Reliability and Validity of the Defeat Scale among Internal Migrant Workers in China: Decadence and Low Sense of Achievement

Abstract

Introduction: Internal migrant workers have a great chance to experience defeat due to their low social status and economic situation. It has been reported that defeat might play a prospective role in predicting depression and anxiety; however, defeat is rarely explored among internal migrant workers due to the lack of appropriate measurement scales. The defeat scale (DS) can measure the feeling of defeat, social hierarchy reduction, and loss in social struggle. But its reliability and validity among internal migrant workers have not been reported. This study aimed to verify the content validity and structural validity of the DS among internal migrant workers in China and to explore its correlations with anxiety and depression. Methods: 1805 internal migrant workers (IMWs) were recruited by stratified multistage sampling from 16 factories in Shenzhen, China. The content validity index (CVI) was used to assess content validity. Cronbach’s coefficient alpha of each factor and the total scale were calculated to assess the reliability of DS. The scree test was used to determine the number of factors. Convergent validity and discriminant validity were estimated by calculating the average variance extracted and composite reliability. Logistic regression was performed to explore the effects of DS scores on anxiety and depression. Results: Mean score of DS among IMWs was 18.42 ± 9.40. There were 606 (33.6%) IMWs who were considered to have depression symptoms, and 524 (29.0%) IMWs were considered to have anxiety symptoms. A two-factor model was obtained and fitted well (CFI = 0.956, GFI = 0.932, IFI = 0.956, RMSEA = 0.068, SRMR = 0.052). Cronbach’s alpha reliability coefficient for the DS was 0.92. Logistic regression showed that DS scores were positively associated with anxiety and depression among IMWs. Conclusions: DS performed well among IMWs on content validity and structural validity, and it was suitable as a measurement instrument to assess defeat among this population. Defeat was positively associated with anxiety and depression and might play an important role in the mental health of IMWs.