Testing the Simple Lifestyle Indicator Questionnaire: Initial psychometric study.

OBJECTIVE To carry out initial psychometric testing on the Simple Lifestyle Indicator Questionnaire (SLIQ). DESIGN Self-administered questionnaire to obtain data for test-retest reliability, for Cronbach alpha testing on completed questionnaires, and for blinded external validity testing. SETTING Kingston, Ont, and surrounding area. PARTICIPANTS One hundred thirty-six family practice patients with an mean age of 68 years; 58% were women. Subjects were primarily white and living in a small city and itsrural surroundings. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Test-retest coefficients, Cronbach alpha values, and correlation coefficients. RESULTS Test-retest reliability on the 12 questions ranged from 0.63 to 0.97. The Cronbach alpha was 0.58 for questions on diet and 0.6 for questions on physical activity. We found a correlation coefficient of 0.77 between participants' and blinded raters' scores on the SLIQ. CONCLUSION The SLIQ, as currently tested, is likely suitable for use in research on people who are at least similar to those in our study population. It probably should not be used in clinical settings until further testing has been carried out.