Reliability and validity of the SF-36 among older Mexican Americans

Purpose: The Medical Outcomes Study (MOS) 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36) has been validated in many diverse samples. This measure of health-related quality of life, however, has not yet been examined among older Mexican Americans, a rapidly growing subset of the older population. Design and Method: We address the validity of the SF-36 in a sample of older Mexican Americans (N = 621) selected from the Hispanic Established Populations for Epidemiologic Study of the Elderly. Using confirmatory factor analysis through structural equation modeling, we evaluate the construct validity of this scale. Results: The results indicate evidence for a model with eight first-order factors consistent with previous research on the SF-36 and two second-order factors representing mental and physical health. Implications: This, in addition to other evidence given here, leads us to the conclusion that the SF-36 is a valid measure of health-related quality of life in this sample of older Mexican Americans.