The Menopause Attitude Scale (MAS)
| Mas Development | Description of the MAS | Use of the MAS in Research |
|---|---|---|
The Menopause Attitude Scale was developed in 1984 as a result of my doctoral dissertation. The MAS was developed initially using a volunteer pilot sample of 504 women, 18 years or older from the Northern Illinois area. The instrument was then revised based on the analysis of the pilot data. The revised instrument was then assessed for reliability and validity using a second sample of 419 women selected from the same Northern Illinois population. |
The Menopause Attitude Scale is based on a semantic differential model. The instrument consists of 20 sets of bipolar adjective scales. These 7-point scales are used to rate how a women feels during menopause. The MAS was assessed for convergent and discriminant validity, internal consistency, and test-retest reliability at the time of development with acceptable results. |
The MAS has been, and continues to be, used in a large number of studies where the objective is to gain a general assessment of attitude toward menopause. The instrument is usually used in conjunction with other assessment tools and it is recommended that the MAS be used in this manner because of its "one factor" nature. The MAS can be translated into other languages and has been used with non-English speaking populations. |