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. 2024 Jan 2;19(1):e0295812.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0295812. eCollection 2024.

Reliability and validity of a simplified touch experiences and attitudes questionnaire for Chinese college students

Lei Yang  1   2 , Xuelian Li  2 , Zhijie Xie  2 , Lujun Shen  2   3
Affiliations

Reliability and validity of a simplified touch experiences and attitudes questionnaire for Chinese college students

Lei Yang et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

Touch cultures have both differences and commonalities in different regions. The Touch Experiences and Attitudes Questionnaire (TEAQ) is a widely applicable self-report tool. The purpose of our research was to examine the validity and reliability of the Chinese version of TEAQ for Chinese college students. We translated the 57 items of the original TEAQ into Chinese and assessed its cultural and linguistic adaptation in Chinese context. Two samples were recruited for the assessment of validity and reliability. The Social Support Rating Scale, Index of Well-being Scale and Security Questionnaire were chosen as criterion-related validity indicators. Item analysis, principal component analysis and confirmatory factor analysis indicated that the simplified Chinese version of TEAQ contained 18 items in three factors: Attitude to Intimate Touch, Childhood Touch and Current Positive Touch, with a cumulative variance contribution rate of 57.12%. The 3-factor model had good validity and reliability. The TEAQ was positively correlated with social support, sense of security and well-being. There were demographic differences in sex and left-behind experience. We anticipate the simplified TEAQ will be a valuable tool for the research of touch among Chinese college students.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

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Publication types

Grants and funding

This study was funded by the Tianjin Research Innovation Project for Postgraduate Students (2022BKYZ021): L Y; the Philosophy and Social Sciences Planning Projects of Henan Province (2021BSH015): L Y. This work was also supported by Henan Province Medical Discipline-Medical Psychology. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.