Translation and validation of the French version of the adolescent idiopathic scoliosis Truncal Anterior Asymmetry Scoliosis Questionnaire (TAASQ)

Purpose Scoliosis is an abnormality which causes anterior trunk asymmetry. The Truncal Anterior Asymmetry Scoliosis Questionnaire-adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) (TAASQ) measures the feeling about anterior trunk appearance in girls with AIS. It comprises 14 questions which evaluate frontal asymmetry of breasts, shoulders, and waist as well as behavioral attitude. There is currently no validated questionnaire in French to evaluate truncal asymmetry in AIS girls. The aim of this study was to translate and validate the French version of the TAASQ (TAASQ-VF). Methods The study reports the translation and transcultural adaptation of the TAASQ into French. The translation was tested on 20 patients to verify comprehension and modify if necessary. To assess the reliability of the translated version, each domain as well as the total measure were tested for internal consistency. Convergent validity was evaluated on 63 patients and test–retest on a sample of 15. Results The translation and content validation process resulted in a French version of the TAASQ. Internal consistency was over 0.80 for each item, over 0.70 for each domain, and 0.88 for the total scores. SAQ were used to perform convergent validity with TAASQ-VF. The TAASQ-FV correlated well with many of the SAQ domains ( p < 0.05) and every TAASQ-FV domain correlated with at least one SAQ domain ( p < 0.05). Test–retest reliability for the total score and for each domain was good. Conclusion The translation and cross-cultural adaptation of the TAASQ questionnaire provides a French version that can measure the feeling about frontal appearance in girls with idiopathic scoliosis.