Hierarchical measurement structure in the Women's Health Questionnaire: a confirmatory factor analysis

Area of Science:

• Reproductive Medicine
• Psychometrics
• Women's Health

Background:

• The Women's Health Questionnaire (WHQ) is used to assess well-being in women.
• Understanding its measurement structure is crucial for accurate interpretation of results.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine the measurement structure of the Women's Health Questionnaire (WHQ).
• To determine how the components of the WHQ are organized.
• To validate the WHQ's utility in assessing postmenopausal women's health.

Main Methods:

• Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was performed on data from 448 postmenopausal women.
• Multiple measurement models were tested for their fit to the data.
• A hierarchical model with two second-order factors (physical and mental health) was evaluated.

Main Results:

• A single-factor model showed poor fit, indicating multidimensionality.
• A seven-correlated-factor model demonstrated good fit.
• A hierarchical model with seven first-order factors under two second-order factors (physical and mental health) exhibited excellent fit.

Conclusions:

• The WHQ's structure supports distinct physical and mental health functioning scores.
• Findings suggest the WHQ can provide summary scores for physical and mental health.
• These scores aid in evaluating the overall well-being of postmenopausal women.