Testing the psychometric properties of Mandarin version of the fertility problem inventory (M-FPI) in an infertile Chinese sample

Abstract

The Fertility Problem Inventory (FPI) is an instrument to measure infertility-related stress, and has been widely used in a range of clinical settings. It has been translated into several languages, however there is no validated Mandarin version. The present study tests the psychometric properties of the Mandarin version of FPI (M-FPI). A hospital sample of 223 infertile Chinese couples (223 men and 223 women) completed the M-FPI along with other measures including demographics, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, and Marlowe–Crowne Social Desirability Scale, which were used to assess the reliability and validity of the Mandarin version of FPI. Results showed that the M-FPI was best reduced to a five− factor solution, and all 46 items of the M-FPI showed moderate to high internal consistency. In addition, the test of convergent and discriminant validity from this study indicated satisfactory results. These results indicate that the M-FPI as an instrument is reliable and valid for use with infertile Chinese couples in clinical assessment.

Keywords::

• Fertility problem inventory
• validity
• reliability
• infertile chinese couple

Acknowledgments

We greatly appreciate Dr. Newton’s approval of using Fertility Problem Inventory and contribution in ‘back of translation’ verification of the questionnaire. We also would like to thank the staff of IVF center at the First Hospital of Harbin Medical University, for their help in recruiting the study subjects. We also thank all the participants in this study.

Declaration of interest: The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.

Current knowledge on this subject

• Up to now, no specific inventory linked with infertility-related stress is found to be used in Chinese context.

• Although the Fertility Problem Inventory (FPI) had been validated in several languages and used in some countries, it had not been validated in a Chinese context.

What this study adds

• The study takes the infertile couple as research unit, this is different from previous studies.

• Findings of the study validate the Mandarin version of the Fertility Problem Inventory (M-FPI) with satisfactory psychometric properties, which is recommended for use in infertile Chinese couples.

• The development of the M-FPI may enrich future research on infertility in Chinese context, also including cross-culture research.