Reliability and validity of text neck questionnaire for assessing neck pain and its associated symptoms due to smartphone use in college going students

Abstract

Background: These days, text neck syndrome is an alarming problem as more people engage in technology. There are some tools available in the literature which are used for assessing text neck but the reliability and validity of these tools is still questionable. Moreover, the association of neck disability with various behaviors during the use of smartphones is still unclear in the literature. Therefore, this study aims to find out the reliability and validity of TNQ as a screening tool for assessing text neck and its associated factors due to smartphone use in college going students. Purpose: To examine the Reliability and Validity of Text Neck Questionnaire for assessing text neck and its associated factors due to smartphone use in college going students. Methodology: Text Neck Questionnaire was developed and Validity was assessed with content validity, analyzed by content validity index (CVI). A total of 111 participants were included in this study according to the inclusion criteria. Scale evaluation was done by assessing internal consistency reliability, inter-rater reliability, concurrent validity and construct validity. Result:The result of this study demonstrated that the TNQ has good internal consistency (Cronbach's Alpha: 0.814) and good inter-rater (ICC 0.814) reliability as quantified by ICC when used to assess Text Neck due to smartphone use in college going students. The final CVI calculated from the ratings was found to be 1. In the present study, it was also observed that the TNQ scale is moderately correlated with NPAD (Spearman rho = 0.648). Construct validity was estimated using Pearson's correlation coefficient which was found to be 0.603. Conclusion:The TNQ is a reliable and valid tool for the screening of text neck among smartphone users. It is comprehensive, culturally appropriate and user-friendly instrument for use in clinical settings as well as research purposes.