Chinese version of Daily Record of Severity of Problems: reliability and validity

Aim To report a study of the psychometric properties of the Chinese version of the Daily Record of Severity of Problems form. Background In China, the prevalence of premenstrual syndrome is not confirmed due to lack of prospective daily tools. Daily Record of Severity of Problems was a validated daily symptom chart widely used for the diagnosis of premenstrual syndrome. There is no such an instrument for Chinese women. Methods The convenience sample included 126 female students in a school of nursing from September 2010March 2011 in China. All of them completed daily ratings for two menstrual cycles, Premenstrual Tension Syndrome Self-Rating scale and Zung Self-Rating Depression scale at the first day of menses in two cycles. Results The internal consistency coefficients of reliability for total score and the correlations of each item with the total score in two cycles were all high. The majority of the cycle to cycle testretest reliability for total scores and the individual items for the two phases of the cycle were high. Factor analysis yielded four factors describing mood, behaviour, pain, and physical symptoms. There were moderate correlations of the total Daily Record of Severity of Problems during the late-luteal phase of both cycles with Premenstrual Tension Syndrome Self-Rating scale and Zung Self-Rating Depression scale. Conclusions The Daily Record of Severity of Problems Chinese version provides reliable and valid measures of premenstrual symptoms in Chinese women. It has satisfactory psychometric properties and is suitable for nursing implication.