Reliability and validity of the polish version of the vulnerability to Abuse Screening Scale (VASS)

J Elder Abuse Negl. 2022 Jan-Feb;34(1):56-69. doi: 10.1080/08946566.2021.2024106. Epub 2022 Jan 9.

Abstract

Our aim was to assess the psychometric properties and reliability of a Polish version of the VASS. This cross-sectional validation study involved 228 patients above 65 years of age. Authors-Designed Questionnaire, the Geriatric Depression Scale, and the Activities of Daily Living Scale were used to assess construct validity. Psychometric properties, reliability and repeatability were assessed. Cronbach's alpha coefficient for the VASS scale was 0.89. Almost all items showed a high correlation value in relation to the others (R > 0.45). A high coefficient of repeatability and narrow limits of agreement were observed in the Bland-Altman analysis. All items analyzed had excellent intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC>0.9) and weighted kappa (κ > 0.9) scores. Very strong, significant correlations with other tools confirm the accuracy of the VASS scale. Our research shows promising validity and reliability Polish version of the VASS scale to assess the risk of elder abuse and neglect.

Keywords: Elder abuse; clinimetrics; reliability; validity.

MeSH terms

  • Activities of Daily Living*
  • Aged
  • Cross-Sectional Studies
  • Elder Abuse* / diagnosis
  • Humans
  • Poland
  • Psychometrics
  • Reproducibility of Results
  • Surveys and Questionnaires