Validation of revised reading the mind in the eyes test in the Indian (Bengali) population: A preliminary study

Abstract

Background: Social cognition deficits are common in clinical populations but there is a dearth of standardized social cognition assessment tools in India. Theory of mind (ToM) is an important aspect of social cognition which is often assessed with the revised reading the mind in eyes test (RMET-R). However, we do not have a statistically validated version of the test for the Indian population. Aim: This study aims to assess the acceptability, reliability, and validity of the Bengali version of the RMET-R. Materials and Methods: We administered the RMET-R to 23 patients with chronic schizophrenia (SCZ), 22 patients with bipolar disorder, and 104 healthy controls (HCs) to evaluate the reliability and validity of the instrument in the Indian (Bengali) population. Results: We obtained moderate internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = 0.6) and test-retest reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient = 0.64, P < 0.001). Positive correlations were found between RMET-R and Wechsler picture arrangement ( r = 0.60, P < 0.001), picture completion ( r = 0.54, P < 0.001), and comprehension subtests ( r = 0.48, P < 0.001). Patients with SCZ ( M = 49.7, standard deviation [SD] = 16.5) scored significantly lower than HCs ( M = 68.9, SD = 13.8) ( P = 0.008; Cohen's d = 1.3) on the RMET-R. Thus this tool could discriminate patients who are reported to have Theory of Mind deficits from healthy controls. Conclusion: The Bengali version of the RMET-R is a reliable and valid tool for assessing first-order ToM insofar as the original RMET-R measures this construct.

Assessing theory of mind and social norms understanding in Indian children: adaptation and validation of Edinburgh social cognition test

“…The current adaptation uses similar measures of ToM and social norms to maintain consistency. In addition, RMET was previously used in Indian studies to measure ToM, thereby acknowledging the utility of RMET in Indian culture (Anupama et al , 2018; Chakrabarty et al , 2021).…”

“…The psychometric properties are coherent with that of SOCRATIS, although the concurrent validity and internal consistency remains unexplored (Agashe et al , 2018). Few researches have used and validated Reading Mind in the Eyes Test (RMET) in India (Chakrabarty et al , 2021; Paul et al , 2021). Drawbacks include small sample for validation and translation was done in Bengali, thus, it may not be generalized to the rest of the country.…”