An assessment of the Arthritis Impact Measurement Scales in 3 ethnic groups.

The Arthritis Impact Measure Scales (AIMS) have established validity and reliability in general adult populations with medically diagnosed rheumatoid arthritis. Our analysis extends this work to a community based sample of elderly individuals with self reported joint systems in 3 ethnic groups: Hispanics (N = 100), whites of Eastern European origin (N = 112) and blacks (N = 105). With the exception of the Social Activity and ADL scales, acceptable reliability and validity of the AIMs scales are found for all 3 groups. The assumption of factor invariance across ethnic groups is also supported.