Translation and Initial Validation of the Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21) in Ilokano.

The Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21) is a self-report screening tool of psychological symptoms used in many countries and translated in different languages. The DASS-21 was translated into Ilokano, one of the major languages in the Philippines spoken by over 9 million people all over the world. The translation process involved independent translations by multilingual clinical psychologists, reviews by two multilingual mental health professionals, and pilot testing. The translation was then validated in a study with 668 Ilokano speakers mainly from three regions of the Philippines where Ilokano was a native language or a lingua franca. A confirmatory factor analysis indicated a good fit of the three-factor model compared to a one-factor model. The three subscales showed good internal consistency were also positively correlated with other measures of depression, anxiety, and negative affect, and negatively correlated with measures of positive affect and flourishing. Using a stringent test of criterion validity, the results also show that DASS-Depression was more strongly correlated with a criterion measure of depression, compared to with measures of anxiety and negative affect, and that DASS-Anxiety was more strongly correlated with a criterion measure of anxiety compare to a measure of negative affect. The results provide good initial evidence for the validity and viability of the DASS-21 in Ilokano, which should be a useful tool in mental health programs in parts of the Philippine community, particularly in identifying individuals who may need attention of mental health professionals.

The intellectual profile of abused and neglected children in the Philippines: An analysis of SB5 IQ scores of sexually abused, physically abused and neglected children.

Child abuse and neglect have been associated with cognitive deficits, among other effects on child development. This study explores the prediction that child abuse and neglect has an impact on Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scales 5th Edition (SB5) IQ scores, in relation to gender, age and type of abuse experienced. 300 children with experiences of abuse and neglect were included in the study, comprising 100 sexually abused, 100 physically abused and 100 neglected children. Overall, all scores on the SB5 were found to be significantly lower than the minimum average scores on the test. Verbal IQ (VIQ) scores were likewise found to be significantly lower than Nonverbal IQ (NVIQ) scores. Full Scale IQ (FSIQ) scores did not reveal heterogeneity when gender was factored in. Age and type of abuse (with a moderate effect size) on the other hand, showed significant differences among groups. Statistical analyses of SB5 Factor Index Scores revealed that abused children, in general, have significantly higher Visual-Spatial Processing (VS) and Quantitative Reasoning (QR) scores and lower scores in Knowledge (KN). There was a large effect size found in such an analysis. Age (with a large effect size), gender and type of abuse (with moderate effect sizes) give significant variations to this obtained profile.