Turkish Version of the Adapted Social Role Participation Questionnaire

Overview

Participation, as defined by the International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health (ICF), refers to "engagement in a life situation" and is a key component of functional health beyond physical impairments or activity limitations. Social role participation encompasses various aspects of life, including work, family commitments, social interactions, and leisure activities. Ankylosing Spondylitis (AS), a chronic inflammatory disease affecting the axial skeleton, significantly impacts patients' ability to maintain social roles due to pain, stiffness, and reduced mobility. Existing studies highlight limitations in employment, relationships, education, and leisure activities among AS patients. While various scales assess participation, the Social Role Participation Questionnaire (SRPQ) uniquely emphasizes subjective aspects such as role importance and satisfaction with performance. Although validated versions of the SRPQ exist in English, Dutch, and Chinese populations, no culturally adapted tool is available for Turkish-speaking AS patients. This study aims to translate the SRPQ into Turkish and evaluate its validity and reliability as a culturally appropriate instrument for assessing social role participation.

The International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) defines participation as "engagement in a life situation" viewing the concept of participation that a functional element beyond body functions and activity limitations. Role participation can be considered in a multifaceted manner. This includes not only participation in a role but but also perceptions of the role's importance, the assessment of limitations or challenges in-role performance, and satisfaction with the individual's ability to fulfill a role according to personal preference. Social role participation encompasses various aspects of an individual's life, including work, family commitments, social interactions, and leisure activities. Ankylosing Spondylitis (AS), with its chronic, inflammatory, and progressive nature, primarily affects the sacroiliac joints and axial skeleton, leading to pain, joint stiffness, and reduced spinal mobility in individuals. Peripheral and extra-articular symptoms may also occur. Consequently, the physical function loss that develops in individuals reduces their quality of life and productivity, negatively impacting social role participation and the ability to maintain communal roles, affecting their overall well-being. According to the literature, it is documented that individuals with AS experience mild or greater limitations in areas such as recreation and leisure, social life, employment, close relationships, formal and informal social relationships, basic and complex interpersonal interactions, family relationships, education, and contributing to others' well-being. Existing scales related to participation differ based on the roles they include and the social dimensions they asses (vary based on the different participation roles they include and the dimensions of social roles they measure). Unlike other participation scales that assess social role participation based on frequency, restriction, or role occupation, the SRPQ is a promising tool that emphasizes the assessment of an individual's subjective aspects, particularly their desires and satisfactions, across a wide range of roles in various dimensions. From an individual perspective, the "satisfaction" dimension is particularly noteworthy, as it can be linked to numerous aspects of participation performance and other qualitative dimensions. It provides additional insights into the personal assessment of role performance. Furthermore, the "importance of the role" dimension, which reflects the value an individual assigned to a role, serves as a potential factor that qualifies performance scores. Its direct assessment may offer a possible approach to studying response shift phenomena, which influence many of the subjective aspects of participation. The English, Dutch, and Chinese versions of the SRPQ have been proven to be reliable and valid tools for measurement assessing social role participation in individuals with AS. Davis et al. have reported that this tool can also be used to evaluate the complex relationships between symptoms, disability, and participation, along with the personal and environmental contextual factors that influence them. Currently, in Turkey, there is no valid and reliable tool that simultaneously evaluates the importance, physical difficulty, and satisfaction related to social role participation in individuals with AS. This study aims to translate the SRPQ, into Turkish as it encompasses all dimensions of social role participation, and to evaluate its validity and reliability among Turkish-speaking individuals with AS, thereby providing a culturally appropriate assessment tool.