Adaptation and testing of psychosocial assessment instruments for cross-cultural use: an example from the Thailand Burma border

Abstract

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to develop valid and reliable instruments to assess priority psychosocial problems and functioning among adult survivors of systematic violence from Burma living in Thailand.METHODS: The process involved four steps: 1) instrument drafting and piloting; 2) reliability and validity testing; 3) instrument revision; and 4) retesting revised instrument.RESULTS: A total of N = 158 interviews were completed. Overall subscales showed good internal consistency (0.73-0.92) and satisfactory combined test-retest/inter rater reliability (0.63-0.84). Criterion validity, was not demonstrated for any scale. The alcohol and functioning scales underperformed and were revised (step 3) and retested (step 4). Upon retesting, the function scale showed good internal consistency reliability (0.91-0.92), and the alcohol scale showed acceptable internal consistency (0.79) and strong test-retest/inter-rater reliability (0.86-0.89).CONCLUSIONS: This paper describes the importance and process of adaptation and testing, illustrated by the experiences and results for selected instruments in this population.