ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: The purpose of the study was to assess the translation adequacy of a Hebrew version of the POMS, and to report the decision-making process of overcoming methodological flaws. METHOD: The English version was translated to Hebrew by expert team approach. Factor analysis for construct validation was predominantly used for assessment, in addition to other techniques: back translation, use of bilingual subjects, and correlation with other instruments for concurrent validation. RESULTS: The final 28-item Hebrew version has suitable psychometric properties. Of the six dimensions on the English version scale, five dimensions--"anger," "depression:' "fatigue," "tension" and "vigor"--were found comparable to the English version, while "confusion" was deleted. LIMITATIONS: The pre-testing was performed on students only. CONCLUSIONS: Although the study shows valid psychometric properties, further studies in various populations are needed to assess the sensitivity of the scale to diverse manipulations.
