ADEQUACY OF AN ENGLISH VERSION OF THE KUWAIT UNIVERSITY ANXIETY SCALE BASED ON BACK TRANSLATION AND TESTING BILINGUAL SUBJECTS

2003 ◽  
Vol 93 (7) ◽  
pp. 1101 ◽  
Author(s):  
AHMED M. ABDEL-KHALEK
2003 ◽  
Vol 93 (3_suppl) ◽  
pp. 1101-1104 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ahmed M. Abdel-Khalek

An English version, a translation of the Kuwait University Anxiety Scale written originally in Arabic, was prepared. Several cycles of translation and back translation were carried out. Bilingual Arab college students, studying English language and literature ( N = 74) responded to the two versions of this scale in counterbalanced order. The correlation between the two forms was .96 denoting high cross-language equivalence. The nonsignificant mean difference for total scores between the two versions was an indication that they functioned as equivalent stimuli. Thus, the English version of the scale is highly recommended for use with English-speaking subjects.


2006 ◽  
Vol 34 (6) ◽  
pp. 651-660 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bader M. Alansari

This study investigated gender differences in anxiety among volunteer undergraduates recruited from sixteen Islamic countries; Algiers, Egypt, Emirates, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen (N= 7,506). The Kuwait University Anxiety Scale (Abdel-Khalek, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004) was used in its Arabic form for all groups except the Pakistan group, for which the English version of KUAS was used. There are significant gender differences in 11 Islamic countries out of 16 in which females tended to be higher on the anxiety scale: Egypt, Iraq, Morocco, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Lebanon, Pakistan, Algiers, Yemen and Syria, while there was no significant difference in anxiety between the genders in the following five countries: Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Sudan, Emirates and Palestine. The salient gender differences were interpreted in the light of a socialization process; especially sex-typing and gender roles.


2000 ◽  
Vol 87 (2) ◽  
pp. 478-492 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ahmed M. Abdel-Khalek

This study was undertaken to construct the Kuwait University Anxiety Scale in two comparable Arabic and English versions. The intent was to provide a research tool as well as a measure of predisposition to develop anxiety in general among adults and adolescents. The scale is comprised by 20 brief statements answered on a 4-point intensity scale, anchored by 1: Rarely and 4: Always. Factor analysis yielded three high-loaded factors of Cognitive/Affective, Behavioral/Subjective, and Somatic Anxiety, with moderate interfactor correlations. Item-remainder correlations ranged from .27 to .74. Reliabilities ranged from .88 to .92 (alpha) and between .70 and .93 (test-retest), denoting good internal consistency and stability. Criterion-related validity of the scale ranged between .70 and .88 (5 criteria), while the loadings of the scale on a general factor of anxiety were .93 and .95 in two factor analyses, demonstrating the scale's criterion-related and factorial validity. Discriminant validity of the scale was demonstrated. The scale correlated .65 with scores on the Beck Depression scale. Male adolescents attained a higher mean score than male undergraduates. Females have significantly higher mean scores than their male counterparts. Kuwaiti norms ( N = 4,660) were reported. An English version of the scale is available.


2008 ◽  
Vol 102 (3) ◽  
pp. 867-869 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ahmed M. Abdel-Khalek ◽  
John Maltby

A sample of 243 (114 men and 129 women) British university undergraduates ( M age = 22.5 yr., 52? = 5.8; M age = 22.0 yr., SD = 5.7, respectively) completed the English version of the Kuwait University Anxiety Scale. Principal components analysis with the use of parallel analysis and a scree test suggest that in the current sample the items form a single factor and show a coefficient alpha of .92, denoting high internal consistency. No significant mean difference was found by sex. By and large, the Kuwait University Anxiety Scale can be recommended for use in research among college students in the United Kingdom.


