Arabic translation and validation of the clinician administered Staden schizophrenia anxiety rating scale (S-SARS)

• Published in: Heliyon 2024-11, Vol.10 (21), p.e39792, Article e39792
• Main Authors: Fekih-Romdhane, Feten, Al Mouzakzak, Fadila, Abilmona, Ghinwa, Moustafa, Ahmed, Dahdouh, Oussama, Hallit, Souheil
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Anxiety; Arabic; Psychometric properties; S-SARS; Schizophrenia; Validation
• ISSN: 2405-8440; 2405-8440
• DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e39792

Research on anxiety in patients with schizophrenia of Arab origin is surprisingly scarce, particularly given that expressions of both psychotic disorders and anxiety disorders can be largely shaped by cultural factors. This study proposes to complement previous research by exploring the psychometric characteristics of an Arabic translation of the Staden Schizophrenia Anxiety Rating Scale (S-SARS) in chronic, remitted patients diagnosed with schizophrenia. As the Arabic version of the Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-Item Scale (GAD-7) has not been previously validated in Arabic in patients with schizophrenia, this study had as a secondary aim to investigate the psychometric properties of this scale before its use. This cross-sectional study was performed over a period of three months (August–October 2023). A total of 177 chronic inpatients diagnosed with schizophrenia (63.3 % males) who were remitted and clinically stable participated in the study. Confirmatory factor analyses showed that all 10 items loaded onto a single factor and had high factor loading values between .53 and .81. The reliability of the S-SARS in its Arabic version was excellent as attested by a McDonald's omega and a Cronbach's alpha coefficients of .90 and .89, respectively. The score of Arabic S-SARS correlated positively with the GAD-7 scores (r = .55; p