Medicina is published by MDPI from Volume 54 Issue 1 (2018).
Articles in this Issue were published by another publisher in Open Access under a CC-BY (or CC-BY-NC-ND) licence.
Articles are hosted by MDPI on mdpi.com as a courtesy and upon agreement with Lithuanian Medical Association, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, and Vilnius University.
Reliability and validity of the Lithuanian Tinnitus Handicap Inventory
by
Ingrida Ulozienė 1,*, Renata Balnytė 2, Giedrė Alzbutienė 1, Irina Arechvo 3, Antanas Vaitkus 2, Milda Šileikaitė 1, Viktoras Šaferis 4 and Virgilijus Ulozas 1
Ingrida Ulozienė 1,*, Renata Balnytė 2, Giedrė Alzbutienė 1, Irina Arechvo 3, Antanas Vaitkus 2, Milda Šileikaitė 1, Viktoras Šaferis 4 and Virgilijus Ulozas 1
1
Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Medical Academy, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, Kaunas, Lithuania
2
Department of Neurology, Medical Academy, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, Kaunas, Lithuania
3
Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Vilnius University Hospital, Vilnius, Lithuania
4
Department Physics, Mathematics and Biophysics, Faculty of Medicine, Medical Academy, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, Kaunas, Lithuania
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Medicina 2016, 52(4), 223-228; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.medici.2016.07.002
Received: 18 January 2016 / Revised: 1 July 2016 / Accepted: 9 July 2016 / Published: 22 July 2016
Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the reliability and validity of the Lithuanian version of the Tinnitus Handicap Inventory (THI), a self-report measure of perceived tinnitus handicap.
Materials and methods: A cross-sectional psychometric validation study was performed in the University Hospital. A total of 248 subjects reporting chronic tinnitus as their primary complaint or secondary to hearing loss were encluded in the study and filled in the Lithuanian version of THI. For assessment of construct validity a subgroup of 55 participants completed the Lithuanian version of the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale as a measure of self-perceived levels of anxiety and depression. Test–retest and internal consistency reliability as well as construct validity were calculated.
Results: The Lithuanian version of the THI and its subscales showed a robust internal consistency reliability (Cronbach's alpha = 0.93) comparable to the original version. Sta- tistically significant correlations were observed between the Lithuanian translation of the THI and the measures of self-perceived levels of anxiety and depression using HADS. Confirmatory factor analysis demonstrated that the three subscales of the THI Lithuanian version corresponded to three different factors, which strongly correlated between themselves.
Conclusions: The results suggest that the Lithuanian version of THI maintains its original validity and may serve as reliable and valid measure of general tinnitus related distress that can be used in a clinical setting to quantify the impact of tinnitus on daily living.
Materials and methods: A cross-sectional psychometric validation study was performed in the University Hospital. A total of 248 subjects reporting chronic tinnitus as their primary complaint or secondary to hearing loss were encluded in the study and filled in the Lithuanian version of THI. For assessment of construct validity a subgroup of 55 participants completed the Lithuanian version of the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale as a measure of self-perceived levels of anxiety and depression. Test–retest and internal consistency reliability as well as construct validity were calculated.
Results: The Lithuanian version of the THI and its subscales showed a robust internal consistency reliability (Cronbach's alpha = 0.93) comparable to the original version. Sta- tistically significant correlations were observed between the Lithuanian translation of the THI and the measures of self-perceived levels of anxiety and depression using HADS. Confirmatory factor analysis demonstrated that the three subscales of the THI Lithuanian version corresponded to three different factors, which strongly correlated between themselves.
Conclusions: The results suggest that the Lithuanian version of THI maintains its original validity and may serve as reliable and valid measure of general tinnitus related distress that can be used in a clinical setting to quantify the impact of tinnitus on daily living.
Keywords:
Tinnitus; Tinnitus Handicap Inventory; Depression; Anxiety; Quality of life
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives License (CC BY-NC-ND)
MDPI and ACS Style
Ulozienė, I.; Balnytė, R.; Alzbutienė, G.; Arechvo, I.; Vaitkus, A.; Šileikaitė, M.; Šaferis, V.; Ulozas, V. Reliability and validity of the Lithuanian Tinnitus Handicap Inventory. Medicina 2016, 52, 223-228.
Show more citation formats