Reliability and validity of Chinese revision of rumination on sadness scale in undergraduates

Abstract

Objective To revise rumination on sadness scale (RSS) and evaluate the reliability and validity of the Chinese version rumination on sadness scale(RSS-C) in Chinese undergraduates. Methods A total of 1 166 undergraduates from 4 universities in Hunan province completed RSS, ruminative response scale (RRS) and Beck depression inventory-Ⅱ(BDI-Ⅱ). The test-retest was conducted in 111 participants 2 weeks later. Results Item analysis and exploratory factor analysis showed the RSS-C included 11 items, consisting of causal analysis, understanding oneself and one’s sadness and uncontrollability of ruminative thinking factors.The scores of each item in the high score group were significantly higher than those in the low group(P<0.001), and the correlation between each item and the total score was significant(r=0.594-0.719, P<0.001). The confirmatory factor analysis indicated good fit(χ2/df=3.938, GFI=0.957, NFI=0.940, CFI=0.954, TLI=0.930, IFI=0.954, RMSEA=0.070). The internal consistency for RSS-C and three factors ranged from 0.694 to 0.868, and the test-retest reliability ranged from 0.620 to 0.833.The scores on RSS-C and three factors were significantly associated with RRS(r=0.555-0.637, P<0.01), BDI-II(r=0.211-0.403, P<0.01) respectively. Conclusion RSS-C has good reliability and validity and can be used as an effective instrument to assess rumination on sadness in Chinese undergraduates. Key words: Rumination on sadness; Scale revision; Reliability; Validity