Latent structure, measurement invariance, and reliability of an Arabic version of the Short Health Anxiety Inventory

Abstract

The Short Health Anxiety Inventory (SHAI) is a well-established, self-report measure of health anxiety (HA). However, no psychometrically adequate Arabic-speaking version of this measure is yet available. This study was therefore designed to provide an Arabic version of the SHAI and assess its latent structure, measurement invariance across gender, and internal consistency reliability. Forty hundred and twenty-one Saudis completed the Arabic SHAI online (68.65% women), mean age 25.90, and standard deviation 6.65. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses in different subsamples suggested a 2-factor solution: (1) illness likelihood (IL) with 13 items and (2) negative consequences (NC) with 4 items. This structure was found invariant across gender. Cronbach’s α for the full scale, IL, and NC were .85, .83, and .77, respectively. Corrected item–total correlations for all items ranged from .35 to .68. Performance on the scale did not appear to correlate with gender, while age associated weakly but statistically significant with the total score and IL factor. The present Arabic SHAI appears to be a psychometrically promising tool for the assessment of HA. Further investigations of the scale psychometrics, particularly using a paper-and-pencil format, and clinical utility are warranted.