Measuring recovery in Arabic countries: Translation of the self-efficacy for personal recovery scale

Self-efficacy – positive beliefs about one’s own competencies and mastery – is associated with better recovery outcomes for people using mental health services. Aim: To translate the Self-Efficacy for Personal Recovery Scale (SEPRS) into Arabic and evaluate the psychometric properties of the Arabic version. Methods: An established translation methodology was employed, involving back-translation, comparison, forward-translation, comparison, and piloting. The pre-final version of the Arabic translated scale was tested for clarity with young people with a primary diagnosis of mental health problem. The final Arabic version and standardized measures of hope and loneliness were administered to 119 young people in two rounds. Results: Internal consistency was adequate (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.87 in round 1, 0.91 in round 2). Consistent with the English version, a one-factor solution best fitted the data. The correlation between SEPRS and hope was R = 0.60 (round 1) and R = 0.61 (round 2), indicating convergent validity. The correlation between SEPRS and loneliness was R = −0.52 (round 1) and R = −0.60 (round 2). Correlation between test and retest was R = −0.998 indicated adequate test-retest reliability. Minimal floor and ceiling effects were detected. Conclusion: The use of the Arabic SEPRS with Arabic-speaking samples is supported. Further research to investigate divergent validity is warranted.