ABSTRACT
The objective of this study was to conduct an exploratory factor analysis of the Brazilian version of the Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire (Brief IPQ). Participants were 325 adults with chronic illnesses. A principal axis factoring analysis with varimax rotation extracted two factors: Factor 1 (four items, alpha = 0.80) named emotional representation and Factor 2 (three items, alpha = 0.52) named cognitive representation. Although the factor solution found in the present study differed in part from the Leventhal's Self-Regulation Model, the Brazilian version of the Brief IPQ can be considered a valid and reliable measure to assess the perception of illness in the context of chronic diseases.
Keywords:
illness; chronic illness; illness perception; factor analysis; Brief IPQ