No abstract

The Short Health Anxiety Inventory (SHAI) is a well-established, self-report measure of health anxiety (HA). However, no psychometrically adequate Arabic-speaking version of this measure is yet available. This study was therefore designed to provide an Arabic version of the SHAI and assess its latent structure, measurement invariance across gender, and internal consistency reliability. Forty hundred and twenty-one Saudis completed the Arabic SHAI online (68.65% women), mean age 25.90, and standard deviation 6.65. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses in different subsamples suggested a 2-factor solution: (1) illness likelihood (IL) with 13 items and (2) negative consequences (NC) with 4 items. This structure was found invariant across gender. Cronbach’s α for the full scale, IL, and NC were .85, .83, and .77, respectively. Corrected item–total correlations for all items ranged from .35 to .68. Performance on the scale did not appear to correlate with gender, while age associated weakly but statistically significant with the total score and IL factor. The present Arabic SHAI appears to be a psychometrically promising tool for the assessment of HA. Further investigations of the scale psychometrics, particularly using a paper-and-pencil format, and clinical utility are warranted.

Early Maladaptive Schemas represent an essential component of the schema therapy model. Hence, the availability of a psychometrically sound version of the Young Schema Questionnaire is a prerequisite for utilizing this model efficiently. This study aimed to fulfill this need preliminarily. In a correlational and cross-sectional design, data were collected from a convenience sample consisting of 170 Saudis (34.1 % female), with age ranging from 16 to 54, average 23.89 (±5. 23) years. The long third form of Young Schema Questionnaire (YSQ-L3), comprised of 232 items distributed into 18 subscales (i.e., schemas), was translated into Arabic. The translated YSQ-L3 along with depression and anxiety dimensions derived from the Symptoms Checklist-90 were administered. Cronbach's αs ranged from 0.62 to 0.86 (average 0.76, ±.07). Twenty-five items (10.78 %) did not correlate with their schemas significantly. Schemas measures associated with the total score in values between 0.49 and 0.85 (average 0.73 ±.09). Except for self-sacrifice schema, schemas intercorrelations were positive and statistically significant, with an average of 0.52. With the exception of self-sacrifice and unrelenting-standards, schemas associated with depression and anxiety, in coefficients ranging from 0.30 to 0.65; and differentiated between those with high and low levels of psychological distress. No links were found between schemas and gender or age. Findings were discussed following the YSQ-L3’s theoretical basis and previous reports. Overall, findings seem to support further investigations of the psychometric suitability of the scale further, employing larger samples and advanced analytical techniques