Abstract
The Illness Perception Questionnaire-Revised (IPQ-R) has been used extensively across many health conditions to measure patient illness and treatment perceptions. The constructs have an association with treatment adaptation and adherence which, in turn, are considered core factors involved in bariatric surgery outcome. This study examines the factorial validity and internal reliability of a modified (IPQ-R) in bariatric surgery candidates. After wording modifications, participants (N = 310) completed the IPQ-R as part of standard pre-surgery assessments. After removal of two items, confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) supported the original 7-factor solution of the Beliefs scale, with good to marginal subscale internal consistency. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA), with two items removed only partially supported the original 5-factor Causal Attributions scale. Internal consistency was unacceptably low for two subscales. Further research is needed to generate new items which better fit the IPQ-R to this population before research can explore the relevance of illness perceptions.
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The authors acknowledge the assistance of Caroline Boyce and Chris Dupont for assisting with participant recruitment and Steff Watts for data entry.
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LS and DS contributed to the design of the study; SK, RF, and GC facilitated site access and contributed to recruitment; LS, DS, and RS contributed to data analysis, interpretation of the findings and drafting. All authors approved the manuscript.
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In the recruitment setting, LS provides paid part-time clinical psychologist consultations and SK, RF, and GC provide contracted surgical services. Author DS declares that she has no conflict of interest in relation to this article. Author RS declares that he has no conflict of interest in relation to this article
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Appendix
Appendix
IPQ-R Causal Attributions Scale with Modified Wording Italicized
We are interested in what you consider may have been the causes of your weight problems. As people are very different, there are no correct answers for these questions. We are most interested in your own views about the factors that caused or contributed to your weight problems rather than what others including doctors or family may have suggested to you. Below is a list of possible causes and contributing factors for weight problems. Please indicate how much you agree or disagree that they were causes for you by ticking the appropriate box
Possible causes | Strongly disagree | Disagree | Neither agree or disagree | Agree | Strongly agree | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
C1 | Stress or worry. | |||||
C2 | Hereditary – it runs in the family. | |||||
C3 | A germ or virus. | |||||
C4 | Diet or eating habits. | |||||
C5 | Chance or bad luck. | |||||
C6 | Poor medical care. | |||||
C7 | Pollution in the environment. | |||||
C8 | My own behavior. | |||||
C9 | My mental attitude, e.g., thinking about life negatively. | |||||
C10 | Family problems or worries caused my symptoms. | |||||
C11 | Overwork. | |||||
C12 | My emotional state, e.g., feeling lonely, down, anxious, empty. | |||||
C13 | Aging. | |||||
C14 | Alcohol. | |||||
C15 | Smoking. | |||||
C16 | Accident or injury. | |||||
C17 | My personality. | |||||
C18 | Altered immunity. |
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Surgenor, L.J., Snell, D.L., Siegert, R.J. et al. Psychometric Characteristics of the Revised Illness Perception Questionnaire (IPQ-R) in People Undergoing Weight Loss Surgery. J Clin Psychol Med Settings 27, 79–88 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10880-019-09624-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10880-019-09624-4