Psychometric evaluation of the Chinese version of the inventory of self-care decision-making styles of older adults: a translation and validation study

BackgroundOptimizing self-care decision-making is important for healthy aging, chronic disease management, and health promotion in rapidly aging populations. However, the absence of culturally validated instruments limits the systematic assessment of decision-making styles and the development of person-centered health management strategies for older adults in China. This study aimed to translate and culturally adapt the Inventory of Self-Care Decision-Making Styles of Older Adults (DECIDE) and evaluate its psychometric properties among Chinese older adults.MethodsThis study was conducted in two phases. In phase 1, the DECIDE was translated and cross-culturally adapted into Chinese using Brislin’s forward-backward translation procedure. Expert review and pilot testing were conducted to refine linguistic clarity and cultural relevance. In phase 2, a multicenter cross-sectional validation study was conducted from November 2025 to January 2026. A total of 3,470 older adults were recruited through multicenter convenience sampling from 15 cities in Sichuan, Liaoning, Zhejiang, and Hunan provinces, China. Psychometric evaluation included item analysis, validity assessment, and reliability testing.ResultsAll 20 items met the prespecified retention criteria, and the Chinese version retained the four-dimensional structure of the original DECIDE. Content validity was satisfactory, with I-CVI values ranging from 0.800 to 1.000 and an S-CVI of 0.950. Exploratory factor analysis yielded four factors explaining 65.73% of the common variance, and confirmatory factor analysis supported the resulting model (CMIN/DF = 2.513, RMSEA = 0.028). The AVE and CR values ranged from 0.502 to 0.588 and from 0.834 to 0.877, respectively, and the findings supported both convergent and discriminant validity. Cronbach’s α, split-half reliability, and 2-week retest reliability for the total inventory were 0.896, 0.790, and 0.861, respectively.ConclusionThe C-DECIDE demonstrated satisfactory psychometric properties in this multicenter convenience sample of older adults from four Chinese provinces. It may support the assessment of self-care decision-making styles and inform individualized health education, decision-support strategies, and public health-oriented chronic disease management for older adults.