Mokken scaling of the Chinese version of the Medical Outcomes Study Social Support Survey

Purpose: To validate the Chinese Mandarin version of the Medical Outcomes Study Social Support Survey (MOS-SSS-CM) using a model of ordinal unidimensional measurement known as Mokken scaling. Methods: We administered in face-to-face interviews the MOS-SSS-CM to 200 patients with coronary heart disease. Data were analysed using Mokken scaling. Results: The MOS-SSS-CM contains a set of items which meet the criteria of a reliable (Rho = 0.87) moderate Mokken scale (H = 0.40) with weak invariant item ordering (H = 0.39). Conclusions: The MOS-SSS-CM has a hierarchy of items which can be interpreted in terms of concerns with the physical aspects of social support through the need for companionship to items related to more personal worries