Skip to main content
PMC home page
American Journal of Public Health logoLink to American Journal of Public Health
. 1997 May;87(5):794–799. doi: 10.2105/ajph.87.5.794

Cross-cultural measurements of psychological well-being: the psychometric equivalence of Cantonese, Vietnamese, and Laotian translations of the Affect Balance Scale.

G M Devins 1, M Beiser 1, R Dion 1, L G Pelletier 1, R G Edwards 1
PMCID: PMC1381052  PMID: 9184508

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: This paper evaluates the cultural equivalence of Cantonese, Vietnamese, and Laotian translations of the Affect Balance Scale. METHODS: The scale was completed by 399 Vietnamese, 193 Laotian, 756 Cantonese, and 319 English speakers who were participants in the Clarke Institute-University of Toronto Refugee Resettlement Project (n = 1667). RESULTS: Confirmatory factor analyses indicated a good fit between the hypothesized two-factor model (separate factors for positive and negative affect) across the original English-language version and each of the Asian-language translations. Factorial invariance (numbers and patterns of factor loadings) was evident across all versions of the scale. No evidence of item bias was detected by mixed Language x Item analyses of variance. Acceptable reliability was observed; coefficient alphas ranged from .62 to .72 for positive affect and from .62 to .70 for negative affect items. CONCLUSIONS: These findings substantiate the cultural equivalence of the three translations of the scale for population health research. Important future research directions made possible by the availability of culturally equivalent instruments are discussed.

Full text

PDF
794

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Beiser M. Components and correlates of mental well-being. J Health Soc Behav. 1974 Dec;15(4):320–327. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Beiser M., Feldman J. J., Egelhoff C. J. Assets and affects. A study of positive mental health. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1972 Oct;27(4):545–549. doi: 10.1001/archpsyc.1972.01750280103017. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Beiser M., Fleming J. A. Measuring psychiatric disorder among Southeast Asian refugees. Psychol Med. 1986 Aug;16(3):627–639. doi: 10.1017/s0033291700010382. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Beiser M. Influences of time, ethnicity, and attachment on depression in Southeast Asian refugees. Am J Psychiatry. 1988 Jan;145(1):46–51. doi: 10.1176/ajp.145.1.46. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Beiser M., Johnson P. J., Turner R. J. Unemployment, underemployment and depressive affect among Southeast Asian refugees. Psychol Med. 1993 Aug;23(3):731–743. doi: 10.1017/s0033291700025502. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Catanzaro A., Moser R. J. Health status of refugees from Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. JAMA. 1982 Mar 5;247(9):1303–1308. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Diener E. Subjective well-being. Psychol Bull. 1984 May;95(3):542–575. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Flaherty J. A., Gaviria F. M., Pathak D., Mitchell T., Wintrob R., Richman J. A., Birz S. Developing instruments for cross-cultural psychiatric research. J Nerv Ment Dis. 1988 May;176(5):257–263. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Mollica R. F., Wyshak G., Lavelle J. The psychosocial impact of war trauma and torture on Southeast Asian refugees. Am J Psychiatry. 1987 Dec;144(12):1567–1572. doi: 10.1176/ajp.144.12.1567. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Mollica R. F., Wyshak G., de Marneffe D., Khuon F., Lavelle J. Indochinese versions of the Hopkins Symptom Checklist-25: a screening instrument for the psychiatric care of refugees. Am J Psychiatry. 1987 Apr;144(4):497–500. doi: 10.1176/ajp.144.4.497. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from American Journal of Public Health are provided here courtesy of American Public Health Association

RESOURCES