The Psychometric Properties of the Midlife Women's Symptom Index

To evaluate the psychometric properties of the Midlife Women's Symptom Index (MSI) among four racial/ethnic groups of midlife women in the United States.

A secondary data analysis.

Internet communities/groups.

A total of 494 midlife women with symptoms of menopause who self-reported using an Internet survey and completed all sections of the MSI questionnaire.

Data were collected from January 1, 2008 to December 31, 2010. The psychometric properties of the MSI were evaluated using measures of internal consistency, item-total correlation coefficients, and discriminant validity.

There were statistically significant differences in marital status, employment, income, religion, country of birth, level of education, diagnosed disease, and self-reported health status across the four racial/ethnic groups. The Kuder-Richardson Formula 20 (KR-20) coefficients for the three subscales of the MSI prevalence section (i.e., physical, psychological, and psychosomatic) ranged from 0.58 (psychosomatic symptoms in Whites) to 0.91 (psychological symptoms in Asian Americans). The Cronbach's alpha coefficients for the three subscale scores ranged from 0.60 (psychosomatic symptoms in Whites) to 0.93 (psychological symptoms in Asian Americans). The mean scores of the MSI differed significantly by race/ethnicity among midlife women of each menopausal status, except for the prevalence section of the psychosocial symptoms.

The MSI has demonstrated an acceptable reliability and appropriate discriminant validity across the four racial/ethnic groups, except in the domain of psychosomatic symptoms. Health care providers as well as researchers could use the MSI to assess the symptoms of menopause of midlife women from diverse racial/ethnic backgrounds.