Nursing home adjustment scale: a psychometric study of an English version

The purpose of this study was to translate the nursing home adjustment scale (NHAS) from Korean into English and assess its psychometric properties on a sample of nursing home residents in the USA.

A total of 193 older adults in six nursing homes in the Midwest were included in this study. Reliability of the NHAS in English was tested using Cronbach's alpha values for internal consistency. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were used to examine the factor structure, and correlation analysis was utilized for convergent validity.

The NHAS English showed satisfactory internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = 0.77). The NHAS English demonstrated excellent convergent validity with life satisfaction (r = 0.431), and the known group comparison showed a significant difference in means of the NHAS between the short length of stay group (≤6 months) and long length of stay group (>6 months). The NHAS in English included five factors: emotional distress, relationship development, acceptance of new residence, difficulty fitting in, and depressed mood, which were loaded on the main concept "nursing home adjustment."

The findings indicate that the English version of the NHAS is a valid and reliable tool to measure the level of nursing home adjustment for older adults who speak English.