The cross-cultural adaptation and psychometric properties of the menstrual symptom questionnaire (MSQ) among Chinese women of reproductive age

OBJECTIVE: This study reports on a translation of the Menstrual Symptom Questionnaire (MSQ) into Chinese, a cross-cultural adaptation among Chinese women of reproductive age, and an assessment of its reliability and validity. METHODS: Previously published translation guidelines were followed to translate and cross-culturally adapt the English version of MSQ to produce a Chinese version. This Chinese version was then administered to 2800 Chinese women of reproductive age recruited by convenience sampling method. The reliability of the Chinese MSQ was tested for internal consistency and test-retest reliability. The concurrent and construct validity of the questionnaire was evaluated using correlation and factor analysis. RESULTS: The Chinese version of the MSQ showed no linguistic or semantic issues. The internal consistency of the Chinese MSQ Cronbach'α = 0.912, and the test-retest reliability r = 0.911. The exploratory factor analysis identified four factors. The confirmatory factor analysis demonstrated that the four factor structure of the Chinese version of the MSQ (Pain Experience, Emotional Changes, Pain Coping Strategies, and Other Physical Symptoms) is reasonable among Chinese women of reproductive age. There was a significant correlation found between these four factors and both the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index and the SF-8 Health Survey. CONCLUSION: The Chinese version of the MSQ achieved semantic equivalence in translation and demonstrated good reliability and validity among Chinese women of reproductive age. Thus, it can serve as an effective tool to assess the experience of menstrual symptoms among Chinese women.