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Introduction: The number of Italian citizens unaware of their risk of cardiovascular disease it is still very high. Aim: This study aimed to translate and preliminarily validate a brief Italian version of the Perception of Risk of Heart Disease Scale (PRHDS). Methods: PRHDS was culturally adapted to the Italian context. Then, the scale was administered to 772 healthy adults. By randomly dividing the sample into two subsamples, we tested the scale dimensionality through Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) followed by Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA). Finally, we evaluated internal consistency. Results: Psychometric properties of the scale were appropriate. EFA and CFA evidenced a unidimensional structure of a brief version of the scale, composed of six items. Internal consistency was adequate. Conclusions: Italian version of the brief PRHDS is a promising self-report questionnaire to measure cardiovascular risk perception among Italian adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Established measures of well-being rarely examine active lifestyle or religious behaviors. Though these could be assessed using individual measures, in older populations, the availability of a brief composite instrument with adequate psychometric properties would be desirable. Aims: Two studies were conducted to assess the psychometric properties (i.e., item adequacy, factorial structure, reliability and validity) of a new tool that was developed to self-rate personal satisfaction among Italian elders, the SODdisfazione dell'Anziano (SODA) Questionnaire. Methods: 135 young adults (mean age = 29.5 years, SD = 7.4) took part in Study 1, whereas Study 2 was carried out with 474 cognitively healthy 60–98-year-old people, that were asked to complete a battery of well-known well-being measures including the SODA one. Results: Study 1 showed that the SODA questionnaire is a reliable and valid self-report tool defined by three factors, assessing satisfaction about physical and cognitive health, religious well-being, and satisfaction about time spent for leisure activities, respectively. Study 2 replicated the outcomes of Study 1, highlighting the factor structure of the SODA inventory. Moreover, a series of stepwise linear regression analyses pointed out what factors (i.e., education, physical health, social desirability, participation to outdoor leisure activities, gender, and age) predicted the variance relative to the SODA indexes. Discussion: Current findings show the solid psychometric properties of SODA. Conclusions: SODA represents a brief, but reliable and valid, instrument for the assessment of satisfaction (focused on the state level) in late adult span. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study is to validate the Italian version of the Mental Health Knowledge Schedule (MAKS-I). The validation process included: linguistic validation; analysis of the feasibility; face validity; internal consistency; floor and the ceiling effects; divergent validity. Multiple linear regression was performed to examine the relationship between mental health knowledge and independent variables. MAKS-I was administered to 453 people. The linguistic validation was successful and face validity of the questionnaire showed no critical issues. The estimated composite reliability was 0.638. Divergent validity was supported by lack of statistical significant correlation between MAKS-I and RIBS-I with a positive correlation index. Participation in seminars or conferences related to the issue of mental health stigma, gender, qualification and having a first or second-degree relatives with a psychiatric disorder can be considered possible predictors of the MAKS-I score. MAKS-I is a reliable questionnaire to assess mental health knowledge and familiarity with psychiatric clinical conditions in Italian language. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]