article · BMC Psychiatry
Validating reliable psychological measurement tools for Arabic speakers addresses a notable shortage of robust assessment instruments. An Arabic translation of the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support was evaluated using a cross-sectional web survey administered to 387 non-clinical Lebanese adults. The instrument demonstrated high internal consistency across all dimensions, with McDonald omega coefficients ranging between 0.94 and 0.97. Confirmatory factor analysis supported the validity of the three-factor model, and tests demonstrated measurement invariance across genders, with no significant differences observed between men and women. Furthermore, social support scores correlated positively and significantly with measures of resilience and posttraumatic growth, providing evidence of convergent validity. The translated scale provides a preliminary validated measure of perceived social support suitable for research and clinical contexts involving Arabic-speaking populations.
Social support is closely tied to resilience and recovery from psychological distress. Having an empirically validated Arabic translation of a widely used assessment tool addresses a documented shortage of standardised measures for Arabic-speaking populations, enabling healthcare professionals and researchers to assess social support reliably.
The validated scale serves as an applied assessment tool for clinicians, mental health service providers, and academic researchers working with Arabic-speaking populations. The abstract indicates an applied research stage ready for use in clinical and survey settings, although broader deployment across different Arab countries requires further cross-cultural validation.
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BACKGROUND: There is a lack of methodologically strong measure to assess perceived social support among Arabic-speaking populations. Our main objective was therefore to examine the psychometric properties of an Arabic translation of the Multidimensional Social Support Scale (MSPSS) in a sample of Arabic-speaking Lebanese adults from the general population. METHODS: We adopted a cross-sectional design involving a convenience sample of 387 non-clinical Lebanese adults aged 26.17 ± 11.47 years (58.4% females). Participants were administered a web-based anonymous questionnaire containing the MSPSS, the 10-item Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale, and the Post traumatic growth Inventory-Short Form. The forward-backward translation method was applied. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and gender invariance in the MSPSS were examined. McDonald's ω coefficients were calculated as internal consistency indicators. RESULTS: The Arabic MSPSS and its subscales have a high internal consistency with McDonald's ω values between 0.94 and 0.97. CFA indicated that fit of the three-factor model was acceptable. All indices suggested that configural, metric, and scalar invariance was supported across gender. Both genders exhibited no significant difference in all MSPSS dimensions. Convergent validity was supported by showing that all three MSPSS sub-scores and total score correlated significantly and positively with resilience and posttraumatic growth scores. CONCLUSION: Although further cross-cultural validations involving other Arab countries and communities are still needed, we preliminarily suggest that this scale is applicable to the broad Arabic-speaking people for the measurement of perceived social support in clinical and research contexts.
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DOI: 10.1186/s12888-023-04937-z
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