Development of the Short-Form Yin Deficiency Scale Using Three Item Reduction Approaches.

Area of Science:

• Traditional Chinese Medicine
• Psychometrics
• Health Sciences

Background:

• Yin deficiency (YD) is a common pathological condition with a 23.3% incidence.
• The 27-item Yin Deficiency Scale (YDS) assesses YD severity but can be burdensome.
• Developing shorter YDS versions is crucial to reduce patient response time.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop three short-form versions of the Yin Deficiency Scale (YDS).
• To reduce the response burden and improve efficiency in assessing Yin deficiency (YD).
• To utilize Rasch, EITC, and factor-based analyses for item reduction.

Main Methods:

• Analyzed two datasets (169 outpatients, 237 students).
• Applied Rasch analysis for optimal response categories and EITC for item selection.
• Used factor-based analysis to reduce items while preserving the YDS construct.
• Assessed reliability (PSI, Cronbach's α) and predictive accuracy (AUC).

Main Results:

• Developed two 14-item YDS versions (Rasch, EITC) and one 16-item version (factor-based).
• Achieved good reliability (PSI 2.19, Cronbach's α 0.855/0.827) and predictive accuracy (AUCs ~0.81).
• Found moderate correlations between factor-based YDS scores and dysfunctional breathing (DB) indicators.

Conclusions:

• The 14-item Rasch- and 16-item factor-based YDS versions are effective.
• These short-form YDS scales can replace the original for screening and surveys.
• Validated YDS short forms offer a more efficient assessment of Yin deficiency.