Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2011 Oct 5:11:763.
doi: 10.1186/1471-2458-11-763.

Psychometric assessment of HIV/STI sexual risk scale among MSM: a Rasch model approach

Jian Li  1 , Hongjie Liu, Hui Liu, Tiejian Feng, Yumao Cai
Affiliations

Psychometric assessment of HIV/STI sexual risk scale among MSM: a Rasch model approach

Jian Li et al. BMC Public Health. .

Abstract

Background: Little research has assessed the degree of severity and ordering of different types of sexual behaviors for HIV/STI infection in a measurement scale. The purpose of this study was to apply the Rasch model on psychometric assessment of an HIV/STI sexual risk scale among men who have sex with men (MSM).

Methods: A cross-sectional study using respondent driven sampling was conducted among 351 MSM in Shenzhen, China. The Rasch model was used to examine the psychometric properties of an HIV/STI sexual risk scale including nine types of sexual behaviors.

Results: The Rasch analysis of the nine items met the unidimensionality and local independence assumption. Although the person reliability was low at 0.35, the item reliability was high at 0.99. The fit statistics provided acceptable infit and outfit values. Item difficulty invariance analysis showed that the item estimates of the risk behavior items were invariant (within error).

Conclusions: The findings suggest that the Rasch model can be utilized for measuring the level of sexual risk for HIV/STI infection as a single latent construct and for establishing the relative degree of severity of each type of sexual behavior in HIV/STI transmission and acquisition among MSM. The measurement scale provides a useful measurement tool to inform, design and evaluate behavioral interventions for HIV/STI infection among MSM.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Wright map.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Item difficulty invariance.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Schroder KE, Carey MP, Vanable PA. Methodological challenges in research on sexual risk behavior: I. Item content, scaling, and data analytical options. Ann Behav Med. 2003;26(2):76–103. doi: 10.1207/S15324796ABM2602_02. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Mattson CL, Campbell RT, Karabatsos G, Agot K, Ndinya-Achola JO, Moses S, Bailey RC. Scaling sexual behavior or "sexual risk propensity" among men at risk for HIV in Kisumu, Kenya. AIDS Behav. 2010;14(1):162–172. doi: 10.1007/s10461-008-9423-z. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Fergus S, Zimmerman MA, Caldwell CH. Growth trajectories of sexual risk behavior in adolescence and young adulthood. Am J Public Health. 2007;97(6):1096–1101. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2005.074609. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Kahler CW, Strong DR, Read JP, Palfai TP, Wood MD. Mapping the continuum of alcohol problems in college students: a Rasch model analysis. Psychol Addict Behav. 2004;18(4):322–333. - PubMed
    1. Rasch G. Probabilistic models for some intelligence and attainment tests. Coperhagen: Danmarks Paedagogiske Institut; 1960.

Publication types