Adaption and validation of the Perceived Control of Internal States Scale (PCOISS) in Chinese adults: a cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND: Perceived control of internal states is important for disease prevention, stress buffering and life adaptability. However, there is no psychometric scale to measure control beliefs over internal states in China. This study aimed to adapt and validate the Perceived Control of Internal States Scale (PCOISS) in a large sample of Chinese adults. METHODS: Data was collected through a big project, in which a cross-sectional online survey was conducted nationwide in China using a powerful Chinese online survey platform named WenJuanXing (https://www.wjx.cn/). We translated the PCOISS into Chinese (C-PCOISS) with the forward–backward translation procedure. For the first time of the survey, a sample of 2709 participants (Sample 1) was valid for final analysis. Sample 1 was split into two datasets for principal component analysis (PCA) (n(A) = 1355) and confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) (n(B) = 1354) to determine potential factor structure. The scale’s validity (i.e., discriminant validity, convergent validity, criterion validity) and internal consistency reliability were evaluated. Among the 1354 respondents (n(B)), 761 (n(C) = 761) participated in the follow-up second wave of the survey to assess a cross-sectional test–retest reliability. RESULTS: The C-PCOISS retained 14 items. PCA yielded a three-factor model which was supported with the best fit indices in CFA. The C-PCOISS had satisfactory internal consistency with Cronbach’s alpha coefficients of 0.86, 0.78 and 0.72 for three subscales, respectively. The scale also showed adequate test–retest reliability (Pearson correlations coefficient of 0.64, 0.62 and 0.54 with p < 0.001 for three subscales, respectively). Three factors of the C-PCOISS were positively associated with positive affect, and negatively associated with negative affect, depression, compulsion-anxiety and perceived stress. CONCLUSIONS: The C-PCOISS is reliable and valid for measuring control beliefs over internal states in Chinese adults. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s40359-022-01004-2.