Abstract: Objective To evaluate the reliability and validity of SF-12v2 scale evaluating the quality of life of residents aged 40 and over in 6 counties and districts in Jiangsu Province, and obtain the reference data of standard model of residents aged 40 and over in Jiangsu Province. Methods Using a multi-stage stratified cluster sampling method, 3 583 SF-12v2 questionnaires were collected from 6 counties and districts in Jiangsu Province. Reliability was evaluated by Cronbach's α coefficient and Spearman-Brown split-half reliability coefficient, and validity was evaluated by factor analysis, the aggregation test and discrimination test. Results The Cronbach's α coefficient of SF-12v2 scale was 0.886 in 12 items, that of any dimension removed was between 0.810-0.841. The Cronbach's α coefficient of the physical component summary and the mental component summary was 0.767 and 0.759 respectively. Spearman-Brown split-half reliability coefficient was 0.795. The result of factor analysis showed that there were two principal components extracted by the method of the maximum variance orthogonal rotation, and the cumulative variance contribution rate was 61.2%. Among the eight dimensions of SF-12v2 scale, the lower limit of the aggregation test of each dimension was higher than the upper limit of the discrimination test, and the success rate of the aggregation test and discrimination test was both 100%. Conclusion The SF-12v2 scale was reliable and valid to evaluate the quality of life of residents aged 40 and over, and the scores of various dimensions can be regarded as the reference data of standard model for residents aged 40 and over in Jiangsu Province.

Key words: Quality of life scale, Reliability, Validity, Factor analysis, Standard model