How to assess appearance distress and motivation in plastic surgery candidates: Italian validation of Derriford Appearance Scale 59 (DAS 59)

OBJECTIVE: The Derriford Appearanc Scale (DAS) 59 was specifically designe to measure psychosocial adjustment in patient with appearance problems. Previous studie using the DAS59 have proven it to be a reliabl method of assessing the appearance-relate quality of life after plastic surgery procedures The aim of this study was to develop a vali and reliable Italian version of the DAS59 PATIENTS AND METHODS: The first Italia translation of this questionnaire was conducte according to the DAS59 protocol that was designe by the original authors of the questionnaire Eight hundred patients participated i this study and filled out three questionnaire (DAS59, General Health Questionnaire (GHQ)1 and Beck's Depression Inventory (BDI)-II). Ther were 400 adult patients with a history of previou plastic surgeries and 400 adult patient without any personal history of previous plasti surgery procedures. A total of 50 patients wer selected randomly for test-retest analysis RESULTS: The overall internal consistency wa excellent (α = 0.95) and equal to that of the origina article that first described the scale. There was good correlation between all the items. Domain demonstrated good internal consistency (Cronbach' alpha) and correlation within themselves The construct validity of the Italian DAS59 wa assessed under convergent validity that confirme the correlation with scales related to other psychologica conditions. GHQ12 showed relevant correlatio with DAS59, while BDI-II did not CONCLUSIONS: A valid and reliable Italia DAS59 version was developed that can be use for research and clinical assessment of patient with appearance problems and concerns, especiall before and after plastic surgery procedures.