Adaptation and Psychometric Properties of the visceral sensitivity index (VSI)

The visceral sensitivity index (VSI) is a useful self-report measure of the gastrointestinal symptom-specific anxiety (GSA) of patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Previous research has shown that GSA is an important endpoint for intervention. However, there is currently no Iranian version of the VSI. In the present study, translated the VSI into Persian and verified its reliability and validity. Participants were 242 undergraduate university that selected by stratified random selection. The research tool was 15 item VSI that used for gastrointestinal symptom-specific anxiety assessment. The reliability and factor structure of the VSI were investigated. Results showed that factor structure of the VSI is unidimensional and similar to that of the original VSI. Also, results showed that VSI has a high reliability coefficient (Cronbach’s α = 0.93).  Totally, findings suggest that the VSI is a reliable and valid measure of visceral sensitivity in Iranian sample.