Reliability and validity evaluation of the Chinese version of Strategies for Weight Management questionnaire among overweight and obese college students
- 1School of Nursing, Jinzhou Medical University, No. 40, Section 3, Songpo Road, Linghe District, Jinzhou, 121001 China
- 2Department of Physiology, Jinzhou Medical University, No. 40, Section 3, Songpo Road, Linghe District, Jinzhou, 121001 China
Abstract
Background: Overweight and obesity are increasingly prevalent among Chinese college students, negatively affecting their physical and mental health, financial well‑being, and long‑term survival. To address this, greater emphasis on weight management behaviors among them is needed. However, no validated questionnaire currently exists to assess such behaviors specifically in Chinese overweight and obese college students. Thus, a psychometrically sound instrument tailored to this population is urgently required.
Methods: The cross-sectional study was conducted between May and June 2025. A total of 945 overweight and obese college students were recruited from Jinzhou Medical University. The Strategies for Weight Management (SWM) questionnaire was translated into Chinese following the World Health Organization (WHO) translation guidelines. The Chinese version’s validity (content, construct, convergent, and discriminant) was evaluated using expert review and factor analysis. Its reliability was assessed through internal consistency and test-retest methods.
Results: After the removal of item 4, the Chinese SWM contained 19 items. Content validity indices were high (Item-Content Validity Index (I-CVI): 0.8 to 1.0; Scale-Content Validity Index/Average (S-CVI/Ave): 0.968). The four-factor structure was confirmed through exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The CFA model fit was acceptable: the chi-square degree of freedom (χ2/df) = 3.329, goodness-of-fit index (GFI) = 0.901, incremental fit index (IFI) = 0.920, Tucker-Lewis index (TLI) = 0.906, comparative fit index (CFI) = 0.920, root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) = 0.068. Convergent validity was supported by the construct reliability (CR) values of 0.83 to 0.86 and the average variance extracted (AVE) values of 0.46 to 0.67. Reliability metrics included McDonald’s omega coefficient of 0.873 for the whole questionaire, 0.835 to 0.852 for the four factors, and a test-retest correlation of 0.826.
Conclusions: The psychometric properties of the Chinese version of the SWM were acceptable. However, caution is warranted when applying this questionnaire to other research contexts, as the original sample was drawn from a single medical university and consisted predominantly of female and lower‑grade students. Therefore, to ensure scientifically sound and accurate measurement, further validation of the Chinese version of the SWM is necessary using samples from multiple universities and more diverse populations.
Related
- Content validation of the Eating Behavior and Appetite Questionnaire (EBAQ) in adolescents with obesity or overweight.
- Reliability and validity of the Japanese version of the Sleep Problem Acceptance Questionnaire
- Development and reliability test of the work stress questionnaire for cancer survivors after returning to work (WSQ-CS)
- Persian Version of the Teen Attitudes to Substances and the Risks Facing Teens Questionnaire: Face Validity and Reliability
- The reliability of the adverse childhood experiences questionnaire for late postpartum use in relation to maternal emotional health
BibTeX
@article{zhang2026reliability,
title = {{Reliability and validity evaluation of the Chinese version of Strategies for Weight Management questionnaire among overweight and obese college students}},
author = {Ying Zhang and Xuefeng Yang},
journal = {BMC Public Health},
year = {2026},
month = aug,
doi = {10.1186/s12889-026-28837-5},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-026-28837-5},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Reliability and validity evaluation of the Chinese version of Strategies for Weight Management questionnaire among overweight and obese college students
AU - Ying Zhang
AU - Xuefeng Yang
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/08/12
JO - BMC Public Health
DO - 10.1186/s12889-026-28837-5
UR - https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-026-28837-5
AB - Background: Overweight and obesity are increasingly prevalent among Chinese college students, negatively affecting their physical and mental health, financial well‑being, and long‑term survival. To address this, greater emphasis on weight management behaviors among them is needed. However, no validated questionnaire currently exists to assess such behaviors specifically in Chinese overweight and obese college students. Thus, a psychometrically sound instrument tailored to this population is urgently required. Methods: The cross-sectional study was conducted between May and June 2025. A total of 945 overweight and obese college students were recruited from Jinzhou Medical University. The Strategies for Weight Management (SWM) questionnaire was translated into Chinese following the World Health Organization (WHO) translation guidelines. The Chinese version’s validity (content, construct, convergent, and discriminant) was evaluated using expert review and factor analysis. Its reliability was assessed through internal consistency and test-retest methods. Results: After the removal of item 4, the Chinese SWM contained 19 items. Content validity indices were high (Item-Content Validity Index (I-CVI): 0.8 to 1.0; Scale-Content Validity Index/Average (S-CVI/Ave): 0.968). The four-factor structure was confirmed through exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The CFA model fit was acceptable: the chi-square degree of freedom (χ2/df) = 3.329, goodness-of-fit index (GFI) = 0.901, incremental fit index (IFI) = 0.920, Tucker-Lewis index (TLI) = 0.906, comparative fit index (CFI) = 0.920, root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) = 0.068. Convergent validity was supported by the construct reliability (CR) values of 0.83 to 0.86 and the average variance extracted (AVE) values of 0.46 to 0.67. Reliability metrics included McDonald’s omega coefficient of 0.873 for the whole questionaire, 0.835 to 0.852 for the four factors, and a test-retest correlation of 0.826. Conclusions: The psychometric properties of the Chinese version of the SWM were acceptable. However, caution is warranted when applying this questionnaire to other research contexts, as the original sample was drawn from a single medical university and consisted predominantly of female and lower‑grade students. Therefore, to ensure scientifically sound and accurate measurement, further validation of the Chinese version of the SWM is necessary using samples from multiple universities and more diverse populations.
SN - 1471-2458
ER -