Abstract
BACKGROUND: Reliable instruments for assessing community integration among older adults are limited in China. The Community Integration Questionnaire-Revised (CIQ-R) was translated into Chinese and culturally adapted for use in this population. Its psychometric properties were evaluated, and its practical utility for classifying levels of community integration was examined. METHODS: Following forward-backward translation and expert review, the Chinese Community Integration Questionnaire (CIQ)-R was administered to 400 community-dwelling older adults in Zunyi (April-July 2024). Item analysis, exploratory factor analysis (EFA), and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) assessed scale structure. Internal consistency was evaluated with Cronbach's α. K-means clustering identified integration profiles and empirical cut-offs; cluster validity and between-group differences were examined with nonparametric tests and effect sizes. RESULTS: The adapted CIQ-R consists of four subscales (Family Integration, Social Integration, Productivity, Electronic Social Networking) and 17 items, following the removal of one poorly performing item (item 2.4). Cronbach's α for the full scale was 0.816. EFA (KMO = 0.808; Bartlett's p < 0.001) yielded a four-factor structure accounting for 61.25% of the variance, with eigenvalues >1; CFA provided support for the proposed model CFA provided support for the proposed model (χ (2) = 268.34, df = 84, p < 0.001; χ (2)/df = 3.19; CFI = 0.920; TLI = 0.900; RMSEA = 0.074, 90% CI: 0.064-0.084), indicating an acceptable overall model fit. K-means clustering identified three distinct and stable profiles (Low, Moderate, and High); empirical thresholds of 13.25 and 21 distinguished the groups (all pairwise comparisons p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: The Chinese CIQ-R demonstrates acceptable reliability and structural validity and provides a practical tool for identifying heterogeneity in community integration among older adults, with potential utility for population screening and community-based public health planning. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION: This study was registered with the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (ChiCTR2300071478).