A STUDY OF THE UNIDIMENSIONALITY AND CUMULATIVENESS OF THE MOS SHORT-FORM GENERAL HEALTH SURVEY

The unidimensionality and cumulativeness of the subscales Health Perce ptions, Mental Health, Physical Pain, and Social Functioning of the MO S Short-form General Health Survey were investigated using the Mokken Scale Analysis for Polychotomous Items (MSP). From the analyses, two u nidimensional, cumulative subscales appeared, Health Perceptions inclu ding the item on Social Functioning, and Mental Health. Both subscales met the requirements of the Mokken model, with the first scale being a 'moderately strong' hierarchical scale (H = 0.49, rho = 0.89) and th e second a 'weak' hierarchical scale (H = 0.38, rho = 0.85).