu, Peter and Alyami, Mohsen and Oyler, Danielle and Pratscher, Steven and Sutton, Anna and Iqbal, Naced and Bettencourt, Ann and Reid, Vincent and Krägeloh, Christian U and Singh, Nirbhay and Medvedev, Oleg N.}},
  issn         = {{1464-066X}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{06}},
  publisher    = {{Psychology Press}},
  series       = {{International Journal of Psychology}},
  title        = {{Establishing the Cross-Cultural Validity of the Immune Status Questionnaire Using Rasch Analysis}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ijop.70051}},
  doi          = {{10.1002/ijop.70051}},
  year         = {{2025}},
}