Validation of the Arabic Version of the PANSS scale among Lebanese schizophrenic patients

S. Hallit 1-5, S. Obeid 1 6, C. Haddad 1, F. Kazour 1 7, G.R. Kazour 1 8

1 Psychiatric Hospital of the Cross, Jal Eddib, Lebanon; 2 Universite Saint Joseph, Faculty of Pharmacy, Beirut, Lebanon; 3 Universite Saint-Esprit Kaslik, Faculty of Medicine, Kaslik, Lebanon; 4 Lebanese University, Faculty of Pharmacy, Hadath, Lebanon; 5 Occupational Health Environment Research Team, U1219 BPH Bordeaux Population Health Research Center Inserm, Université de Bordeaux; 6 Université Saint-Esprit Kaslik, Department of Psychology, Kaslik, Lebanon; 7 Université Saint Joseph, Faculty of Medicine, Beirut, Lebanon; 8 Lebanese University, Faculty of Arts and Human Sciences, Beirut, Lebanon

Objectives

To use the Arabic version of the PANSS in Lebanese schizophrenic patients, to check its validity and reproducibility compared to other versions of the questionnaire and to assess risk factors affecting the total PANSS score.

Methods

This case-control study, performed between April and August 2016, included 400 patients (200 patients, 200 controls).

Results

The PANSS scale items converged over a solution of three factors, explaining a total of 64.81% of the variance. A high Cronbach’s alpha was found for the full scale (0.961), the positive symptoms (0.877), negative symptoms (0.933) and general psychopathology (0.926). A stepwise linear regression, using the total PANSS score as continuous variable, showed that low socioeconomic level and male gender would significantly increase the total PANSS score (Beta = 13.139, CI 7.570-18.708, p < 0.001 and Beta = -8.614, CI -13.884 – -3.345 p = 0.001).

Conclusions

This study shows that the Arabic version of the PANSS has promising psychometric properties, and thus it is a good tool to use for the diagnosis of patients with schizophrenia. Based on this study, health care professionals and researchers can readily use the PANSS questionnaire to estimate the overall severity of schizophrenia among psychiatric patients in Lebanon.

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