Psychometric Properties of a Brief Version of the Perception of Risk of Heart Disease Scale in an Italian Sample

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.