Reliability and Validity of the Turkish Version of Illness Cognition Questionnaire

Background: This study aimed to determine the validity and reliability characteristics of the Illness Cognition Questionnaire (ICQ). Methods: A total of 205 patients who had pain related to chronic musculoskeletal diseases were referred to the study. In order to test the validity, Short Disease Perception Scale (SDPS), Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) were administered together with the ICQ. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to measure the construct validity of the ICQ, and convergent and divergent validities were evaluated using Pearson correlation analysis. In order to achieve the test-retest reliability of the questionnaire, 81 patients re-applied the questionnaire after two days. Cronbach's alpha internal consistency and test-retest reliability coefficients were calculated to determine the reliability level of the questionnaire. Results: The factor loadings of the ICQ helplessness subscale ranged from 0.784 to 0.853, the acceptance subscale ranged from 0.583 to 0.855, and the perceived benefits subscale ranged from 0.733 to 0.794. Internal consistency coefficients of the ICQ were found α = 0.929 for the helplessness subscale, α = 0.868 for the acceptance subscale, and α = 0.896 for perceived benefits subscale. The results of the analysis showed that there was a statistically significant positive correlation between the initial measurement of helplessness sub-scale and the retest helplessness subscale at 0.697 level (p < .05). A statistically significant positive correlation was determined between the test and the retest of acceptance sub-scale at 0.465 level (p < .05). A statistically significant positive correlation was found between the first test of the perceived benefits sub-scale and the retest test at the 0.661 level. Conclusion: The Turkish version of the ICQ was found to be valid and reliable. It is a measurement tool that could be used easily in clinics because of its short application time and easy to understand. We think that ICQ which provides a new awareness in the perception of disease in Turkish society should be examined in different diseases and age groups.