2004 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 349-357 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ahmed M. Abdel-Khalek ◽  
Joaquin Tomás-Sabádo ◽  
Juana Gómez-Benito

Summary: To construct a Spanish version of the Kuwait University Anxiety Scale (S-KUAS), the Arabic and English versions of the KUAS have been separately translated into Spanish. To check the comparability in terms of meaning, the two Spanish preliminary translations were thoroughly scrutinized vis-à-vis both the Arabic and English forms by several experts. Bilingual subjects served to explore the cross-language equivalence of the English and Spanish versions of the KUAS. The correlation between the total scores on both versions was .93, and the t value was .30 (n.s.), denoting good similarity. The Alphas and 4-week test-retest reliabilities were greater than .84, while the criterion-related validity was .70 against scores on the trait subscale of the STAI. These findings denote good reliability and validity of the S-KUAS. Factor analysis yielded three high-loaded factors of Behavioral/Subjective, Cognitive/Affective, and Somatic Anxiety, equivalent to the original Arabic version. Female (n = 210) undergraduates attained significantly higher mean scores than their male (n = 102) counterparts. For the combined group of males and females, the correlation between the total score on the S-KUAS and age was -.17 (p < .01). By and large, the findings of the present study provide evidence of the utility of the S-KUAS in assessing trait anxiety levels in the Spanish undergraduate context.


2003 ◽  
Vol 93 (5) ◽  
pp. 203 ◽  
Author(s):  
AHMED M. ABDEL-KHALEK

QJM ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 114 (Supplement_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nour Muhammad Raouf Elmessiri ◽  
Hussien Ahmed Elkholy ◽  
Mohamed Farouk Allam ◽  
Diaa Marzouk Abd el-Hamid

Abstract Background The four-dimensional symptom questionnaire (4DSQ) is a Dutch self-administered screening tool that has been developed in primary care to differentiate non pathologic general distress from depression, anxiety and somatization. It has been validated in the English language as well as other languages yet it has not been validated in Arabic. For the sake of developing the appropriate Arabic version, linguistic validation has been sought with the guidance of crosscultural adaptation guidelines. Objective To design the appropriate Arabic version of the 4DSQ that has linguistic and conceptual equivalence to its validated English version and that is appropriate for administration to Egyptian primary care attendees. Methods The validated English version of the 4DSQ was translated by 5 translators (including specialist psychiatrist, internists and English language specialist) into Arabic (Egyptian spoken dialect) without mutual consultation. An expert committee that consisted of 2 professors of public health and family medicine and an associate professor of neuropsychiatry was formed. The consensus version was created after expert committee modification and approval of each questionnaire item using DELPHI method. After that the back translation to English was carried out by two independent bilingual physicians whose English is their mother tongue. A pilot study was carried out on 17 bilingual participants after answering the questionnaire in both languages to test its equivalence. The consensus Arabic version was updated based on the pilot study and the final version was developed. The final version was then tested on 278 Egyptian primary care attendees. Results After the course of forward and back translation, expert committee’s review and developer’s comments, the final version of Arabic 4DSQ was developed for assessment of distress, depression, anxiety and somatization. There was no significant difference between results of Arabic and English questionnaire using paired T test. Final testing showed very good internal consistency of each of the 4 scales of the questionnaire. Conclusion The Arabic 4DSQ linguistically and conceptually corresponds to the validated English 4DSQ. It has good structural validity and internal consistency reliability and thus could be used in primary care after further psychometric validation.


2012 ◽  
Vol 34 (3) ◽  
pp. 147-153 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diogo A. DeSousa ◽  
Circe S. Petersen ◽  
Rafaela Behs ◽  
Gisele G. Manfro ◽  
Silvia H. Koller

Objective: To describe the cross-cultural adaptation of the Spence Children's Anxiety Scale (SCAS) for use in Brazil. Methods: Cross-cultural adaptation followed a four-step process, based on specialized literature: 1) investigation of conceptual and item equivalence; 2) translation and back-translation; 3) pretest; and 4) investigation of operational equivalence. All these procedures were carried out for both the child and the parent versions of the SCAS. Results: A final Brazilian version of the instrument, named SCAS-Brasil, was defined and is presented. Conclusion: The SCAS-Brasil instrument seems to be very similar to the original SCAS in terms of conceptual and item equivalence, semantics, and operational equivalence, suggesting that future cross-cultural studies may benefit from this early version. As a result, a new instrument is now available for the assessment of childhood anxiety symptoms in community, clinical, and research settings.


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