Validation of the Arabic version of the Adolescent Distress-Eustress Scale (ADES)

Abstract

BACKGROUND: The current study examined the psychometric properties of an Arabic translation of the Adolescent Distress-Eustress Scale (ADES) in Saudi Arabia. It assessed the factorial structure through a confirmatory factor analysis, composite reliability through Cronbach alpha and McDonald's omega scores, gender invariance, and convergent validity through its correlation to resilience. METHODS: A total of 505 high school students from 21 randomly selected schools in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia (mean age of 16.66 ± 1.10 years, 52.7% females) participated in the study. The questionnaires were translated using the forward and backward technique. RESULTS: Findings revealed good internal consistency of the Arabic ADES (McDonald's ω being 0.82 for distress and 0.79 for eustress). Confirmatory factor analyses confirmed the two-factor structure of the scale and demonstrated measurement invariance across gender at the configural, metric, and scalar levels. Girls had higher Distress scores, while boys reported higher eustress scores, which was consistent with previous studies. Finally, the ADES distress and eustress scales were significantly correlated to resilience supporting convergent validity. CONCLUSION: The present study supports the reliability and validity of the Arabic version of the ADES as a self-report method to assess Eustress and Distress in adolescents. Pending further validations to support the present findings, this measure can be utilized by schools, mental health providers, and researchers to support Arabic speaking adolescents globally.