Cultural adaptation of mental health measures: improving the quality of clinical practice and research.

The need for accurate information about the mental health problems of multicultural the mental health problems of multicultural communities requires valid measures of communities requires valid measures of mental health for use in a number of mental health for use in a number of languages and cultural contexts. Measures languages and cultural contexts. Measures of psychopathological symptoms leading of psychopathological symptoms leading to a diagnosis have been especially criti-to a diagnosis have been especially criti-cised for their universal application, with-cised for their universal application, without attention to their limitations across out attention to their limitations across cultures. Yet, measures are crucial to assess cultures. Yet, measures are crucial to assess recovery and the performance of services, recovery and the performance of services, and to take account of carer and user views. and to take account of carer and user views. We summarise the main challenges in the We summarise the main challenges in the cultural adaptation of such measures in cultural adaptation of such measures in our work with adults and adolescents of our work with adults and adolescents of South Asian, African and Caribbean origin. South Asian, African and Caribbean origin. Instruments are usually selected on the Instruments are usually selected on the basis of the mental disorder of interest basis of the mental disorder of interest and psychometric properties. However, a and psychometric properties. However, a further essential criterion is the cultural further essential criterion is the cultural relevance and validity. It is not unusual to relevance and validity. It is not unusual to find translations of questionnaires in use find translations of questionnaires in use for which information on the quality and for which information on the quality and the exact procedure of translation is un-the exact procedure of translation is uncertain and often unpublished. The pre-certain and often unpublished. The preliminary selection of instruments must liminary selection of instruments must address the ease of translating the concep-address the ease of translating the conceptual targets. This is a function of the con-tual targets. This is a function of the conceptual proximity between the source and ceptual proximity between the source and target languages. Although translations target languages. Although translations from French to English may be easier from French to English may be easier because of their conceptual proximity – because of their conceptual proximity – compared with (say) English to Somali – compared with (say) English to …