Translation and validation of the Chinese version of the Friedman life balance scale among nursing students: A psychometric analysis

• Published in: Nurse education in practice Vol. 66; p. 103505
• Main Authors: Zhao, FangFang, Friedman, Philip H., Toussaint, Loren, Webb, Jon R., Freedom, John
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Scotland Elsevier Ltd 01.01.2023; Elsevier Limited
• Subjects: Academic Achievement; China; Chinese languages; College Students; Confirmatory factor analysis; Convergent validity; Cross-Sectional Studies; Depression (Psychology); Discriminant validity; Friedman life balance scale; Graduate Students; Health status; Hospitals; Humans; Intention; Life balance; Life satisfaction; Lifelong Learning; Medical diagnosis; Mental depression; Mental disorders; Mental health; Nursing; Nursing education; Nursing Students; Occupational stress; Perceptions; Psychological well being; Psychometrics; Psychometrics - methods; Quality of life; Quantitative psychology; Reproducibility of Results; Sample Size; Self evaluation; Social Networks; Students; Students, Nursing - psychology; Surveys and Questionnaires; Sympathy; Symptoms; Test-Retest reliability; Time use; Translation; Turnover; Undergraduate Students; Validation; Well-being; Work life balance; China; Validation; Translation; Life balance; Well-being; Friedman life balance scale; Nursing students; Life satisfaction
• ISSN: 1471-5953; 1873-5223
• DOI: 10.1016/j.nepr.2022.103505

To conduct a Chinese translation and validation of the Friedman Life Balance Scale (FLBS). Prevalence of mental disorders is high among nursing students. Life balance is important for nursing students, which may help them increase efficiency in their studies and develop physical and psychological health. Yet, little is known about life balance in nursing students. Therefore, it is crucial to evaluate the status of life balance of the students to lay the foundation for exploring its associated factors. A multi-centre cross-sectional design. The study was comprised of 420 nursing students from 15 hospitals and two educational institutes in East, North and Northeast China from July 2021 to January 2022. The Chinese version of the FLBS was translated and adapted based on published, standardized, international guidelines. Psychometric evaluation included floor and ceiling effects, factorial validity, convergent validity, discriminant validity, internal consistency, test-retest reliability, diagnosis accuracy and calibration. The tests used for validity included floor and ceiling effects, confirmatory factor analysis, average extracted variance (AVE) value, composite reliability, correlations with life satisfaction and subjective well-being. The tests used for reliability incudes Cronbach’s alpha and intraclass correlation coefficients. Diagnosis accuracy was tested by the area under the curve and calibration was tested by Hosmer-Lemeshow goodness-of-fit test. The Chinese version of the Friedman life balance scale did not demonstrate floor or ceiling effect, showing content validity is not limited. Confirmatory factor analysis showed acceptable model fit after it was modified. Convergent validity and discriminant validity of the Friedman life balance scale were supported, except subscales two and three were not discriminated well by AVE technique. The internal consistency was acceptable and the test-retest reliability was good with 0.858. The area under the curve was 0.762 and the optimal cut-off point for depressive symptoms was 44. Hosmer-Lemeshow goodness-of-fit test showed the calibration to be acceptable. Life balance is moderate among Chinese nursing students. The subscale “self-forgive, compassion, love” had the highest correlations with well-being and life satisfaction. The Chinese version of the Friedman life balance scale is a suitable instrument for assessing life balance in Chinese-speaking contexts. It also may have potential utility in identifying nursing students with or without depressive symptoms that may need further examination. Future work should examine additional samples of Chinese nursing students, as well as, perhaps other student populations to determine the extent to which the psychometric properties of the FLBS generalize to other students and contexts.