Measurement invariance of the 10-item resilience scale specific to cancer in Americans and Chinese: A propensity score-based multidimensional item response theory analysis

Muzi Liang; Peng Chen; Alex Molassiotis; Sangchoon Jeon; Ying Tang; Guangyun Hu; Yunfei Zhu; Zhe Sun; Yuanling Yu; Tish M Knobf; Zengjie Ye

doi:10.1016/j.apjon.2022.100171

Measurement invariance of the 10-item resilience scale specific to cancer in Americans and Chinese: A propensity score-based multidimensional item response theory analysis

Asia Pac J Oncol Nurs. 2022 Nov 26;10(2):100171. doi: 10.1016/j.apjon.2022.100171. eCollection 2023 Feb.

Authors

Muzi Liang¹, Peng Chen², Alex Molassiotis³, Sangchoon Jeon⁴, Ying Tang⁵, Guangyun Hu⁶, Yunfei Zhu⁷, Zhe Sun⁸, Yuanling Yu⁹, Tish M Knobf⁴, Zengjie Ye¹⁰

Affiliations

¹ Guangdong Academy of Population Development, Guangzhou, China.
² Basic Medical School, Guizhou University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Guiyang, China.
³ College of Arts, Humanities & Education, University of Derby, Derby, UK.
⁴ School of Nursing, Yale University, Orange, CT, USA.
⁵ Institute of Tumor, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, China.
⁶ Army Medical University, Chongqing, China.
⁷ Shenzhen People's Hospital, Shenzhen, China.
⁸ The First Affiliated Hospital, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, China.
⁹ South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, China.
¹⁰ Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, China.

Abstract

Objective: Little is known about the measurement invariance (MI) of resilience instruments in cancer care. This study was designed to examine MI of 10-Item Resilience Scale (RS-SC-10) in Americans and Chinese with cancer using propensity score-based multidimensional item response theory (MIRT) analysis.

Methods: A sample of 924 patients were enrolled in the Be Resilient to Cancer trial involving 1 hospital in America and 3 hospitals in China. Data were collected from the RS-SC-10 and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. Propensity score matching and MIRT were performed to evaluate Differential Item Function. Integrated Discrimination Improvement and Net Reclassification Improvement were used to indirectly estimate the MI through incremental prediction ability of MIRT-based score over total score.

Results: RS-SC-10 retained 10 items with monotonous thresholds and its original two-factor structure. Nonuniform Differential Item Function was recognized in Item 4 (P = 0.0011, Δ%β1 = 4.15%) and Item 8 (P = 0.0017, Δ%β1 = 5.99%). Net Reclassification Improvement ranged from 9.04% to 35.01%, and Integrated Discrimination Improvement ranged from 8.82% to 20.60%.

Conclusions: Although partial MI has been identified between Americans and Chinese, RS-SC-10 remains a critical indicator to emotional distress in cancer care.

Keywords: Americans; Chinese; Measurement invariance; Multidimensional item response theory; Propensity score matching; RS-SC-10; Resilience.