Establishing Convergent Validity of the FACE-Q Aesthetics Module Scales

BACKGROUND: FACE-Q Aesthetics scales can be used to assess patient-important outcomes following both surgical and nonsurgical facial cosmetic interventions. Convergent validity is the degree to which the scores of one measurement relate to another measuring a similar construct. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to establish the convergent validity of 11 FACE-Q Aesthetics appearance scales vs the MERZ Aesthetics (Raleigh, NC) scales. METHODS: Data were collected from an online international sample of participants aged ≥20 years, who had presented to a dermatologist or plastic surgeon within the previous 12 months for a minimally invasive facial aesthetic treatment. Participants provided demographic and clinical data and completed 11 FACE-Q Aesthetics scales and 12 MERZ Aesthetics scales. Hypotheses regarding the strength of correlations between these scales were generated a priori. Adequate convergent validity was based on the percentage of correct hypotheses (>75%) and/or correlation ≥0.50 with an instrument measuring a similar construct. RESULTS: In total, 1259 participants were included in this survey. The mean [standard deviation] age of the participants was 42.6 [11.9] years old, and most were female (72.5%), Caucasian (76.9%), and living in the United States (49.9%) or the United Kingdom (42.9%). FACE-Q Lines Overall, Lower Face and Jawline, Appraisal of Lines-Forehead/Between Eyebrows/Crow's Feet/Lips/Nasolabial Folds/Marionette, and Lips scales demonstrated adequate convergent validity with patient-reported MERZ Aesthetics scales. The FACE-Q Face Overall and Cheeks scales did not show adequate convergent validity. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides evidence of convergent validity for FACE-Q Aesthetics appearance scales. Establishing the validity of these scales remains an iterative process and further studies comparing the FACE-Q to other related measurement tools are required to strengthen this evidence. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: 4 (DIAGNOSTIC):