Positive Psychological Measure: Constructing and Evaluating the Reliability and Validity of a Chinese Humor Scale Applicable to Professional Nursing
Resource
The Journal of Nursing Research 13 (3): 206-215
Journal
Journal of Nursing Research
Pages
206-215
Date Issued
2005
Date
2005
Author(s)
Hsieh, Chia-Jung
Hsiao, Yu-Ling
Liu, Shwu-Jiuan
Chang, Chueh
Abstract
The nursing profession has generally accepted humor as beneficial to health care. As nursing has always emphasized holistic care and the importance of individual needs, the profession values the ability of humor to positively affect all aspects of a patient’s well being. The purposes of this study were to develop a “Chinese Humor Scale (CHS) for the nursing profession and then test its reliability and validity. The 405 individuals selected for participation in this study included nursing on-the-job students from a medical university and professional nurses practicing at four hospitals in north Taiwan. Researchers developed a list of 57 key humor measures which were filled out and returned by study participants. An evaluation of results using Cronbach’s alpha coefficients demonstrated good consistency (=.93) for the developed CHS. Intercorrelations amongst the four sub-scales were generally quite low, indicating each sub-scale measures dimensions relatively distinct from one another (r =.24?.48, both p’s <.001). The CHS was tested using item analysis. The scale was constructed in accordance with exploratory factor analysis (EFA) (K.M.O. =.92). Thirty CHS items, categorized under the four indices of “humorous creativity”, “tendency to laugh”, “perceptivity to humor”, and “humorous attitude”, were found to explain 55.42% of total variances. The CHS was found to provide good validity using a content validity index (CVI) developed by five experts. The results of this study provide encouraging evidence for the construct validity and reliability of the proposed humor scale and support its application by nursing educators and clinicians to further test and assess concepts related to humor. Further research is needed to explore more fully the implications of humor in nursing. ? 2005 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Inc.
Subjects
Construct validity; Exploratory factor analysis; Humor; Positive psychological measure
Other Subjects
adolescent; adult; analysis of variance; article; attitude to health; creativity; cross-sectional study; education; factorial analysis; female; health personnel attitude; human; humor; marriage; mental health; middle aged; nonverbal communication; nursing evaluation research; nursing staff; nursing student; psychological aspect; psychometry; questionnaire; religion; standard; Taiwan; validation study; Adolescent; Adult; Analysis of Variance; Attitude of Health Personnel; Creativeness; Cross-Sectional Studies; Factor Analysis, Statistical; Female; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; Humans; Laughter; Marital Status; Mental Health; Middle Aged; Nursing Evaluation Research; Nursing Staff, Hospital; Psychometrics; Questionnaires; Religion; Students, Nursing; Taiwan; Wit and Humor
Type
journal article
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