Validity and reliability of male andropause symptoms self-assessment questionnaire among elderly males in Khuzestan province of Iran

BACKGROUND: Andropause is a condition of decreasing testosterone in men that usually begins to occur at about 40 years of age. Many men find it difficult to acknowledge there may be a problem by refusing to even talk about the symptoms. AIMS: The study was conducted to the standards of MASSQ (2012) within male older adults to introduce a relevant criterion. MATERIALS AND METHODS: About 382 men with age range of 50-80 and with the mean age of 65.3 ± 2.32 were sampled with the cluster-ratio sampling method from the eight cities of Khuzestan province in southwestern Iran. The aged samples replied to the 25 items of MASSQ. RESULTS: Coefficients of Cronbach's alpha (α = 0.89), split-half (0.91), convergent validity (0.72), divergent validity (−0.32), and criterion validity (0.67) were estimated, which were significant at P < 0.01. The exploratory factor analysis demonstrated that the 25-items of MASSQ for aged samples are organized into four factors (sexual, somatic, psychic, and behavioral) which clarify 79% of the scale's variance. Second-order confirmatory factor analysis pointed out that the factors are well-matched up onto a principal factor. Consequently, the four-factor model was well appropriate for the data by the fit index techniques for adjusting the scale [adjusted goodness of fit index = 0.92, goodness-of-fit statistic = 0.91, root mean square error of approximation = 0.006, incremental fit index = 0.94, normed fit index = 0.91, comparative fit index = 0.97]. CONCLUSIONS: The results pointed to the well-adjusted reliability and validity of MASSQ and its usefulness for the relevant studies as well.