The validation of the measurement of the mental and physical components of SF-12 in Iranian elderly

This study aimed to assess the validity and reliability of the mental component summary (MCS) and physical component summary (PCS) of SF-12. 140 Iranian elderly aged 60 years and older from the general population (100 male vs 40 female) of the Shiraz city were recruited by convenient sampling. The questionnaire on quality of life (SF-12, two dimensions: the physical component α = 0.68; and the mental component α = 0.71) was used to collect the data analyzed with the AMOS software. According to the structural equation model (SEM), four subscales of SF-12 (emotional role, social function, vitality and mental health) can predict mental component summary (respectively: coefficient = 0.65, 0.57, 0.78 and 0.90) and four subscales of SF-12 (general health, physical function, bodily pain and physical role) can predict physical component summary (respectively: coefficient = 0.58, 0.70, 0.74 and 0.88). The goodness-of-fit indices showed that the model for predicting mental and physical components in the elderly was excellent (X2 / df = 1.61, RMSEA= 0.07, CFI = 0.96 and NFI=0.92).