Initial Psychometric Validation of a Self-Report Measure of the Symptoms of Mild Hypoxic Hypoxia

There has been long-standing interest in the physiological and psychological effects of mild hypoxia on aircrew, but to date there is no psychometrically valid self-report measure of subjective symptoms.

To address this gap, we developed a self-report scale along three dimensions of impairment: cognitive, sensory and affective. We administered this scale to active and retired aircrew (N = 354) with on average 25.04 yr (SD = 11.27) of military service and subjected their responses to exploratory factor analysis using Maximum Likelihood Estimation, followed by reliability analysis to determine cohesiveness of associated items.

We provide initial psychometric validation for our 12-item scale's three-dimensional structure. The internal consistency reliability of the cognitive, sensory, and affective factors was 0.90, 0.75, and 0.85, respectively.

Going forward, the consistent use of this instrument will likely reduce the methodological variability in measuring the symptoms of mild hypoxia in the literature. Vartanian O, Bouak F, Lam Q, Miles R. Initial psychometric validation of a self-report measure of the symptoms of mild hypoxic hypoxia. Aerosp Med Hum Perform. 2025; 96(9):851-856.