Design and Psychometric Properties of a Questionnaire for Assessing Sexual and Reproductive Health Needs of Married Adolescent Women: An Exploratory Sequential Mixed Methods Study

Abstract BackgroundTo date, there is no valid and reliable instrument to specifically evaluate the married adolescent women's SRH needs. Hence, the aim of this study was to develop and evaluate the psychometric properties of a questionnaire for assessing Iranian married adolescent women's SRH needs. MethodsThe current exploratory sequential mixed method study was performed in two phases. In the first phase, a preliminary questionnaire was developed based on in-depth interviews with 34 married adolescent women and 4 key informants as well as a comprehensive literature review. In the second phase, validity of the questionnaire was assessed using face, content, and construct validity and reliability of the questionnaire was assessed using internal consistency and test-retest reliability.ResultsBased on qualitative content analysis and literature review, 137 items were extracted. After several modifications of the generated items, a 108-item questionnaire was prepared for the psychometric process. After checking face and content validity, 85 items remained in the study. In the exploratory factor analysis, eleven items were removed and the remaining 74 items were categorized into nine factors. The Cronbach's alpha coefficient and the Intraclass correlation coefficient were found to be 0.878 and 0.99 for whole scale, respectively.Conclusions The 74-item questionnaire has acceptable validity and reliability. Therefore, it can be used as an appropriate instrument for assessing married adolescent women's SRH needs.